The Old-School Southern Dish That Surprised World Cup Visitors
The World Cup is one of the most exciting events in sports. Every four years, soccer (or football, depending on where you're from) fans travel the world to converge on different countries and continents to watch their favorite teams battle it out in 90-minute segments, for the ultimate possession of the FIFA World Cup Trophy. In the summer of 2026, North America hosted these exciting games, with matches taking place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. But aside from the soccer games, the best part about the 2026 games has been, hands down, watching international visitors enjoy (with surprise) American food specialties, like biscuits and gravy.
Most Americans are familiar with the stick-to-your-ribs Southern specialty that basically pairs warm, fluffy biscuits with a thick, milk-based sausage gravy. Chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel and Waffle House are known for serving the dish year-round. To many of us, it's just another menu offering, but to many visitors from around the world, it's their first legit taste of American Southern comfort food. Social media reactions have ranged from "Scones and mushrooms for breakfast?" from a British Leeds United fan and X user, to "This is life changing" via YouTube, and "This is why everyone kept telling me to have it," from another Brit in Cracker Barrel (via Instagram). Other endearing videos have shown visitors diving into Texas barbecue, free soda refills with gobs of ice, Ranch dressing, and Taco Bell delights with gusto. Welcome to America, everyone!
Biscuits and gravy are much tastier than they look
Outsiders have agreed that American biscuits and gravy sure aren't much to look at, but those looks are proven to be pretty deceiving. A post from an X user from Japan, posted on June 13, 2026, hysterically described their first encounter with biscuits and gravy, initially noting that they thought the presented dish was uncooked and looked a mess. After tasting it, however, they waxed poetically, "It was magnificent. Warm. Peppered. The biscuit drank the gravy the way a field drinks rain."
Popular YouTube channel JOLLY, which is famed for introducing British school kids to American foods, posted a video with young students trying biscuits and gravy. The kids explained that British biscuits were flat and crunchy (what Americans might call a cookie). American biscuits looked uncannily like scones to them. In reality, it's just eggs that make the two breads different from each other. Their visual reactions were, "That's white. That's not gravy," and they likened the presented dish to chopped up ferret and vomit. One boy began with, "Scones and gravy seems really weird," but immediately after taking his first bite, said, "Oh my God, that is so good."
With all of the biscuit and gravy exposure over the course of the World Cup, it will be interesting to see if visitors will take steps to recreate this regional favorite in their home countries. Surely, social media will be standing by to show us how they do.