The 17 American Foods I've Missed Most Since Moving To France

Tater tots aren't a thing in France — we don't even have the frozen kind at the grocery store. Which is a shame, because tater tots are potato perfection. I'd give all the french fries in Paris for a plate of really good tots.

Ginger ale is straight-up delicious. It's also a magical drink that can make you (me) feel better whenever hung over or sick. So really, I'm thinking it's a matter of public health that France import it ASAP.

For a nation of cheese lovers, you'd think we'd have embraced queso a long time ago. But the glorious Tex-Mex specialty is, unfortunately, almost impossible to find in France. If anyone is looking for a business idea in Paris, I guarantee this would be a major hit.

You can sometimes find bacon at American breakfast spots in Paris, but I've yet to find it at the supermarket. The closest thing we have is lardons — aka lard cut into small strips — and they don't even come close to American bacon.

French popcorn is sweet and caramelized instead of savory, and almost always consumed only at movie theaters. And though I do love that, nothing beats a big bag of cheddar popcorn — especially the one from Trader Joe's, for which I'd pay big money right now.

Eating a New York City dollar slice at 2 a.m. when you're both drunk and hungry is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. I miss that cheap cheese burning the roof of my mouth. I miss the chili oil dripping everywhere. I miss the rowdy, hole-in-the-wall pizza shops. I even miss the flimsy paper plates and tiny, useless napkins!

Trust the Americans to take one of the most high-key foods and make it low-key. In France, lobster is a treat for the rich or a special holiday. When I first heard about a sandwich filled with lobster, it seemed so decadent and wrong that it could only be right. Lobster rolls quickly became a staple of my New York summers. Maybe I'll treat myself to a homemade lobster roll if I win the lottery, but in the meantime, I still have the memories.

Fried is, hands down, the best way to eat chicken. There are a few American restaurants in Paris that have it on their menu, but it's never as good (or as well-seasoned) as the fried chicken I used to eat in US. And you won't even be able to eat it with waffles because, tragically, the French have yet to discover the beauty of that food combo.

France obviously has excellent french fries (we also have very good burgers, by the way). What we don't have are fries covered in melted cheese, and I'm ready to declare this a national failure on our part.

Being reunited with baguettes has been one of the greatest things about moving back to France, but that doesn't mean I don't miss some American breads. Warm cornbread with butter is up there in the pantheon of all-time greatest foods, and I wish the American food trend in Paris would leave pancakes alone for a minute to focus on this instead.