As I write this I am already overcome with excitement for this Thursday. I’m super antsy because two of my friends from London (Americans though) are coming to visit and I have missed them greatly. One will only be here for the night and the other for two days. Not nearly enough time. And what do we want to do with them in this great city? Go to Hollywood, see Rodeo Drive? No, it’s our mission to find a decent pub for traditional English breakfast. So it is with them and their visit in mind that I will reminisce about one topic that was close to our hearts and that we dearly miss... FOOD!
The British have long held a bad reputation when it comes to food. As one foodie from Manchester has admitted, "we do unspeakable things to peas" and yes making them look like guacamole is truly unspeakable. (On one of our first days my friends made that mistake, and that’s not a fun surprise for folks from SoCal). So it’s funny that I start this post saying how I miss this so-called terrible cuisine. In some ways I saw where the reputation for nasty food came from. There are still many pubs that are using recipes (and possibly pie crusts) that are decades, maybe even centuries old. British food had been known to be bland or overly spiced, the latter being to hide the rotten flavor or preserve it. And while it is still possible to come across a pastie that isn’t to your liking, on the whole I think the worst meal I had in London was a dish that claimed to be California Mexican.
I rather enjoyed standard English fare. Indian food is now a big part of that but I will continue on that another time. For now we're talking classic British. Fish and chips are commonplace, not as much in Central (London) but definitely by the coasts, and up in Scotland, etc. Its fried fish (often haddock or cod) and chips and usually peas (likely mushed, blegh). The best I ever had was in Brighton, right on the shore. Note that I asked them to hold the peas.
Don’t forget now, chips are what we Americans refer to as fries. Our chips are called crisps over there. And while we there for a moment, let me just go on a tangent to tell you about crisps. They come in the most BIZARRE flavors (which really doesn't help the food rep). Though there are many brands I will just mention Walkers, which is owned by Lays and thus has the same logo. Sure, they have most of the flavors we do but also more exciting (or terrifying, depending on your tastes) ones such as Prawn cocktail (v. common), Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Lamb and Mint, Sweet Cumberland Sausage, and Roast Gammon. There are also these new specialty kinds called Sensations - Balsamic Vinegar & Caramelised Onion (which I do adore), Southern Style BBQ and Thai Sweet Chili among them. I really don’t know why we have such a limited variety here; maybe our palates are just uncultured.
Back to standards though, the traditional brekkie is pretty high up there on the what I miss most list. Not that I can eat it all that often (if I did I would be the size of a house, or rather I would have died before then because of the cholesterol buildup inside me) but if I could I would. English breakfast usually comes with eggs, hash browns or some sort of tatties, fried bread or toast, a banger or two(sausage), rashers (tastes like our bacon but looks more like Canadian bacon), black pudding (made with blood, more on that in a moment), a fried tomato, fried mushrooms and my personal favorite, baked beans (the tomato kind, not bbq). Oh and don’t forget your tea, or coffee if that’s your thing. Sound like a lot of food? It is; I'm always surprised when I manage to put away a good most of what’s on the plate. I was always happy with the spread at our local Spoons (first is the vegetarian one i order and the second is the meat one) but my favorite was from the Cambridge University dining hall.
Spoons: veggie (mushroom instead of black pudding and more eggs/hash browns)
Spoons: meat (with the black pudding and a rasher)
Cambridge: I have no idea why the lady serving thought I needed so much food.
In Scotland you might also get haggis, which is basically stuffed sheep intestine. I am only moderately adventurous when it comes to food but I knew I had to at least try haggis when I went north. I tried my friend’s the first night we were there; it looked like sausage and wasn’t terrible but was way too peppery. But then when it came with my breakfast the next morning, it looked more like round meatloaf… and I loved it. I ate every last bit. I was shocked myself. AND, feeling particularly adventurous (and it being after 5 months of avoiding it) I tried the black pudding. It didn’t look so bad and it didn’t even taste too bad- sorta tasted like a spice cake to be honest. I only managed to eat as much as you see missing from the second picture below though, I just couldn’t get over the fact that it mainly consisted of congealed blood and “juiced” a bit every time I stuck my fork in it. But hey I tried it, and even ate more than my friends did. So go to the Elephant House for breakfast because the haggis is delish (and thats where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter!).
Jeez, looking at these pictures is making me hungry. And homesick. Okay one more before I go make myself some supper, as my British peeps would say.
Bangers and mash, bangers and mash, oh how I love, bangers and mash. I have no idea if I made that up just now, but it started going round in my head as I was typing. Anyhoo, that’s the dinner version of breakfast though without all the extras. Its sausage and mashed potatoes. How original right? Meat and potatoes, every man’s favorite meal. This is an absolute staple across the pond and is on every menu- every pub menu at least. However, no pub ever beat the amazingness that is Mother Mash. You get to choose your mash (do you want it with cheese, chives, etc?), your sausage (Cumberland, Beef + Guiness, etc) and then your gravy (of which there are many). I always ordered the Champ Mash- bashed instead of mashed- and Lincolnshire sausage with Onion or Farmer’s gravy (pictured below, followed by their Rosemary and Lamb pie). AMAZING. They also do yummy puddings, but puddings may have to be a post unto themselves because I could go on for a while and I am famished.
So cheers and thank you my readers. Happy eats!
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