Mario Addison gets his first taste of British food

[AggieLean]

I’d probably get fish and chips every day if I was out there lol

[Captain Morgan]

31 minutes ago, TheMaulClaw said:

Spotted dick?

[Pejorative Miscreant]

1 hour ago, Seoul_Panther said:

British food? Didn't realize the Panthers had games in Scotland and Wales too Haggis and scotch eggs are Scottish. Few people eat jellied eels. Marmite was famously popular during WW2 but has dwindling popularity. Crumpets aren't a dessert but when taken should be smothered in butter. This is a very cliched selection of fringe foods.

 This is the 21st century when every cuisine is available in most cities in the world. But it's so much more fun to be able to make a blanket derrogatory statement about an entire country.

Borough Market has incredible food with a lot of cultures represented. Chinatown in London also has some damn fine Chinese food (not named general Tsao). I think Mario was given a lot of traditional dishes just for camera fodder.  To think you can’t get good food in London is a fallacy.  

[1of10Charnatives]

1 hour ago, Seoul_Panther said:

Twain huh? Well if you like literary references you will perhaps know that Rudyard Kipling, poet and author is widely disdained now as a racist and sexist. Making sweeping statements about foreign cultures is a simple form of prejudice.

 Hoping the folks heading to London represent the better qualities of the people of Carolina.

I fail to see why Twain quotations would precipitate mention of Kipling, unless you’re just free associating off the fact they’re both writers and then using that as a pretext to discuss your views on cultural commentary. No one here is professing a love of Kipling that needs a finger wagged at it.

While I would agree that sweeping statements about foreign cultures *can*  be a simple form of prejudice, it’s also true that inability to just let a joke be a joke can lead to far worse things.

”People who never get carried away should be.” Malcolm Forbes

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Having traveled to both countries several times, the difference isn't as great as some think.  There were some great restaurants in the UK.   And some that were not so great.  

I didn't particularly care for french food.  Especially the meat as they tend to undercook it.  Except for the desserts of course, those were fantastic. 

Food in Italy was the best by far.

Italian certainly has a good reputation.

I remember a comedian saying the reason Germany kept invading France was they were standing near the border eating German food and kept smelling what they were cooking over their way.

[1of10Charnatives]

12 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Italian certainly has a good reputation.

I remember a comedian saying the reason Germany kept invading France was they were standing near the border eating German food and kept smelling what they were cooking over their way.

Just because 

https://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/france.html

[Seoul_Panther]

32 minutes ago, 1of10Charnatives said:

I fail to see why Twain quotations would precipitate mention of Kipling, unless you’re just free associating off the fact they’re both writers and then using that as a pretext to discuss your views on cultural commentary. No one here is professing a love of Kipling that needs a finger wagged at it.

While I would agree that sweeping statements about foreign cultures *can*  be a simple form of prejudice, it’s also true that inability to just let a joke be a joke can lead to far worse things.

”People who never get carried away should be.” Malcolm Forbes

 Sorry I need to explain it to you. My point is comments and quotations even by famed authors who lived more than a century ago, which were admired or thought witty in those times don't always age well.

  I get that you and a bunch of people here think that it's hilarious to trot out tired cliches or quotations about other cultures and pass it off as a joke, when at best you've visited other countries for a brief period and have little or no understanding about what local people eat. 

  As someone who lives in South Carolina and endures being told on a daily basis what Americans think they know about my country I suppose it shouldn't surprise me.

 

[electro's horse]

2 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Having traveled to both countries several times, the difference isn't as great as some think.  There were some great restaurants in the UK.   And some that were not so great.  

 

I didn't particularly care for french food.  Especially the meat as they tend to undercook it.  Except for the desserts of course, those were fantastic. 

 

Food in Italy was the best by far.

I always tell people the thing with french food is the stuff on the side. Their cheese, bread, wine, and sauces are world class. Nothing is better. That's where the flavor comes from. Yeah, you don't have these massive dishes, but you can get a cheese baguette on the street and a 2 dollar bottle of red wine from a store and its the best thing you've ever had. 

tbh gun to my head best food ive ever had was in buenos aires. nothing but bread, beef,  and malbec. only number that went up higher than the scale was my deadlift. 

 

[1of10Charnatives]

35 minutes ago, Seoul_Panther said:

 Sorry I need to explain it to you. My point is comments and quotations even by famed authors who lived more than a century ago, which were admired or thought witty in those times don't always age well.

  I get that you and a bunch of people here think that it's hilarious to trot out tired cliches or quotations about other cultures and pass it off as a joke, when at best you've visited other countries for a brief period and have little or no understanding about what local people eat. 

  As someone who lives in South Carolina and endures being told on a daily basis what Americans think they know about my country I suppose it shouldn't surprise me.

 

So because Rudyard Kipling wrote racist things, I can't cite obvious jokes from a writer famous for making jokes? Do you really think Twain's offhand comment about France should really be taken any other way?

By anyone?

I get that you might be sensitive to cultural ignorance by being confronted with it on a daily basis, but if you assume that everyone here is just like the people you disdain, guess what? You're guilty of making the same sweeping generalizations about others you were just criticizing two posts ago.  The way that I know you're making these generalizations? You know nothing about me, yet assume based on your generalization of americans that "at best you've visited other countries for a brief period and have little or no understanding about what local people eat." For all you know, I'm a cultural anthropologist working on my doctoral thesis on food culture around the world, or a travel writer who focuses on food culture in different parts of the world. I'm neither, yet you feel free to assume things about me based on your broad perception of americans, rather than what you actually know. Guess which one of us was just expressing disdain for exactly that sort of thing?

I'm really very sorry that you can't just accept an obvious and harmless joke as an obvious and harmless joke, but we cannot insist on a world in which no one should ever say anything that *might* be taken poorly by someone else. My joke is in no way directly comparable to people telling you what they think they know about your country, and attempting to make the comparison is a pretty far stretch that amounts to "you're an american saying something about another country that someone else might not like, namely me, therefore you're out of line." It's some pretty impressive mental gymnastics, but it doesn't hold water as a cohesive argument.

 I can sit here and make jokes all day long about Americans and the way we are perceived by other countries, even what we eat (by the way you can take my Jimmy Dean pancake and sausage on a stick out of my cold dead hands, thems good eats. *burps loudly*) would that somehow make me prejudiced against americans? Please consider relaxing a little despite your difficulties dealing with americans (in this you have my sympathy, I hate dealing with americans every time they insist on clogging my roads), and just let a joke be a joke without having to make a tortured argument as to why it's somehow culturally unacceptable.

[OneBadCat]

4 hours ago, Ornias said:

Went to Ireland in April and had fish and chips every damn day, lol. 

Yeah the fish and chips is about all that’s good there in England/Ireland. However I was a fan of the Irish breakfast and potato bread.

Whatever you do in England, do not, I repeat do not get a hamburger anywhere. They are down right disgusting and frankly the best place to get in the UK is probably McDonalds. 

[rayzor]

I don't think I ever said "hmmmm....thats interesting" to so many dishes as I did in England. If it wasn't for trips to the local chippy in the towns I hung out in, I don't know what I would have done. 

I guess I got used to smashed peas. I got to where I could to tolerate some meat pies. Breakfasts...i got used to them too. Baked beans and a half a tomato cooked in a skillet. Not the breakfast I grew up with, but it was ok. Saw some commercial for this brand of baked beans that said it was the brand most favored by Americans for breakfast. Huh????

My favorite thing over there was curry chips. I could eat those every day.

[Seoul_Panther]

30 minutes ago, 1of10Charnatives said:

So because Rudyard Kipling wrote racist things, I can't cite obvious jokes from a writer famous for making jokes? Do you really think Twain's offhand comment about France should really be taken any other way?

 Completely missed my point. I did not say you can't cite a 'joke'. I said that what was an acceptable thing to say in the past should be viewed through a different prism now.

if you assume that everyone here is just like the people you disdain, guesswhat?

 Quote me where I said that. 

You'reguilty of making the same sweeping generalizations about others you were just criticizing two posts ago.  The way that I know you're making these generalizations? You know nothing about me, yet assume based on your generalization of americans that "at best you've visited other countries for a brief period and have little or no understanding about what local people eat." For all you know, I'm a cultural anthropologist working on my doctoral thesis on food culture around the world, or a travel writer who focuses on food culture in different parts of the world. I'm neither, yet you feel free to assume things about me based on your broad perception of americans, rather than what you actually know. Guess which one of us was just expressing disdain for exactly that sort of thing?

  You're right that was an assumption. So are you a cultural anthropologist or a travel writer who specializes in food? The reason I feel comfortable assuming that you are not is because neither you nor any of the other 'its trash" posters has demonstrated any understanding whatsoever of famous local foods with a coherent explanation of what exactly is bad about them. 

 

[1of10Charnatives]

So because Rudyard Kipling wrote racist things, I can't cite obvious jokes from a writer famous for making jokes? Do you really think Twain's offhand comment about France should really be taken any other way?

 Completely missed my point. I did not say you can't cite a 'joke'. I said that what was an acceptable thing to say in the past should be viewed through a different prism now.

You inferred I should not have used the joke. You're now implying Twain's joke is no longer acceptable. What exactly is the prism it should be viewed through that makes it unacceptable? And who gets to decide what the prism should be? You? See the problem with this idea?

if you assume that everyone here is just like the people you disdain, guesswhat?

 Quote me where I said that. 

Literally the next paragraph is my explaining how you made that generalization. This statement makes it seem like you didn't bother to read and comprehend what I wrote.

You'reguilty of making the same sweeping generalizations about others you were just criticizing two posts ago.  The way that I know you're making these generalizations? You know nothing about me, yet assume based on your generalization of americans that "at best you've visited other countries for a brief period and have little or no understanding about what local people eat." For all you know, I'm a cultural anthropologist working on my doctoral thesis on food culture around the world, or a travel writer who focuses on food culture in different parts of the world. I'm neither, yet you feel free to assume things about me based on your broad perception of americans, rather than what you actually know. Guess which one of us was just expressing disdain for exactly that sort of thing?

  You're right that was an assumption. So are you a cultural anthropologist or a travel writer who specializes in food? The reason I feel comfortable assuming that you are not is because neither you nor any of the other 'its trash" posters has demonstrated any understanding whatsoever of famous local foods with a coherent explanation of what exactly is bad about them. 

So you don't like it when americans make assumptions based in ignorance about the food of your culture, but it's okay for you to make assumptions about me based on one joke I made in a thread? How can you not see the inherent hypocrisy in this?  Again I question your reading comprehension here because you ask if I am those things when I said clearly I am not. Your responses strongly suggest you aren't thoroughly reading and digesting what I post, but skimming and firing off a response based on cherry picking.

I'm really very sorry that you can't just accept an obvious and harmless joke as an obvious and harmless joke,

 The old 'wheres your sense of humor' defence for prejudiced statements. Admit it you were trying to show off with a Twain quote that belonged in an entirely different context.

What exactly about Twain's joke makes it a prejudiced statement? In any time or context? Other than being a joke, a context you seem unwilling to simply accept and move on, but rather take umbrage at, what context should Twain's comment be set in, and why are you a better determiner of appropriate context than me? .

 My joke is in no way directly comparable to people telling you what they think they know about your country,

  Quote me. I didn't make that assertion. You have a habit of misreading my words and meanings.

Your entire argument attempted to conflate Twain's joke with the racism of Kipling's writings for the purpose of painting it as somehow unacceptable. You further made a comparison by bringing up your experience. If your experience isn't relevant to Twain's offhand joke, why did YOU bring it up? I'm not misreading anything, YOU attempted to connect the two in some way through your comment. If they aren't connected, then they are unrelated, and your experience with americans has no bearing on Twain's joke.

 I can sit here and make jokes all day long about Americans and the way we are perceived by other countries, even what we eat (by the way you can take my Jimmy Dean pancake and sausage on a stick out of my cold dead hands, thems good eats. *burps loudly*) would that somehow make me prejudiced against americans? Please consider relaxing a little despite your difficulties dealing with americans (in this you have my sympathy, I hate dealing with americans every time they insist on clogging my roads), and just let a joke be a joke without having to make a tortured argument as to why it's somehow culturally unacceptable.

My closing advice to you is don't make flippant comments about other cultures. The fact that you are comfortable with it doesn't mean others are. If you don't have something nice to say don't say it.

You should really acquaint yourself with the concept of free speech in a free society and how it means exactly the opposite of the "advice" you're attempting to impose on me. The entire idea is antithetical to the notion of self censorship for the sake of avoiding offense. In free societies we have the right to speak our minds. What we dont' have is a right not to be offended. If you are offended by Mark Twain's offhand joke about France from over 100 years ago, I'm not sure what to tell you. If you think conflating it with Kipling's flaws is a reasonable justification for your offense, I will happily tell you to go fly a kite.

Despite all the words exchanged here, this really boils down to something simple. You are seeking to be offended, rather than accepting a trivial joke for what it is. There are things worth our disdain. Kiplings flaws might be one of them, but if you think a Twain joke about France's toilet paper in any way falls into the same category, well...

that idea is worse than French toilet paper.

[Seoul_Panther]

28 minutes ago, rayzor said:

I don't think I ever said "hmmmm....thats interesting" to so many dishes as I did in England. If it wasn't for trips to the local chippy in the towns I hung out in, I don't know what I would have done. 

I guess I got used to smashed peas. I got to where I could to tolerate some meat pies. Breakfasts...i got used to them too. Baked beans and a half a tomato cooked in a skillet. Not the breakfast I grew up with, but it was ok. Saw some commercial for this brand of baked beans that said it was the brand most favored by Americans for breakfast. Huh????

My favorite thing over there was curry chips. I could eat those every day.

 I think what this shows is that in every country there are plenty of people who have a pretty poor understanding of what people from other countries prefer  In this case the myth that Americans regularly consume baked beans  I was appalled when I came here and found that most beans are in sugary sauce 

 Many of the things that you describe sound bloody awful. I would hate that too. 

  Some dishes in any country can be explained as something that you are conditioned to eat but which doesn't appeal to outsiders. Think chick foetus in Indonesia or intestines in Korea  Or fermented sardines in Sweden.

  Fact is though that there are options out there in every country now especially in major cities. If you can't find decent food to your taste in this day and age you probably aren't looking hard enough.