I often think that it what we are used to we like and maybe when something unknown or cooked in a different way is put in front of us sometimes we immediately think it is bad - maybe food in other countries is nearer to what most Americans eat than what maybe some Brits eat or cooked in a similar way.
Thought to be honest I think it is changing rapidly as most households in Britain have spaghetti bolonaise and stir fries or sweet and sour dishes at least once a week which I would guess would be the same as in the States.
I tried the breakfast sausages and didn’t care for the flavor. I like the pork sausages we have here, that have brown sugar/maple flavoring instead. I didn’t care for the beef. I tried a burger at a restaurant near Victoria Station, and it tasted like Worcestershire sauce to me. Yuck! I don’t eat fish or seafood, nor lamb or veal... so I was limited to my choices. I tried a hot dog from a stand near the Tower of London, and it had no flavor. I like Chinese food, but didn’t get to eat at any Chinese restaurants on my travels. One afternoon, I had a great meal at an Italian restaurant across the street from Harrod’s.
I took a lengthy bus tour of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2006. Because it was a tour group, we were given a set menu to choose from. About the only thing I was able to eat were the chicken, beef, or pasta dishes, since much of what was offered was fish or lamb. When we visited Salisbury, I managed to find a stand in the market area that was selling pulled pork and dressing sandwiches. It was excellent, but never found anything like it again on the tour. When we were in Belfast, I ordered the steak dish. It was so thin and overcooked, I couldn’t eat it. I like my steak rare.
When we got to Ireland, I had hoped to be able to have some Corned Beef and Cabbage, which is a traditional Irish dish here in the U.S. But I was totally surprised to find that there was none to be found. I guess that they’d never eaten it in Ireland, but only picked up the dish once they’d gotten to America.
But it wasn’t just those countries that I didn’t like the food. My oldest son and I flew into Brussells before joining up with my tour in London. We took the train to Brugge where we stayed overnight. We went out for lunch, and I couldn’t find much on the menu that I liked. I ordered soup and frites. I discovered that day, and during the rest of my time in Europe, that most of the soups are strained, and don’t contain chunks of meat or vegetables as they do here.
We rented a car and drove into Holland to visit the town my Dad had been born in. We only stayed overnight, and had our evening meal at the hotel we stayed at in the town. I ordered a beef dish and found the meat fatty and tough. I’ve been in Paris twice, but never ate at any nice restaurants, mainly because my time there was limited. I had a great chicken dinner while on an all-day tour to Normandy from Paris. I did try the French Onion Soup and was disappointed. I’ve had better tasting Onion Soup here. I basically enjoyed the breakfast buffets offered at most of the hotels we stayed at on the tour, and would have preferred more of a buffet option for the rest of the meals we were provided in the tour package.
Squash is a traditional side-dish at Thanksgiving and Christmas here. It can be tasteless if it isn’t spiced up. Most people cook it in a casserole using such flavoring as brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, or some other item.
I definitely agree with you that our palates are accustomed to what is put in front of us as we are growing up. I’m one of those people who when I go out to eat at a restaurant, I usually order the same thing I had the last time. I’m not an adventurer when it comes to food.
Just to show you how bad I am when it comes to food, I went on my first, and last cruise last December. It was only 7 days and to the Mexican Riviera. First of all, I can think of many other places I’d rather go than Mexico, but the trip was offered me by an old friend who lives in Arizona. She had already booked the cruise for herself and thought it would be a chance for me to see if I liked cruising. Being on the water wasn’t the problem, and I didn’t get seasick once. My friend, who had already been on 11 other cruises ended up being seasick the last night of the cruise.
I didn’t like the food on the ship either. Again, I was limited in what I could eat, and what they did offer was too gourmet for me. Although they offered chicken and beef as an optional choice to the menu each day, one can only eat so much of that. I ate at the outdoor grill a couple of times, but one can only have hotdogs so many times. I tried the pizza on the ship and it was bland to me.
The buffet was okay, but you couldn’t get warm toast in the morning. It was usually rock hard, and the iced butter wouldn’t melt. At the other meals, most of the dishes offered on the buffet were of a Mexican flair, and contained corn. I have diverticulitis and can’t eat corn, although I love it. We had two traditional Mexican meals during the port tours we took, but the food screwed up my stomach so much, I ended up having to take an extra Nexium on those nights. The best meal we had on the ship was at the specialty steak restaurant. You had to pay extra to eat there, but it was well worth it.
My Dad was a great cook. My Mother was mediocre. I was a picky eater growing up, but my tastes have expanded over the years as has my waistline. Because of various health reasons I have had to cut back on a lot of things I used to eat. I love the boneless Buffalo chicken wings that Applebee’s Restaurants make, but unfortunately they don’t like my stomach, and I have had to cut them out. I don’t eat fast food very often, only go out to restaurants rarely, and usually cook simple meals for myself at home. I can and do cook for my family, but that is usually only on the holidays, since we live away from each other.
Good British food is delicious. Mmmm, a good roast beef, or even a huge English breakfast. And there is nowhere on this huge continent that serves as good fish and chips. And better Indian food than in India... Don’t even get me STARTED on Cadbury — which I think is packed with crack cocaine because it is so addictive.
There is good food everywhere; you just have to know how to look for it.
(Never could get into my Dad’s HP sauce, though... Phew)