This may be because most of the popular foods in the USA originate in some other country. The pizza slice is Italian. Fries are Belgium or Dutch. Hamburgers and frankfurters? Likely German. But in the kitchens of the United States, they have been improved and added to, to become global icons for food lovers everywhere.
Don't neglect the homegrown American dishes either.
不外也别忽略了美国本土的菜肴。
There's the traditional stuff such as clam chowder, key lime pie and Cobb salad, and most importantly the locavore movement of modern American food started by Alice Waters.
Cheeseburger—a perfect example of making good things greater.
芝士汉堡--青出于蓝而胜于蓝的完美诠释
Chocolate chip cookie— the world would be a little less habitable without this Americana classic.
巧克力饼干—没了这个美国经典食品，世界可能就没那么宜居了
不保举
All overly processed foods such as Twinkies, Hostess cakes and KFC.
所有过度加工食品，比如Twinkies夹馅面包，Hostess蛋糕和肯德基。
Mexico 墨西哥
If you were only allowed to eat the food of one country the rest of your life, it would be smart to make it Mexico. The cuisine of the Mesoamerican country has a little bit of everything —you'll never get bored.
Amongst the enchiladas and the tacos and the helados and the quesadillas you'll find the zestiness of Greek salads and the richness of an Indian curry; the heat of Thai food and the use-your-hands snackiness of tapas. It is also central station for nutritional superfoods. All that avocado, tomato, lime and garlic with beans and chocolates and chilies to boot, is rich with antioxidants and good healthful things. It doesn't taste healthy though. It tastes like a fiesta in your mouth.
Mole—ancient sauce made of chili peppers, spices, chocolate and magic incantations.
摩尔酱—一种由辣椒、香料、巧克力和魔法咒语调和而成的古老酱料
Tacos al pastor—the spit-roast pork taco
玉米饼碎肉卷--叉烧猪肉煎玉米卷
Tamales—an ancient Mayan food of masa cooked in a leaf wrapping.
玉米粉蒸肉—一道古老的玛雅菜，把肉裹上玉米粉然后用叶子包起来蒸熟
不保举
Tostadas—basically the same as a taco or burrito but served in a crispy fried tortilla which breaks into pieces as soon as you bite into it. Impossible to eat.
Street eats are a Thai attraction. Flip through a Thai cook book and you'll be hard pressed to find an ingredient list that doesn't run a page long. The combination of so many herbs and spices in each dish produces complex flavors that somehow come together like orchestral music. Thais fit spicy, sour, salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy and slippery into one dish.
街头小吃是泰国的吸引力所在。翻阅一本泰国菜谱，你会发现所有的食材表都超过1页长。如此多的香草和香料混合在一起赋予了每一道菜复杂的味道，但不知何故却可以像一场交响乐一样和谐。泰国菜将辣、酸、咸、甜、嚼劲儿、脆生生、柔滑都糅合进了一道菜之中。
p>With influences from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and a royal culinary tradition, Thai cuisine is the best of many worlds. The best part about eating Thai food in Thailand though is the hospitality. Sun, beach, service with a smile and a plastic bag full of som tam -- that's the good life.</p>
受中国、马来西亚、印尼、缅甸以及王室烹饪传统的影响，泰国菜是世界上最好吃的。不外在泰国吃泰国菜最棒的部分是泰国人的好客。阳光、海滩、微笑办事和满满一袋子的泰式青木瓜沙拉--这才是美好的生活。
保举
Tom yam kung —a rave party for the mouth. The floral notes of lemongrass, the earthy galangal, freshness of kaffir lime leaves and the heat of the chilies.
冬阴功汤—舌尖上的狂欢派对。柠檬草的清香，高良姜的朴实，青柠檬叶的爽口以及辣椒的火热。
Massaman curry—a Thai curry with Islamic roots. Topped our list of the world's 50 most delicious foods.
马沙文咖喱—起源于伊斯兰国家的泰式咖喱。在CNN评出的全球最美味的50种食物中高居首位。
Som tam—the popular green papaya salad is sour, extra spicy, sweet and salty. It's the best of Thai tastes.
泰式青木瓜沙拉—广受欢迎的青木瓜沙拉，酸、特辣、甜、咸，是最棒的泰国味道。
不保举
Pla som—a fermented fish eaten uncooked is popular in Lawa, Thailand and reported to be responsible for bile duct cancer.
泰式酸辣鱼—不经任何烹制就食用的发酵鱼，在泰国的拉瓦地区非常受欢迎。据报道会引起胆管癌。
Greece 希腊
Traveling and eating in Greece feels like a glossy magazine spread come to life, but without the Photoshopping. Like the blue seas and white buildings, the kalamata olives, feta cheese, the colorful salads and roast meats are all postcard perfect by default.
The secret? Lashings of glistening olive oil. Gift of the gods, olive oil is arguably Greece's greatest export, influencing the way people around the world think about food and nutritional health. Eating in Greece is also a way of consuming history. A bite of dolma or a slurp of lentil soup gives a small taste of life in ancient Greece, when they were invented.
Olive oil—drizzled on other food, or soaked up by bread, is almost as varied as wine in its flavors.
橄榄油—滴在其他食物上，或者用面包蘸着，在食物上的味道如红酒一样多变
Spanakopita—makes spinach palatable with its feta cheese mixture and flaky pastry cover.
希腊馅饼—薄而酥脆的饼皮包裹着美味菲达奶酪和碎菠菜的混合物
Gyros—late-night drunk eating wouldn't be the same without the pita bread sandwich of roast meat and tzatziki.
沙威玛—半夜酒足后不来点口袋面包烤肉三明治和酸奶黄瓜可不行
不保举
Lachanorizo—basically cabbage and onion cooked to death then mixed with rice. Filling, but one-dimensional.
Lachanorizo—基本上就是卷心菜和洋葱炖到稀烂，然后和大米饭拌在一起。顶饱，但是很单一。
India 印度
When a cuisine uses spices in such abundance that the meat and vegetables seem like an afterthought, you know you're dealing with cooks dedicated to flavor. There are no rules for spice usage as long as it results in something delicious. The same spice can add zest to savory and sweet dishes, or can sometimes be eaten on its own -- fennel seed is enjoyed as a breath-freshening digestive aid at the end of meals.
And any country that manages to make vegetarian food taste consistently great certainly deserves some kind of Nobel prize. The regional varieties are vast. There's Goa's seafood, there's the wazwan of Kashmir and there's the coconutty richness of Kerala.
Dal—India has managed to make boiled lentils exciting.
达尔—印度让煮小扁豆这道菜变得令人兴奋
Dosa—a pancake filled with anything from cheese to spicy vegetables, perfect for lunch or dinner.
印度薄饼—煎饼卷一切，从奶酪到辣味蔬菜，非常适合午餐或晚餐
Chai—not everyone likes coffee and not everyone likes plain tea, but it's hard to resist chai.
印度茶—不是所有人都喜欢咖啡，也不是所有人都喜欢喝原味茶，但是所有人都很难抵挡印度茶的诱惑
不保举
Balti chicken—an invention for the British palate, should probably have died out with colonialism.
印度干锅鸡—为了迎合英国口味而诞生，可能应该跟着英国殖民主义一起消亡。
Japan 日本
Japanese apply the same precision to their food as they do to their engineering. This is the place that spawned tyrannical sushi masters and ramen bullies who make their staff and customers tremble with a glare.
You can get a lavish multicourse kaiseki meal that presents the seasons in a spread of visual and culinary poetry. Or grab a seat at a revolving sushi conveyor for a solo feast. Or pick up something random and previously unknown in your gastronomic lexicon from the refrigerated shelves of a convenience store. It's impossible to eat badly in Japan.
Miso soup—showcases some of the fundamental flavors of Japanese food, simple and wholesome.
味噌汤--日本食物一些基本风味的“陈列柜”，简单又有益健康
Sushi and sashimi—who knew that raw fish on rice could become so popular?
寿司和鱼生—谁能知道，生鱼肉放在米饭上面会这么受欢迎？
Tempura—the perfection of deep-frying. Never greasy, the batter is thin and light like a crisp tissue.
天妇罗—完美的油炸食品。从不油腻，面糊很薄，又如一张炸脆的面巾纸一样轻盈
不保举
Fugu—is anything really that delicious that it's worth risking your life to eat? The poisonous blowfish recently killed diners in Egypt, but is becoming more available in Japan.
Let's eat and drink, then sleep, then work for two hours, then eat and drink. Viva Espana, that country whose hedonistic food culture we all secretly wish was our own. All that bar-hopping and tapas-eating, the minimal working, the 9 pm dinners, the endless porron challenges -- this is a culture based on, around and sometimes even inside food.
The Spaniards gourmandize the way they flamenco dance, with unbridled passion. They munch on snacks throughout the day with intervals of big meals. From the fruits of the Mediterranean Sea to the spoils of the Pyrenees, from the saffron and cumin notes of the Moors to the insane molecular experiments of Ferran Adria, Spanish food is timeless yet avant garde.
Jamon Iberico—a whole cured ham hock usually carved by clamping it down in a wooden stand like some medieval ritual.
伊比利亚火腿—一整根腌制的猪后腿，通常会夹在一个木支架上切片，就像是在举行某种中世纪的仪式
Churros—the world's best version of sweet fried dough.
西班牙油条—全世界最棒的炸甜面团
不保举
Gazpacho—it's refreshing and all, but it's basically liquid salad.
西班牙冷菜汤—很爽口，但基本上就是液体沙拉
France 法国
If you're one of those people who doesn't like to eat because "there's more to life than food" -- visit Paris. It's a city notorious for its curmudgeonly denizens, but they all believe in the importance of good food. Two-hour lunch breaks for three-course meals are de rigeur.
Down-to-earth cooking will surprise those who thought of the French as the world's food snobs (it is the birthplace of the Michelin Guide after all). Cassoulet, pot au feu, steak frites are revelatory when had in the right bistro.
Escargot—credit the French for turning slimey, garden-dwelling pests into a delicacy.
法国蜗牛—将这些住在花园中黏糊糊的害虫转化为精致美食是法国人的功劳。
Macarons—like unicorn food. In fact anything from a patisserie in France seems to have been conjured out of sugar, fairy dust and the dinner wishes of little girls.
Baguette—the first and last thing that you'll want to eat in France. The first bite is transformational; the last will be full of longing.
法棍面包—你在法国想吃的第一样和最后一样东西。第一口改变人生，最后一口满是憧憬。
不保举
Foie gras—it tastes like 10,000 ducks roasted in butter then reduced to a velvet pudding, but some animal advocates decry the cruelty of force-feeding fowl to fatten their livers.
Italian food has enslaved tastebuds around the globe for centuries, with its zesty tomato sauces, those clever things they do with wheat flour and desserts that are basically vehicles for cream. It's all so simple. Get some noodles, get some olive oil, get some garlic, maybe a tomato or a slice of bacon. Bam, you have a party on a plate. And it is all so easy to cook and eat.
From the cheesy risottos to the crisp fried meats, Italian cuisine is a compendium of crowd-pleasing comfort food. Many people have welcomed it into their homes, especially novice cooks. Therein lies the real genius -- Italian food has become everyman's food.