NC Penguin

You have to pulling my leg. I have serious doubts that any American grocery store bakery can bake excellent baguettes and French bread.

Have you ever even bought bread or baked goods from a family run bakery in the US? Some artisan bakers in the US are keeping traditional baking techniques alive. La Brea (provides bread to Harris Teeters in my area) is not one of them...





NC Penguin

Sarah

Blimey Sibs there'll be nothing left of you girl!
I know what you mean though first time I spent 6 months in the USA in 2002 I lost 25lbs too.

AdobePinon

What, you don't like soggy baguettes and floppy French bread?

NC Penguin

Soggy and floppy rarely feature in my shopping vocabulary...




NC Penguin

ironporer

No leg pulling at all- although Publix calls their's "Cuban" bread, it is excellent. Great crispy outer crust and tender crumb inside. Baguettes come in the traditional 'skinny' loaves, and are also excellent. They even have a 'shephards' bread- big round loaves with thick crust...My wife loves it and even admits that it is up to Spanish quality.

If you have Publix up in NC, giv'em a try.

NC Penguin

I don't think there are any Publix near me. I've given up on grocery store bread. Ninth St. (local bread manufacturer in Durham, NC) bread is OK but it's all wheat based.

I get my bread from Gulghupf in Durham (www.gulghupf.com). They even have a section of the site dedicated to "Breadeducation". See-

http://www.guglhupf.com/breaduca/breaduca.html




NC Penguin




NC Penguin

TouristTrap

Cuban bread is delicious, though I find they don't bake it for as long as they should.

White Mountain Bread (the loaf you're referring to) is the only bread I'll buy here (bake my own). It is up to Spanish/Portuguese standards.

effi

I grew up in the 60s so am probably older than most of you on here. Meat and 3 veg and a moderate amount of excercise is all that is needed. Too much fast food shite over here. Americans in general are lazy when it comes to cooking. My hairdresser was asking me the other day what I was having for dinner, I replied "shepherds pie and veg" I had to explain to her how to make it. She said "so how do you cook the potatoes", I said "boil them" she said "how do you do that ". Good grief it is unbelievable. I work a normal work day, and still come home and cook from scratch every night. By the time the pizza man gets to the door you can have cooked a meal for yourself.

Supermarkets in general are no different than in the UK, of course you are going to find it tough to get the Brit stuff, this is the US after all. My shopping habits did not change much when I moved here. I find though that there is better access to more varied foodstuffs. Good God, I can remember when the only time I saw an orange was in my Xmas stocking, now I live where the trees grow on the side of the street. Tomatoes back in the UK years ago were a once a year thing in the summer for a couple of weeks, and they cost an arm and a leg. I could go on and on. A good varied diet and excercise is all that is needed to maintain a healthy weight. Oh, I also get my bread fresh baked at my local Safeway. They too have shepherds bread, lovely stuff. You can keep the packaged kind, absolute crap, soggy and too sweet, no wonder the dentists make out like bandits over here.

Yosser

My sentiments exactly

my diet hasn't changed at all, roast dinner on a sunday, baked potatoes, chicken, beef, sausages, plenty of veg through out the week.

Work out at least 3 times a week, work at the moment has been very hectic, but still manage to exercise.

I try and stear clear of any deserts over here, way to bloody sweet!

AmerLisa

No offence to me at all. I found, sorry to repeat myself, that there are just as many processed horrible foods in the middle aisles of Sainsburys as there are in Safeway here in Washington. And yes I miss food from the UK as well....got very used to things there.

Big Vern

We've got a chain of markets called Larry's up here on the Seattle eastside...the best supermarket I've every been in for fresh bread, seafood etc, ethnic foods, organics etc. Only trouble is you need to bring a wheelbarrow of $$$ everytime you shop there.

Trader Joe's is pretty good too.

AmerLisa

We go to Trader Joe's as well - Bellevue. Not heard of Larry's, where is that? Also, if you're wanting to spend some money and get something from the UK - British Pantry in Redmond....their fish and chips aren't too bad, but expensive.

AmerLisa

Have to agree there. The best baquettes I ever had were in France.

fatman

I have to agree with that too French bread is the best, Although there's a much bigger access to all kinds of crazy vegetables here, the Americans don't know how to cook a decent loaf of bread, having said that I like their cornbread which I'd never had till I came here.

Bob

There was a pretty decent bakery in Oxford, very weird, the wife was Austrian and made fantastic Austrian breads and the hubby was a frog...odd combo to end up in blighty...but hey, nice bakery
opposite LB's, a fantastic Lebanese place too...very yummy