I wish I were British...

[Relic]

You see, I don't mind the United States; this is a great country with fantastic people. Yet, I still remember m last stay in Sugar Land TX. Yes, I had a rented car there. What kind of breakfast could I get in vicinity of the hotel? Pancakes that I hate and hamburger which I do not perceive as the best for breakfast ;-)
This is why I was so fond of British full on my return home. Period.

Brwinow?
Ahh but I've had many breakfasts in Poland, some that I miss dearly and others that I still have nightmares over!

there was one, (cannot remember the name now), some sort of kluski with bacon fat dripped all over it...oh my god. It may kill me via a heart attack if I ever eat it again but it would be a good, tasty death

 

[AntekStalich]

Brwinow?
Ahh but I've had many breakfasts in Poland, some that I miss dearly and others that I still have nightmares over!

there was one, (cannot remember the name now), some sort of kluski with bacon fat dripped all over it...oh my god. It may kill me via a heart attack if I ever eat it again but it would be a good, tasty death

C'mon Relic, there is London between Sugar Land TX and Brwinow, PL. ;-)
By the way, you easily get English full at Warsaw Mariott Hotel, at crossing of Al. Jerozolimskie and Al. Jana Pawla II, opposite the Central Station. Some $4.

Quite by the way, my Dad spent 1951-1957 in Australia and he brought the concept of English full breakfast with on his return to the home country. Every Sunday we had it when I was a kid.

 

[Relic]

C'mon Relic, there is London between Sugar Land TX and Brwinow, PL. ;-)
By the way, you easily get English full at Warsaw Mariott Hotel, at crossing of Al. Jerozolimskie and Al. Jana Pawla II, opposite the Central Station. Some $4.

Quite by the way, my Dad spent 1951-1957 in Australia and he brought the concept of English full breakfast with on his return to the home country. Every Sunday we had it when I was a kid.

I do believe that I may have eaten at that very same hotel! It's been a while though.

 

[AntekStalich]

there was one, (cannot remember the name now), some sort of kluski with bacon fat dripped all over it...oh my god. It may kill me via a heart attack if I ever eat it again but it would be a good, tasty death

These must have been either Silesian potato dumplings (kluski slaskie) or pyzy. They are indeed dripped in lard or bacon fat. I actually like it very much - you only need to get used to them We NEVER eat it for breakfast, though. You have to realize that whatever we Polish eat, must go with VODKA or lager beer well

 

[Relic]

These must have been either Silesian potato dumplings (kluski slaskie) or pyzy. They are indeed dripped in lard or bacon fat. I actually like it very much - you only need to get used to them We NEVER eat it for breakfast, though.

smacznego, my friend!



(great, now I'm hungry)

 

[AntekStalich]

What about some sushi, mate?

 

[Relic]

What about some sushi, mate?

Sushi is about 1000x more addicting than heroin... I have it about 4-5 times per week and just cant stop

Another food that I am becoming more and more addicted to is Thai food. That and Indian food... anything with a lot of curry..

 

[AntekStalich]

Sushi is about 1000x more addicting than heroin... I have it about 4-5 times per week and just cant stop

Another food that I am becoming more and more addicted to is Thai food. That and Indian food... anything with a lot of curry..

Lucky me, I do not prefer Indian food, and the Thai does not seem to be so special for me. Sushi should be banned as a drug - I totally agree with you!

 

[Relic]

Lucky me, I do not prefer Indian food, and the Thai does not seem to be so special for me. Sushi should be banned as a drug - I totally agree with you!

My problem is that I'm a glutton and there's almost nothing that I won't eat..

If you're ever on the East coast here, I'll have to set you up with some pork roll - if you like bacon or pork in general, you'll be addicted to this in no time. I cant describe the flavor, it's salty and strong - not like a delicate cut of szynka or something like that, it's more of a salty, bacon-ish apocalypse and you cannot stop eating.

 

[AntekStalich]

My problem is that I'm a glutton and there's almost nothing that I won't eat..

If you're ever on the East coast here, I'll have to set you up with some pork roll - if you like bacon or pork in general, you'll be addicted to this in no time. I cant describe the flavor, it's salty and strong - not like a delicate cut of szynka or something like that, it's more of a salty, bacon-ish apocalypse and you cannot stop eating.

Now you''ve made me hungry! 'm sure I'd love it. May happen, got U.S. visa

 

[Relic]

Now you''ve made me hungry! 'm sure I'd love it. May happen, got U.S. visa

You got a US visa? Nice! Is it still stupidly hard to get one for Poles? I could never understand why the US gov makes it so hard to get a visa for a citizens of a country who are friends and allies...makes no sense to me.

But if you make it to this area, there's pork roll and great beer to explore!

 

[AntekStalich]

But if you make it to this area, there's pork roll and great beer to explore!

Same to you, Matt. Let's try a pork-roll with horseradish and sour cream shall you come here again!

 

[Relic]

Same to you, Matt. Let's try a pork-roll with horseradish and sour cream shall you come here again!

You got it, dude!

 

[EricF]

Sushi should be banned as a drug...

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please do not take away my sushi!!!!!!!!

 

[Diogenes]

These must have been either Silesian potato dumplings (kluski slaskie) or pyzy.

Aaaah! Klose! You've dredged up horrible childhood memories of trying desperately to force those down and overcome a strong gag-reflex at the dinner table. I love potatoes and fermented potato juice but those horrible things are better suited as brick or stone mortar rather than for consumption.

 

[BassyBill]

Seeing the posts from Poland has got me thinking about bigos - polish sausage and sauerkraut stew. I used to get some great sausage from a deli here, I think it was called vieska sausage. Bigos is tasty stuff!

And seeing all the stuff from Relic has got me thinking about a Jersey pork roll/egg/cheese breakfast.

 

[jrthebassguy]

Since this thread seemed to turn into a celebration of British culture - can I say how much I enjoy some of their brews?


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Sipping on a Newcastle as I type.... Fuller's London Pride is easily one of my favorite brews...Newcastle probably makes my top 10.

 

[jrthebassguy]

You see, I don't mind the United States; this is a great country with fantastic people. Yet, I still remember m last stay in Sugar Land TX. Yes, I had a rented car there. What kind of breakfast could I get in vicinity of the hotel? Pancakes that I hate and hamburger which I do not perceive as the best for breakfast ;-)
This is why I was so fond of British full on my return home. Period.

Sorry to hear that...there's some amazing and authentic restaurants in Houston that you could've gone to (assuming you had the time...the traffic to and from there can be nightmarish at times!). Sugar Land is a nice area to live and raise a family, but no great restaurants that I can recall. But unfortunately unless you know a local, finding good restaurants can be somewhat challenging (especially in the 4th largest city in the US).

 

[AntekStalich]

jrthebassguy: Let me finish these different culinary threads and seamlessly return to the British/English matters.

It is no other than the English writer Terry Pratchett who pointed out (in his Disc World series book "The Last Continent" - the one dealing with Australia*) that so-called local specialties are inedible for foreigners. Like that golonka (eisbein) that must be eaten with vodka or beer (and some French dude complained, since he had it with red wine). Or those kluski that might make you puke, Diogenes. Or that rotten Swedish fish "surströmming". Or that lye-processed Norwegian fish named lutefisk. Or that terrible sea-food you get at Pappadeaux or that burnt, smoking meat you get at Mexican restaurant near Houston, jrthebassguy ;-) Or that horrible food you get in China. Everybody could name some sort of food of this kind, and only few such as Relic could swallow it

jrthebassguy, indeed, I had chances to get some good food for dinners in Sugar Land. Noticeable are gigantic portions served at American restaurants! The problem maybe is travelling in an international group (including English and Norwegian) where you are the weakest link and have to conform to tastes of other people at the same car I've promised my wife a nice travel to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi - being on our own we'll have the chance to experience these states from inside.

Bassybill, I agree with you regarding kielbasa wiejska (countryside sausage). With bigos -- it is parallel situation as with real ale. Real ale is only real in UK, and bigos is only true in Poland (we'll have genuine bigos for this Christmas). Still, bigos is very good if made properly; few have the chance to cook bigos for a week and suffer the smell of sauerkraut

Back to England and English culture!
A local deli here used to import canned and bottled English ales. We preferred John Smith's Extra Smooth (The Magnet) and Newcastle Brown Ale (The Star). However, I have been to UK several times, sometimes on business, sometimes just for pleasure. I gave myself time to frequent pubs and taste different real ales. One night I had a dozen of pints and survived that My choice number one would be Old Speckled Hen, although I could not find real ale that would be really bad. Bitters are not my style, all the rest is fantastic. One of very good reasons to take a cheap flight to UK, indeed. The other would be trying and buying music gear. Bassybill, Denmark Street in London is known - what are other places of this kind in the UK? (I must say the second-hand market for gear in UK seems to be wonderful).

Regarding Marmite and Bovril: Nobody imports these to Poland! I've found I could order these from Ebay, but it looks that a friend will bring 5 x 400 g of Marmite this January, and I'll ask for Bovril, too. It must be yummy if I trust my taste!
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*) Can some Australian confirm it is what you eat there? At least Pratchett claims so

 

[BassyBill]

Right, a couple of points to deal with there.

BEERS - over here, there's lots and lots of good stuff to drink, as you say. I'm not a big fan of John Smith's or even Newcastle Brown myself as they're a bit "mass produced" for me and I like the stronger stuff. In London, just ask around for real ale pubs. You can't go wrong with the local brew down there, Fullers (as jr says above), their ESB and London Pride are both great. Old Speckled Hen is one of my favourites, too (it's a bitter, by the way), as is Wadsworth's 6X. The local brew for me is called Banks's, but you won't see much of it in London. While you're there, try a few pints of Theakston Old Peculier (that spelling is correct, by the way) if you can, probably the best beer we have, but be careful. There's just too many for me to list all the good options.

GEAR - In London, Bass Cellar (I think that's the name) in Denmark Street is not liked by many. The Bass Gallery in Camden is, but my own experience in there was lousy and I wouldn't spend any of my money in there if it was the last shop on Earth (we get very few rude, ignorant or unfriendly sales staff over here, and so I react pretty negatively on the few occasions when I do encounter them - this was one of them). I confess I've bought most of my gear online or through sites like Basschat in recent years and rarely use the stores. The one exception is Digital Village, which is a great place here in Birmingham, very cool guys and superb customer service, but they specialise more in high tech stuff like software and studio recording gear.

Enjoy the Marmite! (And the Bovril, that's probaby even better imo, 'cos it's made from meat.) What's the photo, by the way? Looks like something we have over here called faggots and peas (waits for howls of laughter from Americans on seeing the word "faggots").