It's very interesting, to me anyway. It's not really about the 'meat', but culture generally. I think that stereotyping comes into play a lot when people in the UK (and probably the RoW) think about the USA. A lot of this probably even comes from those who have visited, but that opinion is based on one holiday location in one state. I suppose it would like an American visiting France and declaring to all their friends that all of Europe eat horse.

I admit that I've only ever been to California, (through work - my head office is in SD), so my opinion of the US is wholly from those visits. As a general rule, the average person from the UK knows very little about the cultures within the US, and their opinions roughly follow this: East Coast: NYC, tough city, money. West Coast: Surfing Hippies, Hollywood, LA. Mid: Cowboys, farmers, South: Oil, Hunters. South East: Disney.

It's such an immense country. I thoroughly enjoyed a series that was on a year or so back, with Stephen Fry traveling to every state in his London taxi. It was fascinating. In my mind, you could easily break up the US into several countries (a bit like Europe), the differences are so pronounced from state to state.

The 'lamb' thing genuinely surprises me, here it is considered a treat and is highly priced. Mutton is less common (& cheaper), although becoming more popular as it is used in ethnic dishes (Caribbean/West Indian food).. maybe that 'taste' came from England in the first place, being an ex-colony? We have a saying here: 'Mutton dressed as lamb' - referring to an older (or less attractive) woman dressing/acting like a much younger woman in an inelegant manner.

I urge any American to try a lamb burger.. seriously, it will knock your socks off.

Autumnal.. now this I also find interesting. So, how on Earth would fellow American members describe the season. ie. 'It's really Wintery/Summery out there'.. 'It's very Autumnal today'... so what would replace 'Autumnal' ?

Cheers
From an increasingly Autumnal Cambridge, (UK).. (hoping for an Indian Summer) :0)
Stewart

: I grill chicken breasts on the barbeque (propane grill on the
: deck/patio) at least once a week and pork tenderloin every
: couple of weeks. My favorite steak to barbeque is flank steak,
: marinated in hot bbq sauce. Pork chops are pretty popular,
: especially here in the South, and bacon is a staple breakfast
: meat for many folks. While beef is certainly the most popular
: American meat, particularly since so many burger joints
: (including national chains like McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's,
: Hardees, etc.) do mega business, chicken is also very popular,
: fried or otherwise. Chick-Fil-A is a great (strangely only 3 in
: the Northeast) national chicken fast food chain (no hamburgers
: served here!) with great chicken sandwiches pressure cooked in
: peanut oil, with a dill pickle slice on a burger roll. I love
: 'em! As a child in Massachusetts, my mother used to serve lamb
: once in a while, with mint jelly on the side, but here in
: Virginia most of my friends have absolutely no interest in
: eating lamb. At the local grocery store, I would venture to
: guess that beef occupies 45% of the meat section followed by
: chicken and pork equally splitting the remaining 55%. Again,
: just a guess based on the store I shop at.
: Steve