Possum,

Would you believe I can buy mushy peas at a grocery store here in California? My husband won't let me, however, as he loathes canned peas.

Now if we're talking mother's cooking:

rhubarb crumble (or apple, or gooseberry, or plums) with lashings of Bird's custard

a proper baked custard (the real kind) with nutmeg

bacon pudding

cakes, cakes, cakes - Victoria sponge, Dundee fruit cake, chocolate Swiss rolls..

..anyone would think we were brought up in a permanent winter requiring massive amounts of internal insulation!

No Underhill, you can't buy anything that is anything like my Mum's authentic Rutland recipe.
If you want, I'll post it. Just say "yes"
Possum.

Yes, please, Possum. I'll give it a try.

PatrickLondon,
Yep, we WERE brought up like that. I can really relate to your reference to Bird's custard and chocolate swiss rolls. But not some of the other stuff. Yuk!
My Mum was always a thoroughly modern 60's mum (but with county roots).
She proudly(to this day) owns a sterling silver "Beatles" brooch-featuring creepy critters inhabiting a music scale. It's very unusual and almost worth noting as an heirloom.

And here's a scoop. My Godmother(Mum's best friend) went out for quite some time with a guy called Jerry Dorsey. He was a singer.
Jerry Dorsey is- in fact- today's Engelbert Humperdinck.
We've got photos in our family albums of Jerry and Gillian as a "normal" 60's couple. Never mattered to us really, but it's funny that one so close was once tied to someone so famous. Think I vaguely remember meeting "Jerry" at about age 6.
Must be a "family thing". My best friend once dated Australia's Eddie Maguire (very prominent Aussie TV and radio personality and current President of the Collingwood Football Club).
My grandfather was interviewed by the BBC and his recollections as butler to Lord Burley helped to form plots for the series "Upstairs, Downstairs".

Not famous ourselves- but it seems we, as a family, somehow revolve around the ranks of the famous.I don't mind that. Considering everyone we know is very down to earth, anyway.
Possum

I have Italian-Australian friends who've been known to draw unfavourable comparisons between "Australian" (i.e. British) and Italian cookery. I usually tell them that while their lot were playing around with risotti and working on the perfect tiramisu, my ancestors were doing the all the hard work. Like sending gunboats up the river to deal with fractious natives, and other necessary empire-building stuff, so that Italians could eventually find another export market for food products. I'm not sure I have them convinced, though.

I agree with GSteed that English food doesn't have to be stodge - it depends on who's doing the cooking. But food certainly isn't given the same priority as it is in France, or Italy, or China, for instance.

One thing we found very different was the wide variety of flavors of crisps (potato chips to us.) So many flavors we don't have, like prawn, ketchup, worcester, roast chicken, etc...

:)

Bacon Pudding?

PatrickLondon... I want that recipe!

sheesh..we even have Bird's,Ribena,McVitties, Robertsons,the other Heinz'a,Herb ox, et al.. here in Fl...of course Orlando is also known as The New New england!

When cooked well, typical English Food is wonderful - sadly it is often cooked and presented poorly. Many 'top' restaurants serve dishes with an international slant and seldomly focus on 'traditional' English fayre.

The most popular dish in England is Chicken Tikka Masala. Indian food is most popular in the towns and cities, less so in the wilds.

I love a fab roast dinner, meaty cottage pie, full English breakfast and good fish n chips. Although I haven't had 'good' fish n chips in years.

You can get just about any cuisine you desire in London. Time Out London online covers a good range of options.

If you want a good curry head for Cafe Naz in Brick Lane, Chutney Marys in Fulham or the Cinamon Club.

As in any country, eat where the locals eat, if its full of your fellow countrymen you are sadly like to get a rum deal and a bad memory of English food - unless you have gone 'top' end - ie the Cognaught.

Oh, Welsh rarebit is fab too!!

Jody - a bacon pudding is just another lovely lump of stodge for the winter - flour, suet and water in the same proportions as for flour/fat/water in shortcrust pastry, mix until smooth, roll out, fill with strips of bacon (or I've done it with salt beef, or cheese and onion). I make them small enough to wrap in buttered foil and put in a steamer for an hour or so; traditionally you would put them in a covered dish and set that in boiling water. You could do a sweet version with jams or fruit; there's a 'Sussex pond pudding', which is a whole lemon with brown sugar wrapped in a suet-crust pastry and steamed or boiled in the same way.

Just had to reply with a couple of others.

Bacon Sarnies for breakfast. Ive just finished a round the world trip and IMO you just don't get bacon as good anywhere else (its streaky and fatty in other countries)

And also a proper cockney dish of Pie'n'mash and licker (sp?) - which can be found along with jellied eels in either Roman Road Market, East Ham, Crisp Street Market - yummy.

Also, i believe that Savaloys are English (might be wrong tho).

Wholeheartedly agree that you try a Sunday Roast followed by a pudding.

xx

For a real English eating experience book yourself into Simpsons in the Strand, it can't be beaten.

Thanks PatrickLondon,

I'll give it a try. I do do a Sussex Pond Pudding every once in awhile!

No wonder I'm on a diet..I look like winter stodge!

Just came back from London, I wanted to give you an update. I went to Porters in Covent Garden every night during my stay because it was easy for me to get to. I've ordered the Steak, Guinness and Mushroom Pie; the Beer Battered Cod with Chips and Tartar Sauce; the Roast Beef and Horseradish Yorkshire Pudding, the Pork, Leek and Marjoram Sausage with Mash; and the Cumberland Pie with Herb and Cheese Potato Topping.
The food was great, I would highly recommend this restaurant to anybody. Thanks every one for the help!!!

GenXer, kudos to you for coming back and posting your experience!

I'm not a big fan of "English food" but I've had some great home cooking in pubs. We eat a lot of Indian, Thai, and Italian when we're in the UK. Otherwise, the best food I've had in England has been in expensive trendy restaurants.

Hi Gen,

Sounds like a proper English experience.

After visiting in London more than once, I think it is pizza.
Otherwise, believe me, you don't want to know.

Roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding, and Brussels sprouts should fill the bill.