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I think the British will try most foods and new restaurants from different cultures are always welcome. In terms of European Cuisine French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish restaurants all do well, whilst other cultures such as Scandinavian, East European (especially Polish) and even Russian now have their own restaurants and even shops in some areas.
Last time I was in Manchester, I noticed a large Danish restaurant and bar in the Piccadilly Area, and Scandanavian and other such European foods such as Spanish Tapas have become increasingly popular.
Simply because they don't quite like them.
You forgot British ,Irish, Spainish and Portuguese cuisine.
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Why are there not more European cuisines like French, German, Austrian, Swiss, Scandinavian, Russian etc. served in restaurants in these countries? Yes, I know there are restaurants obviously from all over in these countries, but it seems proportionally fewer, relative to the size of the immigrant communities.[quote]
I think the British will try most foods and new restaurants from different cultures are always welcome. In terms of European Cuisine French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish restaurants all do well, whilst other cultures such as Scandinavian, East European (especially Polish) and even Russian now have their own restaurants and even shops in some areas.
Last time I was in Manchester, I noticed a large Danish restaurant and bar in the Piccadilly Area, and Scandanavian and other such European foods such as Spanish Tapas have become increasingly popular.
That "Danish Sea Platter" looks a lot like a meal you could eat at any number of mid market hotels and clubs across Australia, the good old weekly "seafood buffet".
The last of my ancestors to migrate to Australia did so as part of the wave of displaced people from mainland Europe immediately after WWII (in the late 1940s), so the whole concept of European food is "yeh, whatever". That's a perspective I think a lot of Aussies would have.
I find French food is OK, as long as you don't let the hype build up unrealistic expectations. But it just doesn't seem as "different" or "unique" as say Thai, Vietnamese or Japanese. Similarly, while I like Polish food and have tried Croatian they don't really stand out in any way.
Because European food is integrated in American food. Most of your desserts, french fries, the way you cook your meat, soups, pastas, pizzas, sausage, bread, etc.. The vegetables and fruits that you are using are the same as Europeans. You eat with a fork and a knife. A full meal is starter, a plate, cheese and dessert. You are drinking mostly European beverages (beer, grape wine, whiskey, vodka..). All this come directly from Europe. So any European speciality seems less exotic than an Asian. And you are not going to a restaurant to eat something close to what you have at home.
That "Danish Sea Platter" looks a lot like a meal you could eat at any number of mid market hotels and clubs across Australia, the good old weekly "seafood buffet".
They have a menu full of different Danish Food, the Sea Platter was merely an example.
From the foreign cuisines thread, I notice that besides Italian and Greek cuisines, Americans, Canadians, Australians are more likely to notice Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Middle Eastern etc. foods as topping the list of the more common ethnic cuisines in their cities.
Why are there not more European cuisines like French, German, Austrian, Swiss, Scandinavian, Russian etc. served in restaurants in these countries? Yes, I know there are restaurants obviously from all over in these countries, but it seems proportionally fewer, relative to the size of the immigrant communities.
I mean, Japanese or Thai communities aren't particularly big in many cities where Japanese and Thai food is super popular. There's got to be much larger populations of Western Europeans to get a pool of cuisines from. Do you think it is because the Western Europeans and even other Europeans arrived earlier and assimilated earlier so didn't end up starting restaurants or bringing their cuisines with them from the Old World?
Personally, I think it's because Asians open restaurants in the U.S. They emigrate and they open a restaurant for their larger community, and the native-born Americans have an interest in the Asian cuisines, so they frequent them as well.
European cuisines, probably use to be quite popular back when Europeans were everywhere in the U.S. in large numbers. These days, very few Europeans emigrate to the U.S., and the few that do, tend to blend right into the melting pot. You need a larger European community to frequent those ethnic restaurants as core customers. Plus, most Europeans are quite a bit wealthier, that they seldom emigrate just to open up a restaurant.
I would say African food is underrepresented here. We have a lot of African immigrants and people of African ancestry, yet very few African restaurants. Ditto with Caribbean food - a lot of Caribbean immigrants, especially from Jamaica, but little Caribbean food.
We have a big Eastern European population and plenty of Polish/Lithuanian/Russian stores selling food from those countries.
I see plenty of restaurants in NY that serve foods from all different European countries. British, French, Scandinavian, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Bosnian, Romanian. You name the country there are restaurants serving that countries food.
There are also restaurants that serve continental cuisine which is in general European food.
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