I'd say there's good and bad American food just like there is anywhere. On my last trip to England I couldn't believe the price being charged there for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, they are not worth the $9.99/dozen here let alone paying more than that in pounds.
As a true Yorkshireman I find it difficult to make the jump between a $15 meal and a $50 meal as the latter never seems to warrant the price gap. Me and Mrs CA were at a Burt Bacharach concert earlier in the week at a local jazz club (not many 89 year olds in concert these days) and the meal we had made me sick, not the food but the bill