Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, the Englishmen who did the revues "At the Drop of a Hat" and "At the Drop of Another Hat" said they liked to come to America because they could get food that wasn't available in England, like "English muffins."
I think Eugene Volokh puts it best: http://volokh.blogspot.com/2003_03_09_volokh_archive.html#90542086
HOLD THE FREEDOM FRIES: Slate's Chatterbox quite rightly condemns the decision by Congressman Bob Ney -- who's apparently in charge of such things -- to replace "french fries" and "french toast" with "freedom fries" and "freedom toast" at House cafeterias. The original talk of this sort of renaming was mildly amusing -- part joke, part pugnaciousness. If some restaurant wants to do this, either as a gesture of self-expression or as a publicity stunt, then that's fine.
But when it's done by the House of Representatives, it just seems to me to be silly, petty, and undignified. The French derive no glory from the names "french fries" or "french toast"; it's no skin off their ass to deny this name to them. (Many a Frenchman would probably say "Fine by us -- we want no part of your parodies of real food.") It just seems like empty bluster, a completely unsubstantive response to a substantive question. Yes, I know, Congress does precisely this often enough. It just shouldn't.
UPDATE: Eric Muller correctly points out that "The French do not call french toast french toast, and they don't call french fries french fries. And most Frenchmen wouldn't even know that Americans call those foods that." Of course they don't -- they call french fries "pommes frites," and while I don't know what they call french toast, I'd be amazed that they'd label it with their country's name. After all, what's your own is normal; it doesn't need a special description. (American Cheese is a rare exception.) My point is simply that if the Frenchmen did know that we call pommes frites "french fries" (and I suspect that most Frenchmen who have visited the U.S. have noticed this), they don't think "Wow, we're so glad the Americans honor us this way, and we'd be really upset if they renamed them freedom fries in order to spite us."
"Silly, petty, and undignified" but not dangerous
I think Eugene Volokh puts it best:
http://volokh.blogspot.com/2003_03_09_volokh_archive.html#90542086
HOLD THE FREEDOM FRIES: Slate's Chatterbox quite rightly condemns the decision by Congressman Bob Ney -- who's apparently in charge of such things -- to replace "french fries" and "french toast" with "freedom fries" and "freedom toast" at House cafeterias. The original talk of this sort of renaming was mildly amusing -- part joke, part pugnaciousness. If some restaurant wants to do this, either as a gesture of self-expression or as a publicity stunt, then that's fine.
But when it's done by the House of Representatives, it just seems to me to be silly, petty, and undignified. The French derive no glory from the names "french fries" or "french toast"; it's no skin off their ass to deny this name to them. (Many a Frenchman would probably say "Fine by us -- we want no part of your parodies of real food.") It just seems like empty bluster, a completely unsubstantive response to a substantive question. Yes, I know, Congress does precisely this often enough. It just shouldn't.
UPDATE: Eric Muller correctly points out that "The French do not call french toast french toast, and they don't call french fries french fries. And most Frenchmen wouldn't even know that Americans call those foods that." Of course they don't -- they call french fries "pommes frites," and while I don't know what they call french toast, I'd be amazed that they'd label it with their country's name. After all, what's your own is normal; it doesn't need a special description. (American Cheese is a rare exception.) My point is simply that if the Frenchmen did know that we call pommes frites "french fries" (and I suspect that most Frenchmen who have visited the U.S. have noticed this), they don't think "Wow, we're so glad the Americans honor us this way, and we'd be really upset if they renamed them freedom fries in order to spite us."
RAS