Tere

Can I also share my bad food experiences in the USA????? They were too many!!

MissPrism

Actually, when you get down to it, a deep-fried mars bar or curly whirly is a kind of sweet fritter.
I've enjoyed apple or banana fritters in my time.
Mind you, I've never had them with chips ;-)

MissPrism

Oh, dear.
I can't spell it either

traveller1959

My son came just back from a week in an English College. He was half starved. It was a traumatic experience for him. When I asked him about the food, he said "I do not want to remember, it gives me nightmares". He said, they were even able to spoil dishes liked mashed potatos. Pizza was not edible. Corn flakes were not edible.
BTW, I was in Scotland during the same week an had excellent food, both in pubs and in high-ranking restaurants. Most of the restaurants and even pubs, however, served at least 90% French and Italian cuisine - and we looked for restaurants which were listed as "Scottish" by James Irvine. It was very hard for us to identify Scottish cuisine, because the most frequently used ingredients in Scottish restaurants are foie gras, parmesan and and pesto.

audere_est_facere

Deep fried Mars bars aren't that bad, better than you might think. The Mars bars goes mushy in the batter.

I draw the line at deep fried pizza though.

MissPrism

This is a recipe from Antony Worrall Thompson
Perhaps it could be served with deep-fried ice-cream.

Ingredients
2 Mars bars
150ml/¼ pint double cream
vanilla ice cream

Method
Chop the Mars bars and melt the pieces in the cream. Pour hot over the vanilla ice cream. The sauce will be slightly chunky.

gaia111

As has already been stated many times in this thread, you can have bad food in the US and bad food in the UK. So what? I have been travelling to England for many years and have had some lousy food but it was mostly my fault. I'm not stupid, but sometimes I act like it. I don't read the menu with a discerning eye or I'm worried about price or too hungry at the time to seek out a better restaurant. Of course most pubs don't have great food unless they're KNOWN by the locals for it. Of course fish and chips aren't good in pubs! Of course the better meals are served in the ethnic restaurant where the dishes originate. Not always, but more often than not, you get what you pay for!

Our last trip, we stayed at The Montague next to the British Museum. The breakfast was wonderful, but you could order what you wanted and choose the things that looked good to you at the buffet. How could it get any better than that? While there, we went to several EXCELLENT restaurants and will do so again in December. Goodness, The Fat Duck, outside London, was being touted as the best restaurant in the WORLD!

I know, if I buy a sandwich inside the Tower of London, it ain't going to be good, but it will stave off my hunger. Simple as that. Why do people expect more?

Being an American, I can't recall the number of BAD MEALS I've experienced throughout my lifetime in the good old USA. Hey, I've even COOKED some crummy meals...unintentionally...but it happens!

gaia111

BTilke

It's interesting that you bring up the Fat Duck, because the restaurant is only about two miles down the road from us. At a party a couple of weeks ago, I asked the neighbors (all of them liked to go out to eat) if they'd been there. Pretty much everyone had and the overwhelming reaction to the place was one big shrug. As in, do it once, get it over with, then go back to less expensive, more relaxing places where the food is good without being so "scientific" etc. For the most part, the locals ignore the restaurant, leaving it to the tourists and the foodies who want to check it off their list. If you happen to be in the area, the local favorites for good food are Forenza on High St. and Bridge Ave. in Maidenhead and in Marlow, the Hand & Flower, Vanilla Pod, Tiger Garden, and Marlow Bar & Grill.

While I don't hold with all the unjustified stereotypes about British food, it's way past time the Europeans, esp. Brits, knocked off all the stereotypes about American food too. Those stereotypes are equally outdated.

Pumbavu

I can spell. But some times I choose not to.

wombat7

gaa111
I agree with you about the Montague - great breakfasts. The even have "American" bacon for people who prefer the overcooked fatty cardboard approach.

Would be very interested in the names of the restaurants that you found near there