British Food: Classic or Dud (S&D too)

Yes, it's because we've all got bad teeth.

This bread mushiness thing is nonsense, I've never had a problem finding nice bread in the UK.

Haha what is a bit of fun in the UK for Americans, going off subject for a second, is getting things that are readily available in the US but are completely different in the UK. Ex: sushi, ketchup, Coca-cola (for the record our sushi restaurants beat yours but your ketchup and coke is 10x more palatable)

This bread mushiness thing is nonsense, I've never had a problem finding nice bread in the UK.

while its getting better in the UK, bread quality runs like this:

FRENCH BREAD>UK BREAD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>US BREAD

Haha what is a bit of fun in the UK for Americans, going off subject for a second, is getting things that are readily available in the US but are completely different in the UK. Ex: sushi, ketchup, Coca-cola (for the record our sushi restaurants beat yours but your ketchup and coke is 10x more palatable)

my friend aaron from LA cannot stand british coca-cola (and is a straight-edge musician often touring the UK), though to be honest most convenience stores now sell coke that's bottled all over the place (cheaply imported i guess). there was a time i could tell the difference between coke bottled in the uk and in eire.

The lardy cake turned out amazing, regardless.

And yeah, the things that contain copious amounts of high fructose corn syrup in the US tend not to in other countries, leading to a pretty noticable difference in taste.

you're right, of course - i've had some delicious sourdough in the states before. but the difference is you can find ace bread in UK supermarkets, which i haven't seen in the US supermarkets i've been to (but the last i visited tbh would be austin 2004). american bread i've eaten from supermarkets has been insanely nasty, airy, weirdly-textured stuff.

my point for myself was maybe i failed to sufficiently appreciate the flavors of what i was eating because i was first experiencing it through a less-familiar textural lens. (and i shouldn't have passed up the epicerie at orrery.)

http://www.blackfriarsbakery.co.uk/product_pics%5CFlapjacks.jpg

Not to be confused with the US pancake style flapjacks.

bah xpost

xpost Ally, they sort of look like that, but they're way better. More cakey.

Haha, that's the problem with flapjacks, you think "ooh, healthy oaty goodness!" and forget there's like 1000 calories in a bar. Think about it, they weigh about 500g each.

Read it here.

i remember no bread from my one trip to Berlin. only sausage. plenty, plenty sausage.

I think the joy of British food is that there are still distinct regional identities e.g. ask for Stargazey Pie outside Cornwall you'll get blank looks. Bath Chaps, Pan Haggerty, Pond Pudding etc. Some British foodies get all weepy eyed over the distinct cuisines of other countries (well you simply can't compare Calabria to any other region etc yawn) and forget that we have our own.

Where’s the sheerness one?

tbh I haven't had a bad one in Hastings. but while I usually go to one that's near the fishing harbour, no idea if the fish actually come from there or if they just get them from a wholesaler somewhere else

been to that one (I think - bit posh, feels like a gastropub inside) and yes, it was very good

It's been 16 months since I left the UK and I'm over most of my cravings now but occasionally I'll see a picture of a bag of British chippy chips on Instagram or Twitter and I want it so bad I could die. Greasy, soggy, undercooked and soaked in vinegar but amazing.

Sheerness one is on Google Maps as Blue Town Fish Bar but it's actually Bluetown Fish & Chips, on the so-called High Street of Blue Town, which is basically a semi-abandoned dockland area at the tip of the island, not too far from the station. The guy who runs it is...Turkish, I think? Been doing fish and chips in the area for decades apparently. Anyway everything is freshly cooked to order and the chips are amazing. I thoroughly recommend a visit. Check out the ecstatic Google reviews if you're not sure!

Laughing Halibut - that takes me back - think I last went there in my schooldays.

Hackney one is Sutton & Son - v good

Ty, I will check out that one! Wasn’t impressed by Sutton & Sons when I lived in Hackney.

presumably new ownership - it seems very 'recent' idk

sheerness worth a visit regardless - a few v interesting places on the high st

im starvin now ye fuckeds me insides are touchin

I am still very sad I never got to try Guinness Marmite.

I think our best meals on our summer vacation last year were in Newcastle. Considering that any family dining for us has to meet the preferences of A) the sensible pescatarian B) the sausage appetizer with a steak entree hardman C) the eight-year-old young lady who likes some fried things, some green things, and not much else

WRT Australian Food being well grounded in British food, Australia takes the meat pie to new heights. I will rep for the steak pie from the Caltex servo in Penong, SA, (next to the windmill museum) as being one of the best in existence.

My grandma was 100% australian, never been to England & still somehow cooked like a Brit expat every day of her life. Steamed puddings, trifles, kedgereee, every boiled vegetable known to man...

I am still very sad I never got to try Guinness Marmite.
― Yerac, Friday, 24 January 2020 01:09 (twenty hours ago)

It didn't taste different in any way!

I often wonder what the US/whatever tourists in London really think when they have their shite fish and chips in a pub in a bland pub in zone 1. Poor sods. It really is true 90% of fish and chip shops are very ordinary.

Yeah I think they did a champagne Marmite one time and that tasted just like regular Marmite, 😥

Literally the worst thing about Hull is chippies don't do potato scallops

Muswell Hill (of course) has a gourmet fish n' chippy, bit out of the way for the average tourist though

Marmite is still made in Burton-on-Trent, I think, having outlived the brewing industry it is a by-product of there.
Yes, Guinness flavour Marmite was nothing special, but Marmite flavour Guinness is still widely available in corner shops.

There's still a humongous brewery in Burton, one of the multinationals iirc, and yeah they make Marmite there too. We used to go shopping there once a fortnight or so when I was a kid, the whole town stank of yeast

Having just visited there at the weekend I can confirm that Edinburgh still smells of yeast too.

hmmmm... supposedly trying to make homemade marmite is "dangerous and hard to control".

Just found a "recipe" that takes 10 days

I really miss the cheap fishcakes I used to get from the fish and chips shops in Liverpool as a kid.

actually bought my first ever squeezy marmite yesterday, will report back on the consistency.

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, January 23, 2020 9:08 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

My report is that it's just regular marmite. The pot is good though, it dispenses the very thin stream which you need.

Cheesy chips at Cheltenham Town (@CTFCofficial)

💷 £3 pic.twitter.com/B3ACM7OCbP

— Footy Scran (@FootyScran) December 26, 2021

This may be an appropriate thread for me to rediscover the enthusiasm expressed by ILX whenever DUMPLINGS! get mentioned.

Muswell Hill (of course) has a gourmet fish n' chippy, bit out of the way for the average tourist though

assuming it's the same one, somewhat impressed it's still going. there was a fancy fish & chips place there when I lived there 2003-6. I only went there a couple of times because the queues were ludicrous but it was pretty good (and didn't cost a fortune either, 17 years ago anyway)

I had some very bland chips at Whaddon Road in 2003 with no not very melty cheese slices. My most notable memory of the day was the house right next to the football ground with a boarded up window where presumably a league two standard defensive hoof had smashed through it at some point.

Pie, peas, gravy and a sausage roll at Barnoldswick Town (@barlickfc)

💷 £5.50 pic.twitter.com/21EWlCWcH6

— Footy Scran (@FootyScran) December 1, 2022