Maple syrup, Canada

 

Ever tried eating a pancake without maple syrup? It's like eating a slice of cardboard. Poorly prepared cardboard.

In fact, Canada's gift to parents everywhere -- throw some maple syrup on the kid's broccoli and see what happens -- makes just about anything worth trying. Pass the cardboard, please.

 Fish ‘n' chips, Britain

 

Anything that's been around since the 1860s can't be doing much wrong. The staple of the Victorian British working class is a crunchy-outside, soft-inside dish of simple, un-adorned food fundamentals.

Sprinkled with salt, vinegar and dollops of tartar sauce, it is to nouveau cuisine what Meat Loaf is to Prince (or whatever he's calling himself now).