Can of Worms... maybe!

[flyrr100]

First... I really don't want to open a can of worms here. But.... here's my question......

Why do so many Brits come to Florida and look tirelessly for English tea, bacon, bread, cheese, biscuits, candy, meat pies? You are on vacation in a foreign country. I can't understand why you won't enjoy American culture which includes the food!
My sister is the same when she visits us. Always criticizing the food, the way it's cooked, the way it tastes, it's not real bacon, tea should be hot not iced.
Discuss.......

Meanwhile, here's a funny cat picture.

[dawn burley]

I guess we are just creatures of habit both sides of the Altantic [msnsmile2][msnwink]

Dawn

[florida4sun]

Well a good cup of tea is sort all over the world. I never heard many complaining about the food in the USA, just the opposite. The bacon thing, you either love or hate it. Not sure how they an call it bacon when its 90% rind and fat but it does crisp up nice
I did used to wonder about folks who visit a foriegn country and not try the local specialties. Or spending all that money travelling only to seek out the nearest english pub!!
On the other hand an american in a foreign country will be on the hunt for good coffee.
If we all liked the same thing life would be very boring[msnwink]

[Pegasus928]

I lived in Kuwait last year and am working/living in Qatar this year. Most of the guys I work with are american and, up to now, I have yet to see a single one of them eat in one of the local restaraunts - and they refuse to eat lunch where we work because it isn't burger or pizza shaped.
Each night they return to the hotel, get changed and head out to either Applebies, Pizza Hut, Fudruckers, Burger King, Chillies.............shall I go on.
Incidently what exactly would you suggest is typical Floridian fayre (that means food).
All the places to eat out in Florida sell either burgers, pizzas or steaks - or else it's Italian, Chinese or some other style that could hardly be described as local.
We tried alligator bites once and found them chewey and grissley. I don't care much for covering my breakfast of sausages (albeit very thin ones) and bacon (albeit not very meaty bacon) with syrup.
At the end of the day a lot of Brits fly to Florida and spent huge amounts of money in the restaraunts that are available. If Florida doesn't have it's own culinary identity, or it's own unique style of cooking and eating, we can't be blamed for that now can we?

[Katys Grandad]

If it's any consolation to you, the same criticism could be leveled at British people in their own country. Indian, Chinese, Italian, Thai etc etc.. food is much more popular over here than so-called traditional English food. Ask any Brit how many curries and how many roast beef dinners he's had in the last 6 months and I'm pretty certain the former will easily outnumber the latter.

If I might add an other worm to the can, I find US food tastes to be much less adventurous than most other nations, including the UK. Yes, they do eat at European and Asian restaurants but the food has to be 'Americanised' to such an extent that it becomes a pale imitation of the real thing.

Anyway, what's American about Pizza and Apple pie?[msnwink]

[Mo Green]

Perhaps I am unusual in not being a tea drinker but in the many years of coming to Florida we have never brought food with us. The whole point of being in a foreign country is to enjoy their food. We eat out frequently but never eat burgers or pizzas there are plenty of restaurants over here on the Gulf Coast for all types of fresh local fish, steaks, lamb, pork, duck, chicken and of course Italian and Chinese.

On the other hand we have American friends who are not happy eating in England unless it is Burgers or Pizza. Even on a trip to Paris they would only eat at American chains as "the french eat horse meat".

Mo

[chrizzy100]

After 9 years of living in the US I no longer look out for English food...apart from marmite because my grandson lives on the stuff..
I started cooking in my old age...so don't eat out that much anymore..American food is a bit boring to be honest..if I do eat out I try to use a family run place..or not a chain...
I can't say when I came to the USA on holiday I looked for any thing British

[MarkJan]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by flyrr100
Why do so many Brits come to Florida and look tirelessly for English tea, bacon, bread, cheese, biscuits, candy, meat pies? You are on vacation in a foreign country. I can't understand why you won't enjoy American culture which includes the food![/quote]I completely agree. It's part of the holiday trying things you wouldn't normally come across at home. I don't eat half the amount of seafood at home that I do in Florida. I feel like Homer Simpson; Hmmmm, seafood [msnsmile2]

[LiesaAnna]

love everything but do like to take my pg tips..... i do love them in my cuppa but if i forgot them that would be ok i wouldnt go buy them!! when in America do as the Americans do.... or try anyway lol

[Robert5988]

I think we need to distinguish between eating out in restaurants and the food we buy to eat at ‘home’ in our Florida residence.

When you first visit a country I suspect many of us try out all of the food, but after a few visits you get to know what you like and what you dislike.

Steaks can be superb, ditto seafood and hamburgers in restaurants. I love my breakfast fry-up but the ‘eat as much as you like’ breakfasts in Dennys etc are ghastly IMO – the smell alone puts me off.

I like Chinese food, but after a few weeks in China eating superb meals, I felt I couldn’t face another ‘Chinese’ for a year - and didn’t; we grow used to our own cuisine.

On Radio 5 this very morning was the executive chef of the sw@anky(the swear filter didn't like the original!) Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles – a Brit. He was making the point about the unappetising bacon and sausages and had found a source of ‘proper’ English style back bacon rashers and sausages from Kentucky? They now have a real traditional English breakfast(for $35) which is attended by many of the celebrities from Hollywood – especially at Oscar award time.

My main criticism of the supermarket food is just how sweet so many foods are; they seem to add huge quantities of sugar to items like bread, cereal, potato salad, tinned food etc .

I eat masses of cheese in UK, but I can’t find decent cheese in most supermarkets. The staple cheese is ‘plasticky’ and processed. Even expensive Cheddar has that same texture – it bends rather than breaks and has no ‘bite’! The Gorgonzola is just dried crumbs instead of the moist slabs to be found in Europe.