No Respect: What "They" Used to Say About American Food

"I would rather live in Russia on black bread and vodka than in the United States at the best hotels. America knows nothing of food, love or art."
- Isadora Duncan


"You can travel fifty thousand miles in America without once tasting a piece of good bread."
- Henry Miller


"Americans can eat garbage, provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup, mustard, chili sauce, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, or any other condiment which destroys the original flavor of the dish."
- Henry Miller


"A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually waste away, and eventually die."
- Mark Twain


"We have the best raw materials in the world, both quantitatively and qualitatively, but most of them are ruined in the process of preparing them for the table."
- H.L. Mencken


"Another peculiarity of this country is the absence of napkins, even in the homes of the wealthy. Napkins, as a rule, are never used and one has to wipe one's mouth on the tablecloth, which in consequence suffers in appearance."
- Baron Louis de Closen


"If you're going to America, bring your own food."
- Fran Lebowitz


"The Americans are the grossest feeders of any civilized nation known. As a nation, their food is heavy, coarse, and indigestible, while it is taken in the least artificial forms that cookery will allow. The predominance of grease in the American kitchen, coupled with the habits of hearty eating, and the constant expectoration, are the causes of the diseases of the stomach which are so common in America."
- James Fenimore Cooper