Casual Conversation

I guess see what ICE is offering at the time? TF anyone going to America for.

Why the fuck would you come here? I would, love to leave but I own land and have 4 cats.

Whatever ICE serves in their detention centres.

Depends on the state and city you’re going to, but you should absolutely try light Hispanic foods from a restaurant. Cubano sandwich (butter-carmelized onions and simple meats), fried plantains, churros, and nachos. If the restaurant looks too clean, none of these will be any good. And before someone says that a Cuban isn’t a snack, I don’t have a massive appetite and I can easily eat 2. They’re rarely filling

It may depend where you are traveling from.

Packaged food:

• Toasty cheese-its.
• Annie's boxed mac & cheese.
• Trader Joe's peanut butter cups
• a million variations on potato chips and hard pretzels, some of them quite regional.
• birch beer

Other food: On the west coast and other places: Taco trucks and Asian food.

In the north east: subs or hoagies (buffalo chicken cheesesteak), good cheep pizza, Amish farm stands (homemade baked goods, cheese, rootbeer)

On the east coast and the south: arguably there is somewhat of a gas station food culture (Wawa, Buc-ees, Sheetz, etc). Its not that interesting, but more novel than a McDonald's.

Stay safe, things aren't exactly great here

I'd say maybe icecream? There are some really good classic creameries here, but I don't really know whether locally made freshly churned icecream is also a thing in lots of other places 🤷‍♂️ NC state near me (a university) makes amazing icecream with their agriculture department

Most things that come to mind are food, and will depend on where you are. Here in NC pulled pork bbq would be a must (with regional variations in the style of sauce), just gotta find one of the good places that do it well. I'd try and learn a little about the food culture of where you're headed and see what sounds interesting if food stuff beyond snacks interests you

Fried pickle chips.

Like, slices of pickle, lightly battered and fried.

S’mores if you can get to a campfire for that authentic experience

Reese’s peanut butter cups

Cool ranch Doritos are addictive

Beef jerky

Also - this is food food, but it’d be a good time to visit a sports bar and get some buffalo wings! For some reason they’re always wrong when I get them abroad

The best food in the US is the variety we've attracted from other cultures.

I'd try to find the local 'hole in the wall' restaurants, emphasizing Mexican or Indian food...

I've come to understand that the shadier the restaurant is, the better the food - idk if that's good advice to shoot for lol, but if you feel like you might get stabbed waiting for your dinner, it's gonna be fucking amazing.

(IIRC you're UK-based) Authentic Mexican foods, and other things that are hard to come by in the UK. I was a picky eater as a child and didn't care for it, but I spent my early childhood on RAF Feltwell hearing people wishing they could get good Mexican food.

For common american foods? Jerky, smoked meats (brisket 🤤), fried... everything.

Edit: food culture varies wildly based on region. Generally "what country colonized and/or immigrated to this area" and "what ingredients are readily available and cheap in this area".

Diners are an overlooked US staple, especially the one-offs, not the chains.

They aren't really about snacks, but they often have a baked goods case of deliciousness.

Where are you from? If you're from Europe, I suggest expanding beyond the normal US snacks into snacks brought to the US from Mexico like Fresas con Cremas.

Also Beavis & Butthead style gas station nachos with the fake cheese out of a pump is a US snack staple.

Also bar nachos are entirely different and usually much better than gas station nachos, so those are worth a shot as well.

Oh and get some Skittles since they are "Unfit for Human Consumption."

I'm pretty sure that most packaged candy and stuff you can order online. Might cost something in shipping, but the world is smaller now.

I think I'd focus on prepared dishes that might be harder to find wherever you normally are.

I really would not come here atm but its gonna be hard to say without knowing where you are going. new york is not like la or chicago.

It depends on what part of the country you'll be in. If it happens to be in the south, i highly recommend trying some authentic buttermilk biscuits with white gravy or chicken and waffles with a big ol' glass of sweet ice tea. Thats my favorite, for sure.

I've lived in the north, south, west and Midwest US so I may be able to give an honest recommendation.

Depends on where. If bay area, Smitten Ice Cream. They make it with liquid nitrogen, so the ice crystals are impossibly fine; it's the smoothest ice cream I've ever had.

If Seattle, Un Bien is always a strong option for sandwiches. I worked at their prior shop as a teenager between terms.

I've been around the US a lot as a foodie, I can say more if I know what areas you plan on exploring!

Strawberry Shortcake - made with real buttermilk biscuits, real whipped cream (none of that canned shit!) and fresh strawberries with a light confectioners sugar glaze.

You said you're going to los angeles, so one place you might try is the famous hot dog joint, because depending on your timing it will coincide with the ride to eat. I don't see anything posted for this year, so I'm hoping it doesn't get canceled due to slowly dwindling lack of interest.

If you are there the saturday before thanksgiving, you'll meet a ton of interesting characters with good stories, AND get the famous hot dogs!

Everyone else is mentioning food styles, but if snacks are what you're interested in, there are two places to hit up for sure. 1. There are two, but they're far, cracker barrel stores in the los angeles area. Go inside, marvel at the tchotchkes inside, and grab yourself a handful of whatever old-fashioned candies they have. I don't know of any other place that dedicates itself to old-fashioned candy like cracker barrel's little store, but maybe you could find cheaper and better within los angeles. Might be something to ask a local.

2. Find a super gas station. From my time in texas, it was bucees, and when I was in utah/colorado it was maverik... but they will be bigger than your average gas station store, and have tons of weird, branded, delicious snacks for road trips. I'm sure california has some, considering the amount of tourism they get. There's got to be something like those places on the road to the nearby scenic areas. You could also just take note of things you think are interesting and then order them from a grocery store at (probably) half price or less.

Talking about nearby scenic areas, if you've never been to america before from britain, I would totally recommend a trip to death valley if you can swing it. It's a (very) long day trip, but if you hit it in november the drive there AND the valley itself are jaw-dropping. OOOH! AND! Go find the graffiti park! When I went to los angeles to see a relative, they took me there. It was a little climb around a broken fence (because it technically isn't a real park, or open to the public >.> ), and then the coolest little broken up area of coastline just covered in cool artwork and graffiti tags.