Book menu for Typical American by Gish Jen
Food mentioned in Typical American:
Preserved plums, 4
Mooncakes, 4
Rice wine, 5
Banana splits, 14
Coffee, 18
Doughnuts, 18
Pork buns, 32
Peanuts, 39
Pretzels, 39
Hot dogs, 44
Oxtail soup, 57
Steamed fish with scallions, 57
Crystal chicken, 57
Shredded beef with peppers, 93
Squid with button mushrooms, 93
Strange-flavored chicken, 95
Shrimp in hot sauce, 95
Hamburgers, 102, 112, 239
French fries, 102-103
Ice cream sodas, 102, 112
Fried clams, 103
Salisbury steak, 103
Onion rings, 103
Potato salad, 103
Coleslaw, 103
Chocolate milkshakes, 103
Bacon and eggs, 103
French toast, 103
German pancakes, 103
Chinese pancakes, 103
Ice cream, 132
Dabao, 132
Cha Shao, 132
Zongzi, 132
Jiaozi, 132
Champagne, 169, 171
Plum juice, 179
Iced tea, 179
Tea eggs, 179
Cheeseburgers, 188
Club sandwiches, 192
Fried chicken, 200, 205
Shrimp and peas with ham, 204
Onion cakes, 205
Pizza, 238
Egg rolls, 239
BBQ ribs, 239
Lemonade, 296
Music mentioned in Typical American:
"Some Enchanted Evening" / Oscar Hammerstein & Richard Rodgers, 203
"One Hand, One Heart" / Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim, 203
Plays mentioned in Typical American:
South Pacific, 106, 123
The King and I, 123
Discussable Passages from Typical American:
p. 33: "And then there was another pain too, quieter, weightier, its roots in what everybody knows -- that one day a person looks back more than forward, that one day he'll have achieved as much as he was going to, loved as much as he was going to, been as happy as it was granted to be. And that day, won't [Ralph] have to wonder -- was it enough, what he's lived? Can he call that a life and be satisfied?"
p. 81 : "What different kinds of intelligence there were in the world! Who was to say which mattered most?"
p. 183 : "Ralph drove on, feeling his good fortune. Freedom and justice for all, the greatness of America, but a man living in a country sending satellites into space could still end up a heap in a doorway. "
Page numbers refer to the hardcover edition (ISBN: 0395546893)
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