Coming to America... To Eat and Drink Quiz

Answer: Clams

Despite being named for another locally caught mollusk, the "Ye Olde Oyster House" is known for serving a fantastic classic New England Clam Chowder (pronounced chowDAH) and for being the oldest continually operating restaurant in the United States. Local clams called "quahogs" were harvested by Native American tribes long before English settlers discovered the New England coast line and used them in recipes, including broth based soups. The exact origins of the hearty cream based soup we call clam chowder today are not known but, are believed to have been brought to the region by French Breton settlers migrating south from Quebec. The word chowder is generally considered to derive from the French word "Chaudière", which means pot and is similar to the English cauldron.

Boston or New England Clam Chowder never contains tomatoes and rarely strays beyond the same simple ingredients. A tomato based clam soup introduced by Portuguese fisherman is also very popular. Owing to the rivalry between Boston and New York, the tomato based soup is given the name Manhattan or New York Clam Chowder to distinguish the soup from "authentic" Boston/New England Chowder.

Answer: A Manhattan

One of the most famous cocktails served the world over is the classic Manhattan. The drink is made from rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters topped with a maraschino cherry. Rye whiskey is an American whiskey made from at least 51% rye grain and is usually blended with corn and barley. Vermouth is type of fortified wine that is mixed with herbs to produce a liquor that is both a mixer in cocktails and a stand alone drink. Bitters are a grain alcohol that is blended with sharp herbs to produce a strong sour or bitter taste and is almost exclusively used a mixer. The most widely used bitters are the Angostura bitters which come from the Caribbean Island of Trinidad.

The origins of the Manhattan are like many foods -- disputed. Cocktails, as a sub-class of alcoholic drinks, started to appear in significant numbers in the mid 1800's. The first Manhattan is often attributed to Dr. Ian Marshall, who made the drink at a 1870 banquet hosted by the future Lady Randolph Churchill (the mother of Winston Churchill). The drink became very popular and was allegedly called after the place, The Manhattan Club, where the banquet was held. Others claim that the drink was already popular by 1860 and was a regular feature at such hot spots as the Broadway Club in lower Manhattan.

Answer: Cheesesteak

Each of the choices are a type of sandwich common in the US that are traditionally served on long Italian bread rolls. The po'boy is a classic sandwich from New Orleans that often contains fried shrimp or oysters. The hoagie, also called a torpedo or submarine, traditionally refers to any sandwich served on an Italian roll (so named because the long thin bread resembles the shape of a submarine or torpedo) with cold cuts and lettuce, tomato slices and either mayonnaise or oil and vinegar.

The City of Philadelphia is famous for a specific sandwich called the Cheesesteak. As the name implies the sandwich is beef steak that has been thinly sliced and grilled then topped with cheese. The sandwich can be topped by any vegetable or sauce; but, the most authentic toppings are grilled onions, peppers and/or mushrooms. Philadelphia restaurant owner Pat Olivieri is credited with inventing the sandwich in the 1930's, first without cheese and later by adding provolone cheese. Today Philadelphia or Philly Cheesesteaks are sold all over the world; however, for my money there are none better than in the City of Brotherly Love where it was originated.

Upon the introduction of Kraft Foods processed spreadable cheese product "Cheesewiz" in the 1950's many cheesesteak providers switched their primary cheese offering. A raging debate exists today over whether a "real" Philadelphia Cheesesteak has provolone cheese or is ruined by the use of the horrible tasting "fake" cheesewiz. As a mere commentator, I will simply present the facts and urge you to decide for yourself.

Answer: St. Louis

The large influx of German and Benelux immigrants to the US in the mid 18th Century brought a wonderful beer brewing tradition. Today, America's largest brewer is Anheuser Busch Companies, Inc. (now a subsidiary of AB Inbev) and was started in St. Louis Missouri in 1852. Anheuser-Busch is the owner of such popular beer brands as Budweiser, Busch and Michelob. The original brewer, In 1860 on the brink of bankruptcy, George Schneider, sold his brewery to Eberhard Anheuser. Anheuser along with his son-in-law Adolphus Busch made the small St. Louis plant into the first national brewer and one of the world's largest. Anheuser Busch, or AB as it was called after 1879, pioneered the mass distribution of beer, being the first to pasteurized its product, thus allowing for longer shelf-life. AB was amongst the first to use refrigerated rail cars to move large quantities of product across the country. The introduction of the Czech styled lager ale "Budweiser" in 1876 was a tremendous success that further cemented the company as a brewing power.

Milwaukee Wisconsin is the home of the brewing giant Miller Brewing Co; while Golden Colorado is the home of Coors Brewing Co. The oldest continuously operating brewery in the US is located in Pottsville Pennsylvania where "Yuengling" beer has been brewed since 1829.

Answer: Smoked with dry spices rubbed on the meat

Ask any group of Americans how to cook the best ribs and you will get an argument. Everybody has an opinion on what type of meat and cooking method makes the best tasting barbecue. We can agree, that all barbecue refers to meat cooked with some sort of wood to naturally smoke and flavor the product, after that the disagreements start. First, you have to discuss what meat to use. In Texas beef is king and ribs and smoked brisket are the tradition. Pork ribs are more common in many areas, though some swear by the spare rib and others by the smaller loin or "baby back" rib. All game animals are cooked for barbecue and have their adherents. Next you have arguments over what wood imparts the best flavor, with votes for apple wood, mesquite and hickory being some of the favorites.

Finally you get to the real debate, over whether the rib should be cooked with a sauce or without. In the Carolina region a deboned or pulled pork mixed with a tangy vinegar based sauce is very popular. In Georgia, many pork ribs are topped with a mustard based sauce. In Memphis, the ribs are cooked slowly using only a dry spice mixture that is rubbed onto the meat before cooking. Any sauce is added after the meat has been cooked and served. Kansas City style ribs are baised in a thick sweet tomato based sauce that produces a sticky already coated rib. So when in Rome have pasta but when in Memphis, Tennessee be ready for some dry rubbed juicy hickory smoked pork ribs.

Answer: Mint Julep

A Kentucky mint julep is made with only four ingredients: a muddled (crushed) spearmint leaf in a mixture of bourbon, simple sugar (sugar dissolved into water over heat) and water. The muddling or smashing of the mint leaves releases the flavorful oils into the liquid for the touch of spice. Mint juleps are related to the mojito, which substitute rum for bourbon and add lime to the drink as well. Interestingly, the word julep is of Persian origins, meaning a sweet liquid or rose flavored water.

The mint julep has origins that go back into the 1700s and has been associated with Kentucky since famed politician Henry Clay introduced the drink to Washington DC society in the 1820s. The connection to the Kentucky Derby horse race started in earnest in 1938, when the drink became the signature cocktail served to patrons in a special glass as they waited for the race to start. Over 120,000 mint juleps are served at Churchill Downs during the Derby festivities each year and millions more are poured at bars across the US and world.

Answer: Key Lime Pie

The Florida Keys are a series of islands off the southern coast of Florida. Many of the islands are uninhabitable and accessible only by boat. Formed from the spine of a giant ancient coral bed, the southern most of the inhabited islands is Key West. The warm climate, unique reefs,abundant fish and natural fauna have made the Keys a highly desirable living area and tourist attraction. First settled by the Spanish, one of the important imports into the Florida Key islands was a small tart lime fruit plant that may have originated in Malaysia. Once planted on the islands the lime thrived and became highly valued for its unique compact tart flavor, when compared to other limes.

Sometime in the 1800s, cooks on Key West began using the lime to make a simple citrus pie consisting of lime juice, condensed milk and egg yolks. Due to a reaction caused by the mixing of the acidic lime juice with the condensed milk the pie did not need additional thickeners and often was served without any baking. Contrary to expectations, the Key Lime pie is not green, but rather a slightly darker yellow. Today the pie has left the islands and is served across the country; but, the freshest and most authentic limes still are grown on the Florida Key islands. If you travel to Key West make sure you try the pie.

Answer: Chicory

Endive is a common name for a series of leafy green lettuce type plants. Endive plants come in a number of varieties and include such popular salad greens as frisee, escarole or radicchio. Endives are used in salad mixtures to add a bitter distinct flavor. The root of the endive plant however is roasted and ground to form chicory, a steeping beverage that can be drank as a coffee substitute. In the post US Civil War when imported coffee was rare, the French Creole's in New Orleans added chicory to ration the scarce coffee. Chicory in coffee has a mellowing effect on the drink and reduces the caffeine content, as chicory is naturally caffeine free. Chicory is said to add a subtle almost chocolate taste to the blended coffee.

Café Du Monde has been a New Orleans institution since 1862. By tradition, the café is open 24 hours a day and 364 days a year, closing only for Christmas Day. Famously the Café was closed for 59 days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Café Du Monde is known for two things: their chicory coffee served black or as cafe au lait (half coffee half hot milk) and beignets. Beignets are a square French dough nut covered in powdered sugar. The Café Du Monde always has fresh coffee and fresh beignets hot from the oven.

Answer: True

Sourdough is the oldest and perhaps most simple form of leavened bread. The first recorded production of sourdough bread is from ancient Egypt some 3000 plus years ago. The bread is the result of the effect yeast, a natural airborne fungus, has when exposed to grain and liquid. Yeast organisms, settle in the grain/liquid mix, eat the natural sugars and along with similarly natural bacteria in the grain, convert the grain/liquid to acids. This combination chemical reactions between the yeast, bacteria and grain/liquid create the bread's sour flavor. The yeast organisms also create carbon dioxide and alcohol. The carbon dioxide is what will cause the bread to rise. The alcohol created from the reaction is the source of beer and other grain spirits.

During the 1840s in California, members of Boudin family, known as master bakers in France, emigrated to San Francisco. The Boudins created a unique sourdough bread culture that captivated both gold miners and the San Francisco elite with its unique flavor. Since 1849 the bakery has used the same sourdough culture, which they call a "mother dough", and the same recipe combining a small amount of the mother dough with flour, water and salt to make their bread. The mother dough is considered so important to the taste of the bread, that the Boudin patriarch risked his life to rescue the culture during the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.

Answer: Corn Dogs

Any trip to the US will entail eating fried foods. Americans will eat just about anything that is fried and battered. Fried candy bars, butter, macaroni and cheese, pizza and bubble gum are just some of the items that someone has both fried and eaten in the US. Corn dogs, as the name implies, are the combination of a hot dog (any sausage really) dipped in a corn meal batter and fried. Corn dogs are popular as a street food because they are served on a stick so are easy to eat while walking. The origin of the corn dog while debated is normally believed to be the Texas State Fair where vendors began serving the tasty treat in the late 1930's.

In 1946 the first store dedicate to selling corn dogs called "Hot Dog on a Stick" was opened in Santa Monica, California, bringing corn dogs to malls and shopping centers throughout the US.