Jonesing for American Food

I've not been back to the US since September, and it will likely be several months more before I go back.  As you can imagine, I'm beginning to miss some of the food that I always enjoy eating when I go back to the US.

So, it got me thinking...when I'm jonesing for some American food in London, where oh where do I go?  The list is short-but in truth, when I crave 'American Food', it usually takes only one of three forms:  burgers, BBQ (I am a Southern girl, after all!), or Mexican (that's technically 'American', right?..):

Burgers.  The most challenging of all.  I think I've mentioned more than once that I struggle with British Beef (my shortcoming, not British Beef's...). Until recently (hello, Byron!), I can count on two hands the number of burgers I've eaten in my four years in the UK.  So if there's one thing I truly crave as a food symbol of 'home', it's burgers.  Luckly, there are a few places in London to satisfy-and they seem to be ever-increasing in numbers (uh-oh):

• Automat.  Truly 'American'-they import and serve USDA beef.  Not the greenest burger in the world, but desperate times call for desperate measures, people!  Rumor has it, this is where Renee Zellweger would come eat when she was packing on the pounds for the first Bridget Jones movie. It's understandable why. Their burgers are incredible, as is everything else I've had on the menu.  They ain't cheap, but sometimes, you have to splurge.
• Byron:  A fairly new arrival on the London scene.  Their first shop opened in 2007-and in truth, I'd never heard of them until last year.  I'd never even set foot into one of their shops until just a few months ago when they opened a shop in the bottom of my office.  Sadly now, I'm averaging a burger there every 10-14 days.  This isn't good-but oh, their burgers SO are!

BBQ:  You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl.  And god knows I love a good pork BBQ (pork.  not beef..don't even get me started...;)). This can be difficult enough to find in the US when outside of North Carolina, never mind the UK!  Thank goodness there's Bodean's.   I first discovered Bodean's fairly early in my move to London, as there was one not too far from where I live.  I've spent a lot of time at Bodean's over the years-watching Tarheel basketball, joining friends for a bit of 'cue while watching an NFL game-and even most recently, spending Thanksgiving there.  They've been a great 'home away from home' in terms of food and entertainment, and I for one am a huge fan!

Mexican:  Ok. Ok.  I know this technically isn't 'American Food,' but I think any American Expat at some point in time comes to realize just how freaking difficult it is to find good Mexican food outside of the US (or Mexico.  ahem...).  This one is probably the most contentious in terms of which place is best in London-and goodness knows, I've read enough debates on expat forums on the topic.  But for me, when considering authenticity and location (read:  isn't an hour away from home...), one of my favorites in town is a place called Crazy Homies.  The name alone should be enough to pique the curiosity. :)  Next door and owned by the same chap who owns Lucky 7 Diner (another outstanding American-style eatery), Crazy Homies serves tasty Tex-Mex, and in particular darned good guacamole. 

I'm getting hungry just writing this post-and should scoot out and get some dinner.  But, it's something I've been meaning to post about for some time.

Where else?  Where else?  I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of places/categories (Brunch probably being a big miss...).  So what am I forgetting people? Give me some inspiration of places I need to hit up!