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Barcelona Spain--I tried Paella at 4 different places and found it to be greasy and sticky and not that tasty. Also didn't care for the short grain sticky rice used. I love Seafood Paella and that is why I gave it 4 tries.
I've visited Oslo, Norway countless times for work. Eaten in very high end as well as local places ---Bland food. Expensive. lots of rare reindeer, boiled potatoes, carrots, and salmon/white fish in sauce. Bland. I couldn't wait to go to an Italian restaurant that I found there; and also a McDonalds.
Barcelona Spain--I tried Paella at 4 different places and found it to be greasy and sticky and not that tasty. Also didn't care for the short grain sticky rice used. I love Seafood Paella and that is why I gave it 4 tries.
Oddly enough I didn't have any paella when I went.
But after one taste of pintxos I loaded up on those every frikkin day (along with chocolate dipped churros and chocolate salami)...and man, I must say...I can't wait to go back!
Obviously personal preference plays a big part here, two people can eat the same thing and have very different opinions. I'd be interested to know where you went expecting a greater culinary experience than you had.
I'd say my #1 disappointment is France.
It isn't bad by any means, but compared to the reputation as a foodie destination and I find food in France quite underwhelming. I think my favorite thing in France was the cheeses, especially when you're at a joint with a cheese cart and cheese person who proudly explains the history or nuances of it. The worst for me was steaks, I don't like the way they prepare them in France and eventually gave up trying to find a good steak.
I've spent time working in France so been lucky enough to have locals (coworkers) taking us out and a fat budget since expense account, but still think meh it's alright. They'd take us somewhere and talk about how this town is known for this amazing (onion soup, beef stew, whatever) and I just didn't get it. Good enough, but nothing that would get me emailing my wife back home about or planning to try again.
Puerto Rico , from grossly overcooked fish, to greasy over cooked foods everywhere. We tried to eat good quality local food, but it was just far too unhealthy to eat much of it.
Even my son that loves meat and fried foods, found it overwhelming. I would add there was a lot of mass produced highly processed foods that were passed off as freshly made by the "chef"....
I've visited Oslo, Norway countless times for work. Eaten in very high end as well as local places ---Bland food. Expensive. lots of rare reindeer, boiled potatoes, carrots, and salmon/white fish in sauce. Bland. I couldn't wait to go to an Italian restaurant that I found there; and also a McDonalds.
Traditional Scandinavian cooking tends to be a bit on the bland side, and Norway, fairly or unfairly, has a reputation for being the blandest of the bunch. The new Scandinavian cuisine, however, seems to have found a way to updo the local ingredients - restaurants like Noma being the extreme examples.
France. There is such a highly regarded reputation for French food. I've been to France on several occasions, to many cities, including Paris, and to different regions. To call the French food underwhelming is being charitable about it. Except for the fresh croissants and baguettes, which were good if you could get them freshly baked.
Britain, on the other hand has a sad reputation for food and I have eaten many excellent, superior meals in Britain. But you have to find out where the locals eat. Tourist places weren't so good. The excellent places tend to be out in the middle of nowhere.
I am a vegetarian (I eat cheese and eggs) and I was worried about Paris, but figured I could live on bread if necessary. A friend told me she always goes for salads in Paris.
The first night I was there, we walked along the street near our airbnb apartment looking at the restaurant menus: lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, and maybe chicken. Then we found a really good Indian place. In Montmartre we found a place that gave you a good salad with tons of vegetables in a big casserole type dish, and on top of the salad was a pile of sliced, herbed, fried potatoes. Sounds weird, but man. My favorite meal in Paris! A fresh-baked baguette was a close second.
Between Amsterdam, Paris, and London, London had the most vegetarian choices.
The most disappointing meal was when I was still carnivorous and went to Dallas, Texas. I thought the beef would be great, but burgers and steaks were flavorless. I mentioned it to the person I was visiting, and she said they ship the better meat to the northern markets where it fetches high prices.
The most disappointing meal was when I was still carnivorous and went to Dallas, Texas. I thought the beef would be great, but burgers and steaks were flavorless. I mentioned it to the person I was visiting, and she said they ship the better meat to the northern markets where it fetches high prices.
Heh - the agricultural dilemma. Lots of traditional Danish dishes are based on cheap pork cuts, because the good parts of the pig would be exported to richer countries. And there's only so much you can do with cheap pork and root vegetables.
Paella isn't a traditional Catalonian dish-its from Valencia, on the south. Dismissing Barcelona's cuisine based on a bad version in Barcelona is sort of like saying Food in New England sucks because you had mediocre pulled pork in Maine.
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