Sorry Kathy, but you're either out of date or eating at the wrong places. I live in London, have spend much time in NYC and I actually think NYC is behind the times in many respects (food, art, music). You can't rest on your laurels...

To defend (and expand on) my remark about you're obviously eating in the wrong place...<BR><BR>If you're at home, in the US, in your own town, you know where to find the good restaurants, where to avoid (eg McDonalds), and where is OK but not wonderful. The same is true of me in London and other parts of Britain.<BR><BR>However, swap us over and I may well end up in a restaurant in your home town that you would never have gone to, and you will end up in that awful over-rated, overpriced, restaurant in London I would never go to, or the awful greasy cafe that I would cross the road to avoid.<BR><BR>So, before you slate British cooking, make sure you've been to the good places. If you still don't like our cooking, feel free to criticise, but I don't think you will.<BR><BR>And Kathy - you're criticising British restaurants because they are following a French style of cooking? Hardly a criticism of British food methinks.<BR><BR>To tell the truth, some of the best food in Britain is not of true British origin (but at least influenced by Indian, mediterranean, Chinese, ....) - primarily because in our history we had to make do with some pretty dull ingredients. No spices, no delicious, sun-ripened, mediterranean or tropical fruit and vegetables. We have great indigenous fruit and veg, but they tend not to be thought terribly exotic - root vegetables are not glamorous!<BR><BR>The major exception to this is fish and seafood. Go to a good seafood restaurant in certain parts of the country (ie the coast!) - Padstow in Cornwall, and Whitstable in Kent spring to mind, and you'll experience true, great, British food.<BR><BR>I rest my case.

In my opinion, well prepared traditional British food is extremely good (I've seldomn eaten something better than fresh salmon in Scotland). But unfortunately the chance of getting pretty bad food at a medium-priced non-ethnic restaurant is much higher than for example in Italy.

I thought I'd chime in on the sandwich deabte. I think the thing I miss most about Italy was the panini. It was just bread, cheese and tomato (somtimes lettuce) but the color was enticing and it tasted so good. I had some duds when I was in Florence and Rome, but Tuscany raised it to an artform. I've kept an eye out for so-called panini in restaurants and delis where I live but it's just not the same. Sometime's it's just the simple things. Sigh.

For information, I realise that this thread is somewhat dead in the water, but, just in case ...<BR><BR>Try Le Petit Ecole at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons near Oxford. I have been twice - among the best vacations I have had. Note that prices are steep! However, this is arguably the best hotel/restaurant in the UK, and you do stay in the hotel and eat in the restaurant. You also get to cook pretty much all day. The property is a Relais affiliate, so look on the Relais et Chateaux website for contact info.