{"id":8522,"date":"2026-07-02T21:04:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T04:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7726652\/from-poutine-to-barbecue-local-cuisines-give-world-cup-fans-another-reason-to-cheer\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T07:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:01:11","slug":"from-poutine-to-barbecue-local-cuisines-give-world-cup-fans-another-reason-to-cheer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8522\/from-poutine-to-barbecue-local-cuisines-give-world-cup-fans-another-reason-to-cheer\/","title":{"rendered":"From poutine to barbecue, local cuisines give World Cup fans another reason to cheer"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Cup fans came from overseas for the cheering<\/a>. But they\u2019re also doing a lot of chewing, delighting their hosts with rave reviews of North American cuisine.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s greasy, it\u2019s disgusting, but it\u2019s absolutely glorious,” Jack Goodwin, a soccer enthusiast from London, said about the American food<\/a> he has tried in Dallas, Boston, New York and Atlanta. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to say this because it\u2019s a little bit harsh, but the portions are a little bit larger \u2014 a lot more tastier \u2014 so I can understand the, um, obesity here. I don\u2019t want to be harsh, but yes, the food is fantastic here.\u201d<\/p>\n

International visitors want to try popular fast-food chains and local gems<\/p>\n

Many fans are making a point to try regional specialties<\/a> or chains they can\u2019t find where they live, like In-N-Out Burger<\/a> or Buc-ee’s convenience stores<\/a>. Erling Haaland, a striker for Norway’s World Cup team, posted a photo on X of himself outside Katz’s Delicatessen<\/a> in New York.<\/p>\n

Harrison Murphy, who was traveling from London with his brother for the knockout rounds, had breakfast at a Chick-fil-A<\/a> in Atlanta this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you had Chick-fil-A? It was fantastic and so cheap. The sauces are free! It was remarkable,\u201d Murphy said. “I said, \u2018This is my first time, what should I try?\u2019 The woman said, \u2018You\u2019ve got to try the Chick-fil-A sauce.\u2019 My God, was it fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Bishop had never heard of poutine<\/a> \u2014 often considered Canada’s national dish \u2014 until he arrived in Toronto<\/a> for the World Cup. But the Glasgow, Scotland, resident proclaimed it \u201cabsolutely delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like chips with gravy, cheese. But it was a really thick gravy. Different from back home. Vinegar, there was lots of vinegar through it,\u201d said Bishop, who was sporting a Scotland jersey on a recent stroll through Toronto\u2019s FIFA Fan Festival. \u201cReally nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others are looking for a taste of home. Texas beer distributor Andrews Distributing welcomed a bus full of Dutch fans to its Dallas warehouse for Heinekens<\/a> and dancing.<\/p>\n

Host city restaurants are eager to introduce new customers to old favorites<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a thrill for restaurant owners, from Cuban spots in Miami to barbecue joints in Kansas City and taco trucks in Mexico City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not seen anything like this ever in my life,\u201d said Paul Barker, the principal and founder of Pauli\u2019s, a Boston restaurant known for generously filled sandwiches and comfort foods. Fans from Scotland, Brazil, England<\/a> and elsewhere have lined up for his famous lobster rolls and taken photos with staff members, Barker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood becomes a natural conversation starter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just been incredible for us to be part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some chains are leaning into the World Cup. Waffle House<\/a>, the all-day breakfast chain with 2,000 restaurants across the South, opened a pop-up shop in downtown Atlanta to sell branded soccer balls, jerseys and patriotic gear. In a statement, the chain said it was \u201chonored by the enthusiasm and curiosity” shown by visiting fans.<\/p>\n

For other restaurants, World Cup fever<\/a> has been a delightful surprise. Whataburger, a Texas-based chain with 1,100 locations, found itself in the spotlight after fans from Japan and elsewhere posted on social media about their visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attention has been completely organic and honestly pretty entertaining,\u201d Whataburger President and CEO Debbie Stroud said. \u201cWe knew the World Cup would bring the world to Texas and our footprint across 17 states. We just didn\u2019t realize so many visitors would leave talking about a patty melt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eating barbecue is high on the bucket lists of foreign foodies<\/p>\n

Terry Black\u2019s Barbecue, a small Texas chain, figured authentic barbecue<\/a> would be on many fans\u2019 must-try lists. It started sourcing extra meat more than a month ago for its locations in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, which are each about 20 minutes from the stadium where World Cup matches are played.<\/p>\n

It takes Terry Black\u2019s four days to season and prepare its beef brisket and 12 hours to barbecue it. The chain also smokes turkey, pork and sausages on its pits, which run 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

The crush of World Cup fans has meant a lot of extra planning, said Darien Kapture, the chain\u2019s senior vice president of food and beverage operations. But it’s also meant a lot of excitement, like the night Argentina supporters packed Terry Black’s Dallas location to celebrate the team’s victory over Austria, Kapture said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were hooting and hollering and praising the brisket,\u201d Kapture said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see that these folks are coming to America and getting to experience what we experience every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodwin, the visitor from London who said he \u201cblew his mortgage\u201d on a U.S. World Cup tour with his dad, deemed Terry Black’s barbecue \u201cthe most gorgeous food ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best food we\u2019ve had here is in Dallas,” Goodwin said. \u201cTexas barbecue. Unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

TSA reminds ranch dressing converts not to pack bottles in carry-on bags<\/p>\n

Not every review has been positive. Some fans have complained about the high price of food<\/a> in World Cup stadiums, for example. A British fan told the BBC that the breakfast tea he bought from Dunkin’ was \u201cnot great.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for the most part, there have been more thumbs up than thumbs down. So many World Cup visitors expressed love for ranch dressing<\/a>, for example, that the Transportation Security Administration issued a light-hearted reminder that tourists should pack bottles of dressing in their checked bags.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer Maura Carey contributed from Atlanta. AP Video Journalist Mike Householder contributed from Toronto.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Principal Paul Barker serves lobster rolls to World Cup tourists at Pauli’s sandwich shop in the North End of Boston, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
FILE – Fans wearing Argentina national team jerseys look at a menu of drinks at Cafe Corazon, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo\/Kristin M. Hall, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Gary Bishop of Glasgow, Scotland, center right, watches a screen showing the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada during the FIFA Fan Festival on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Toronto. (AP Photo\/Mike Householder)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
FILE – Belgium fans prepare for the start of the World Cup Group G soccer match between New Zealand and Belgium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Kaleb Tatum, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World Cup fans came from overseas for the cheering. But they\u2019re also doing a lot of chewing, delighting their hosts with rave reviews of North American cuisine. “It\u2019s greasy, it\u2019s disgusting, but it\u2019s absolutely glorious,” Jack Goodwin, a soccer enthusiast from London, said about the American food he has tried in Dallas, Boston, New York […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":8523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"e38713f8-d8ca-4d7f-9283-7b65077da426","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Dee-ann Durbin","published":"2026-07-02 21:04:47","updated":"2026-07-03 06:55:38","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[711,1942,1815,1943,1944,1945],"tags":[],"region":[1813,1830,1827,1954,1816],"class_list":["post-8522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-fifa","category-international","category-soccer","category-sports","category-world-cup","region-canada","region-london","region-ontario","region-toronto","region-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8522\/from-poutine-to-barbecue-local-cuisines-give-world-cup-fans-another-reason-to-cheer\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"From poutine to barbecue, local cuisines give World Cup fans another reason to cheer","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8522\/from-poutine-to-barbecue-local-cuisines-give-world-cup-fans-another-reason-to-cheer\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8522\/from-poutine-to-barbecue-local-cuisines-give-world-cup-fans-another-reason-to-cheer\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-386d4c7ad48b43c522168905fbfcd943fad61b1c2a9f3079afa3cc2b52a8088f.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-386d4c7ad48b43c522168905fbfcd943fad61b1c2a9f3079afa3cc2b52a8088f.jpg"},"articleSection":"business","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-07-03T04:04:47Z","datePublished":"2026-07-03T04:04:47Z","dateModified":"2026-07-03T14:01:11Z"},"rendered":"