Czech Republic trip report

On 12/11/2003 09:58, in article ,
"Michael MacClancy" wrote:

I live near Camberley. Where is this Thai restaurant?
___
Michael MacClancy



I don't know the area well, but I think it was on London Road, and maybe it
was called the Old Thai House.

Ian

In message , "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)"
writes
Brit Cuisine ? that is a non-event

Over cooked meats , over boiled vegetables , stodge , stodge , stodge
:-) Tasteless :-)

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.

Besides, meat and two veg didn't have to be badly cooked and at least it
was healthy. The culinary menace nowadays is USA style fast food and
packet snacks - yuk!
--
Sue ];(

"Sue" wrote in message
...
In message , "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)"
writes
Brit Cuisine ? that is a non-event

Over cooked meats , over boiled vegetables , stodge , stodge , stodge
:-) Tasteless :-)

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.

Besides, meat and two veg didn't have to be badly cooked and at least it
was healthy. The culinary menace nowadays is USA style fast food and
packet snacks - yuk!
--

Still, it always strikes me when I go back to the UK and visit a Tesco etc
that the basic foodstuffs are of poorer quality, and there are many things
that look pretty, but not particularly edible. I mean, entire aisles of
nothing but crisps? - ridiculous. And where in the world could the
authorities dream up the idea of flavouring veggies with the likes of
chocolate to persuade school kids to actually eat something apart from
fries? England, of course! Crazy. Which country in the world is rapidly
catching up with the States and its obesity problem? England. Ask for a rare
steak in anything less than a top restaurant (not including French/Italian,
i.e. foreign) and you'll be lucky to find a hint of pink when you cut it
open.

Things may be improving, but there's a way to go yet...

Pete

"Sue" wrote in message
...
In message , "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)"
writes
Brit Cuisine ? that is a non-event

Over cooked meats , over boiled vegetables , stodge , stodge , stodge
:-) Tasteless :-)

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.

I live near Reading. Where is the aforementioned El Dorado?
___
Michael MacClancy

Ask for a rare steak in anything less than a top restaurant (not including
French/Italian,
i.e. foreign) and you'll be lucky to find a hint of pink when you cut it
open.

That's a hoary old chestnut. Have you visited recently? I've never had a
problem with having my dead animals cooked precisely how I want them. If you
want to get picky about which restaurants count as English then you
misunderstand English cuisine: it's a little more cosmopolitan than many
other countries. It's quite hard, for example, to find a good Cantonese or
Indian restaurant in North America or Paris, but these are common in the UK.

The only place I've occasionally had trouble with overcooked steak is Paris,
where I lived for a while. The locals could tell from my accent that I was
English so they'd assume I wanted my steak burnt;-)

No, im afraid after 20 yrs in Blighty I had escape the trash served up
in the local greasy .This by no fault of my own & 20 years later ( yes
im an old b'strd) . I can say that in over 20 seasons in the North
America the cuisine is still cooked better 200% + than the UK . If you
feel the need to eat US STYLE TRASH snacks, all well & good. Same
argument goes for smoking but, i never started ;-) !


nigel
Sue wrote:
In message , "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)"
writes

Brit Cuisine ? that is a non-event

Over cooked meats , over boiled vegetables , stodge , stodge , stodge
:-) Tasteless :-)

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.

Besides, meat and two veg didn't have to be badly cooked and at least it
was healthy. The culinary menace nowadays is USA style fast food and
packet snacks - yuk!

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 18:27:58 -0000, "Michael MacClancy"
wrote:

"Sue" wrote in message
...
In message , "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)"
writes
Brit Cuisine ? that is a non-event

Over cooked meats , over boiled vegetables , stodge , stodge , stodge
:-) Tasteless :-)

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.

I live near Reading. Where is the aforementioned El Dorado?


I don't. But I know just where she means :-)

Sweeney & Todds.
Castle Street?

Walk along the main pedestrianised area to the end( leaving The Oracle
on your left to tell you which direction). Turn Left at the end, walk
past a few pizza outlets etc., and past the green area with the church
on your left. When you come to a road running across, turn right, and
it is about 50 yards along, on your right.

I visit almost every time I am in Reading, for anything. Nice food,
*very* good value.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
Four minus two is one and the same.

To reply by email, my address is aDOTjDOTheneyATbtinternetDOTcom

In message , Michael MacClancy
writes

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.

I live near Reading. Where is the aforementioned El Dorado?

Sweeney & Todd, Castle Street.
From the street it looks like a very small pie shop (and it does sell a
phenomenal amount of pies over the counter) but inside there's a bar and
tables where you can eat them fresh from the oven with baked potatoes
that are really baked.
There are more tables in the cellars, which extend under the
neighbouring barber's shop!

It's owned by the same brothers who own the good butcher and game
merchant, Vicars in West Street. The variety of fillings can be huge
(depending what time you go in) and though some are conventional, others
are not.
The puddings are not as good. The real ale is usually well kept.

As for hygiene, the EHOs eat there themselves. Not every food outlet
can get away with dropping a fistful of flour down the back of the EHO's
trousers at an inspection!
--
Sue ];(p

On Sat 15 Nov '03 at 13:10 Sue wrote:

In message , "Nigel (Remove NOSPAM)"
writes
Brit Cuisine ? that is a non-event

Over cooked meats , over boiled vegetables , stodge , stodge , stodge :-)
Tasteless :-)

D'you live anywhere near Reading? We have a Brit pie shop cum pub cum
restaurant that'd rapidly change your mind.


Surely you don't mean Sweeny Todds ?

I believe it used to be better, but when I was there one Thursday recently, I
had a nice tasty pie, that had _clearly_ been microwaved, and the same goes
for the baked potato! And fancy being a pie shop, and not selling mash !?!??!


Alun

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 16:54:30 +0100, "PG"
wrote:


"Sue" wrote in message
...

Besides, meat and two veg didn't have to be badly cooked and at least it
was healthy. The culinary menace nowadays is USA style fast food and
packet snacks - yuk!

Still, it always strikes me when I go back to the UK and visit a Tesco etc
that the basic foodstuffs are of poorer quality,

*thud*

I'm _astonished_ that you could say that. IME, meaning recently both
France and Switzerland, nothing could be further from the truth. And
as for the _range_ of fresh produce, most of it available year-round,
the brit supermarkets would win hands down.

Ask for a rare
steak in anything less than a top restaurant (not including French/Italian,
i.e. foreign) and you'll be lucky to find a hint of pink when you cut it
open.

That reflects the British taste, and is nowhere near as bad as you
make out. Plus it's nothing at all to do with quality, which,
particularly when it comes to steaks, is usually much higher.

Things may be improving, but there's a way to go yet...

Not half as much as you think. Although I was forced to eat at a Pizza
Express on Saturday[1], which I must admit was a truly awful
experience. But again, nothing to do with quality of ingredients.

[1] In Wimbledon, where I was (just to get back vaguely on topic)
attending the Ski Club leaders training day.

--
Ace (bruce dot rogers at roche dot com)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.