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Europeans eat like prisoners or nursing home patients. Only in the most expensive restaurants (think $120/person w/o wine) did we have meals that were comparable to a good US restaurants. Street markets were filthy with flies on everything even in the poshest districts, although market food was the best.
Europeans have a much higher tolerance for bad stuff, like gristle, fish scales, lumpy sauces, etc.
England and Ireland are the absolute worst. Many meals offered even at nice restaurants had the cheapest cuts of meat poorly prepared. The English do know how to do little sandwiches though.
In Spain nothing was fresh in any city. They have a prehistoric distribution system where food supposed to be fresh has sat on the highway for days not hours. Coastal villages where we got much fresh seafood were the only memorable dining experiences.
In France, if something has a regulated name (I think this system is called PGS or the like) they think it is great by definition. Its not.
Did you notice the serving sizes? Generally, they are MUCH smaller (and more to the recommended serving sizes) than here, in the State! That could play a huge part in your weight loss!
Most of my European dining has been in Ireland, a place not widely known for its cuisine. Serviceable enough, but certainly nothing to make me say, "Wow, American fare sucks."
I certainly didn't find the food in Ireland or Scotland any better or fresher than in the US. I agree with you, the same in England. We did love the food in Poland and Spain, but I don't know if I would say it was higher quality or fresher, it was just really good. Maybe what some do not realize, when you are visiting a place for a few days or weeks on vacation everything seems better.
Europeans eat like prisoners or nursing home patients. Only in the most expensive restaurants (think $120/person w/o wine) did we have meals that were comparable to a good US restaurants. Street markets were filthy with flies on everything even in the poshest districts, although market food was the best.
Europeans have a much higher tolerance for bad stuff, like gristle, fish scales, lumpy sauces, etc.
England and Ireland are the absolute worst. Many meals offered even at nice restaurants had the cheapest cuts of meat poorly prepared. The English do know how to do little sandwiches though.
In Spain nothing was fresh in any city. They have a prehistoric distribution system where food supposed to be fresh has sat on the highway for days not hours. Coastal villages where we got much fresh seafood were the only memorable dining experiences.
In France, if something has a regulated name (I think this system is called PGS or the like) they think it is great by definition. Its not.
My husband would agree with you. He lived in Belgium and England and visited many other countries. We also have friends from France who say the food here in US is MUCH fresher and better! They live here half the year now and if it were possible they would make it full time.
I think you can find good and bad food anywhere. I have access to wonderful fresh food right where I live - but it does NOT come from places like Walmart - LOL!
My husband would agree with you. He lived in Belgium and England and visited many other countries. We also have friends from France who say the food here in US is MUCH fresher and better! They live here half the year now and if it were possible they would make it full time.
I think you can find good and bad food anywhere. I have access to wonderful fresh food right where I live - but it does NOT come from places like Walmart - LOL!
Or, burger doodle either.
What happens, i think, is that Europeans who come to the US end up eating at our endless chain restaurants which we must admit are not very good. They mostly don't care that our fast food joints and chains like Fridays and Olive Garden are clean and safe and generic. They just hate them and they are very vocal about that. Also, they may eat in a big hotel dining room or a famous big city restaurant which, while equivalent to Europe's best, are not nearly as interesting or eclectic. Agaion, the complaints.
But, Europeans never find their way to the neighborhood spots where really good American food is served. Family restaurants outside the megacities. Diners and delis and little BBQ or steak houses. Southern and soul food, southwest cuisine, never even get on the radar screen for European tourists.
Absolutely not. I have been all over Europe (and all over the US) and give me the fresh food here in the USA any day! I do love the creamy ice cream in some of the countries and some breads I like better than here locally. That has to do with the water. I just can't say that the quality, overall, is higher.
My husband would agree with you. He lived in Belgium and England and visited many other countries. We also have friends from France who say the food here in US is MUCH fresher and better! They live here half the year now and if it were possible they would make it full time.
I think you can find good and bad food anywhere. I have access to wonderful fresh food right where I live - but it does NOT come from places like Walmart - LOL!
I think you snagged the problem, people who depend on WalMart or even the large chain grocery stores, do not get the truely fresh produce. This is why I get so excited when our farmers markets open in late April. I realize we don't have much choice as to where we shop during the winter (rarely do I shop at WalMart). I am, by no means putting WalMart down. There is a place for them and they offer a variety of products, some less expensive than other stores. Some people have no choice but to shop there and some people do for convenience sake. I think we are lucky to have so many wonderful choices in our country. We can choose the "Aldi" type of shopping, chain stores, box stores, or independent stores.
Did you notice the serving sizes? Generally, they are MUCH smaller (and more to the recommended serving sizes) than here, in the State! That could play a huge part in your weight loss!
I love the huge serving sizes here in the States. I always know I'll get two meals out of the breakfast served to me at the diner down the street. That cuts whatever I paid for it in half. Just because one is served a lot of food doesn't mean they eat it in one sitting.
I'd say a little of both. I've never had a steak outside of the US that was worth eating. But some of the specialties of each country have been fantastic - of course that's eating at restaurants that are much more expensive that what I normally spend here. I've had some really awful food, and some really wonderful food in all the countries I've visited, and at home.
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