Oink

Final word on the food thing. Unless you've lived in a box, you don't move to Canada for the food, rather you endure it and you do so because you think somehow the greater good of emigration will ameliorate your dull and pointless life.

Jingsamichty

I've said this before, but one of the truly depressing things about Canada is that when you go into a typical bar or restaurant, you already know what's on the menu without even looking at it.

dbd33

Ah, but if you closed you eyes and ordered at random, would you be able to tell which menu item you were eating?

Souvy

It was in the early 1980s. I didn't know better.

bats

Yep, something deepfried in bread with a side of fries. Oh and salad: greek, clubhouse, chefs.

colchar

Ah, gotcha. And yes, most specialized stores are better than supermarkets. In my defense, I have a medical issue going on right now and am stoned (legally) on narcotic pain killers so my reading comprehension might not have been at its best when I read your post.

Supermum1

Similar. I find many British food stuffs in Walmart easily enough, marmite, kellogs corn flakes, weetabix, bisto gravy, even wine gums

You can buy a whole chicken easily enough for Sunday roasts too and not too expensive either.

YoshiPal2010

Kellogs -- a US company -- based in Battle Creek, Michigan. Weetabix, although a British brand, are manufactured in Coburg, Canada for the local market..

Almost Canadian

Would that not be the same in the UK too? I can't imagine that the fare on offer at a Wetherspoons is much different to that on offer at similar establishments. I haven't returned to the UK since arriving here in 2007 but I very much doubt that, on the culinary side, things have changed much.

Jingsamichty

The UK is not nearly so homogenous as Canada, and as each year passes, the availability and choice of good food increases. Wetherspoons is a chain though, and I wasn't really thinking about chain places, where the menu is decided months in advance by accountants.

Go into most pubs in the UK and you'll be able to get a freshly made sandwich with a variety of fillings, perhaps a home-made steak pie, or at least something fresh.

Most Canadian pubs that I've been into are just re-heaters and deep-fryers of frozen factory food, and for a country that is bigger than Europe, the choice available from coast-to-coast is depressingly samey.

izzi81

This is what you'd think, but weirdly it's not true! As a recent arrival from the Uk. I treated myself to a box of Kellogs cornflakes that was on sale the other day. Didnt taste the same at all. Same with dairy milk over here... Doesn't taste the same. I'm amazed big manufacturers change their recipes depending on country. But I've noticed a lot more salt in food here so I guess people are used to different things.

On a different note, living in the Valley in NS is great for fresh food. Perhaps not for access to a variety of restaurants, but if I want locally sourced meat, fruit and veg it's everywhere! (Fresh corn is unbelievable )

dbd33

In February, not so much.

Almost Canadian

I would argue that "most pubs" in the UK would serve up the same reheated/deep fried tat as would be served up in Canada (burger and chips, steak and chips, chicken nuggets and chips, etc.)

My uncle is a fully trained chef that runs a pub in Exmouth, Devon. I would imagine that you may be able to get a home-made steak pie at his place, I doubt very much that you would in "most pubs."

Eateries that cater to the masses are likely to be similar on both sides of the Atlantic.

bats

Scampi and chips, gammon, peas and chips, chicken and chips? They were good but very 90s. Pubs have moved on a bit.

We have excellent restaurants in Peterborough and Cobourg but the small towns and village places are relentlessly the same.

Almost Canadian

I still maintain that the "average" place in the UK would serve up the same shite that the "average" place in Canada would. I appreciate that some would find this fact strange due to the size of Canada.

Attend a place that is "not average" in both the UK and Canada and one is likely to be able to find a different quality of menu.