steviedeluxe

I know we're spoiled if we come from the UK, but are there are Spanish sweet things you like?
I actually like the Natillas (cold custard) when they're made right.

lynnxa

crema catalana

fartons with horchata

ensaimadas - not desserts but sweet

bizcocho borracho

Jur

Turron! (must be the biggest cholesterol bomb ever!)

chulo

Is Spain the place food goes to die ?

steviedeluxe

I think you're thinking of Olde England and "boiled beef and carrots". Improved a lot now (and besides who can beat a good home cooked Sunday lunch?), but unfortunately England still has a dire record for food abroad.

chulo

Italy for us was the best, followed by Japan.

I wouldn`t slag British food off, as I`m British, its not all bad, although I`d place it miles ahead of Spanish food.

And before you mention EL Bulli, try lookin it there Menu here in Photo`s, interesting I think the word is.

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/0..._at_el_bu.html

Course 8 the Oyster Leaf looks great !!!!!!!!!

lynnxa

it depends who cooks it

my mum used to put the veg on to cook at the same time as she put the meat in the oven

steviedeluxe

Well yes, exactly. I believe that well-cooked British food is as good as anywhere, plus we have a good choice of world foods available to us in most High Streets (especially Indian, although it could be said to be uniquely British as Chicken Tikka Masala isn't an Indian dish!) However our reputation suffered for a long time. I once taught English to a class of foreigners in London (they came from all over eg Tailand, Belarus, Italy, Chile etc). When I asked them the worst thing about their stay in the UK, they all put down the food. I fear they based their judgements on London takeaways (fried chicken, kebab shops, McDs etc) and microwaved meals in pubs.

Anyway, back to the thread topic, I wonder if I'm allowed to put churros? Not something for someone watching their weight to eat everyday with your coffee (or even chocolate) but they can certainly fill the gap.

chulo

My limited experience of foreigners is that there very unwilling to try food from the UK.

Of Spanish people I`ve eaten with, when given both as an option (It was a party with food brought by Spaniards and Brits) the Spanish kept to there food and the Brits tried both, although the Brits there had been well travelled and didn`t mind food that appears to be an animal.

Maybe that explains the huge variety of resturants and produce available in shops within the Uk as opposed to Spain and many other EU countries.

Veleta

Yes, this is something that baffles me too. So far every Spaniard I have spoken to that has visited Britain (usually London) says that the "food was awful". How can they say that? Where on earth do these people go to eat? Do they scrape it out of the gutter or something? There are so many fine eating establishments in London......how do they manage to miss them all????? And then they sit there stuffing dry lumps of cheese like that's alta cocina or something!

Spanish sweet things? Hmmm, tough one. I suppose I quite like the homemade (not the frozen) creamed rice with canela.

lynnxa

or maybe the other way around?

the huge variety of restaurants, produce, & dare I say nationalities in the UK, make Brits more adventurous in their eating habits..................................

chulo

I also find Spanish resturants limited in there choice within towns and cities.

But as with all travel its nice to experience new things, Europeans could well learn a thing or two from us.

A lot of other countries suffer this too, the fact the British food is stereotyped bad pretty much shows that we have good food, otherwise why heavily criticise something so obviously bad.

The proof is in the pudding, so they say.

steviedeluxe

Can anyone remember the French President Chirac, criticising our food, saying that Finnish cuisine was the worst in Europe, followed by Britain ? Mr. Chirac said: “The only thing they [the British] have done for European agriculture is mad cow”. He made a further attack on British cooking, saying: “You can’t trust people who cook as badly as that.”

Here's an interesting site http://www.marginalrevolution.com/ma...s_british.html

I think the bad image still persists because a lot of visitors who come to the UK go to London, and find it too expensive to eat in the restaurants there - so they end up using the takeaways and chain places. There are loads of great places to eat in London (not always expensive) but you have to know where to look.

chulo

steviedeluxe

Mmmmm some delicious stuff in there, Chulo - Pulpo a la gallega, prawns fried with garlic, morcilla, tortilla, gazpacho, calamares, paella, fabada, boquerones etc. Yet I get the impression you don't like it? Ah well, no accounting for taste..