Posted on 07/04/2013 2:33:44 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Okay, we sort of know which countries have the best food. Nations like Italy, China, and Japan. But here is an unusual question: Which country has the worst food and why?
Until recently I would say that the British Isles has the worst food. Boiled and overcooked is NOT the way to prepare most food since it cooks the flavor right out of it. However, in recent years food has reportedly improved in that part of the world.
So which country NOW has the WORST food in the world? And please give reasons for this if possible.
My wife, who grew up in England, would like to disagree with you. Lamb is not on the menus of many American eateries, but it's common in the UK. If there is an American restaurant that serves lamb, she'll most likely order it. I hate it, she loves it.
I was in Huntsville visiting Intergraph for a few days with colleagues and us Chicagoans missed pizza. Then one day we saw this chain pizza restaurant and jumped at it. It was like eating cardboard with painted yellow cheese.
I know exactly what you are talking about deep dish pizza such as from grocery store. It never cooks in the middle and the crust remains mushy in the middle.
The deep dish pizza in Chicago in the 1960’s was a totally different animal. I think they fried the crust first in a thick iron skillet. It was crispy throughout, never mushy. The pizza at Uno’s & Duo’s in downtown Chicago never used tomato paste which is what you get in most deep dish pizza. They used cooked fresh tomatoes, and that divine sausage chunks imported from Italy. The pizza arrived in that iron skillet sizzling hot at your table along with a spatula to dish it out. I am a good eater but 2 slices would stuff me up! In their heydays in early 60’s, on weekend evenings, the waiting room was packed with 100+ people standing in a smallish 12x15 room. But obviously the wait was worth it. I have traveled to every major city and never found pizza like that.
My wife, who was born and raised in England, agrees with you. And she is not fond of France overall, but she did say they had excellent food.
I’ve never been drunk enough to try balut.
He loves it there.
A lot of people from Cornwall settled in Wisconsin and the Michigan Upper Peninsula. My grandmother, who grew up in the UP and learned a number of different ethnic dishes, taught my mother how to make pasties. And there are areas of Wisconsin settled by Cornish immigrants, and they have pasty shops. But none of them were as good as the pasties I ate in Cornwall. Incidentally, there’s a rivalry between Cornwall and the adjoining county Devon over who has the best pasties. I’ll have to try a Devon pasty if I get the chance the next trip to Britain.
It really isn’t bad; I’d suggest giving it a try (I’ll try almost anything once). I had two of them. Filipino friends were surprised I could get them (it was brought to a Christmas party by a filipino co-worker); apparently it is illegal to make it here (maybe because you’re cooking a partially-grown live animal?). Because neighboring Jersey City has a big Filipino population, I’d imagine they can get anything they eat over there right here in north Jersey.
Some of the best lamb I’ve ever had was in England, out in the countryside. Great lamb, Yorkshire pudding, and all that good stuff. Other than that, the only other good meals I’ve had in England were at Chinese and Indian restaurants.
Have you ever had “garlic soup” in a Spanish restaurant? It is basically French onion soup with garlic chunks substituted for onions and an egg on top replacing the cheese (it seems to be the oily mix in which they fry their garlic shrimp). It is delicious, and you smell for days; when you’re about done you use bread to mop uf the remaining oil - yum...
You know why God invented whiskey, don't you?
It's to keep the Irish from rulin' the world --
(/smile)
That’s interesting; I’d imagine the main difference would be stuffing ingredients available. I’ve seen similar things with different names, but the pasties I’ve gotten resemble a large empanada (almost a foot long). Some of the ingredients resemble what you’d have in shepherds pie.
What foods do you like best here in the US?
Cajun and BBQ would be American foods though based on earlier French and Spanish influence.
Where is there an Arthur Treachers in NJ.
I live in Monmouth County? I haven't seen one in over 20 years. Last one was was in Neptune city just north of the Belmar Bridge. Wasn't bad white fish.
I grew up part of the time living with a Filipino family. Thought I'd read the thread before defending good 'ol delicious Lumpia. Looks like you've beaten me to it. :-)
Filipino cooking tip: make three times as much as you think you'll need- people will constantly infiltrate the kitchen and filch them.
BTW, the iron mining in your area is what shut down the mining in ours; the ore out there was more abundant and purer. Most of our mines shut down shortly after the Civil War (throughout the war they supplied West Point Foundry with iron for Parrott guns and ammunition, as well as swords and shovels); a few lingered into the 1920s.
I hike around some of the abandoned mines; a number of Cornish and Welsh worked them (only foundations and abandoned cemeteries are left where they lived, in land taken over by NY and NJ as parkland). The more recent mines employed Slovaks and Italians as well.
Some years back, there was a description of a perfect Europe (pE) versus a nightmare Europe (nE) and listing which countries are best for which tasks. I have been trying to find it but no luck so maybe one of you can find it and share it.
An example of pE was French cooking while nE was Italian Government and British cooking.
Canada. Outside of Tim Hortons, there isn’t much I would want to eat.
Mostly southern but the wife is a great chef and she is Italian.
You should find them in highway rest areas and mall food courts where there is a Nathans; the Arthur Treachers are part of the Nathan’s now. The nearest one to me is the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne NJ.
They aren’t stand-alone restaurants (even within the mall/rest stop), and the sign will only say “Nathan’s”. The lighted menu above the register dedicated one part to Arthur Treachers (hush puppies, fish & chips, cole slaw), the background of that section of the menu is the Union Jack.
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