What is the best city on Earth to eat?

[daveymck]

You missed out the D Portions generally are small compared to the half cow sized portions americans expect.

I have eaten in Paris a few times and think french food is overrated, had a nice Chinese in Brussels but even pub type food is decent in Belgium generally.

I find it amusing in this thread Americans bashing anyone elses food, the amount of crap the US exports round the world as well a creating fast food and the tv dinner and being the most obese nation around cant see how you can critisise. On top of that your meat is not the best quality and I think is still allowed to be pumped full of hormones along wih the fact that mad cow disease is probably prevelant (or at least there in parts) but gets brushed under the carpet. I suspect that the US is like the UK with most good resteraunts being based on foods from abroad rather than the rib/steak/burger joints.

Although I do like kebabs (but have to know the best shops to get it from ) and fish and chips cant be beaten. I dont think you get proper bacon sandwiches over there its all the streaky bacon but I may be wrong on that.

[daveymck]

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Man, most of them are pretty awful - the preserve of many a dogmeat joke. Almost always go for the Kofte or Shish in a kebab shop if you somehow find yourself in one. Shawarma and Gyros places are generally much better (great Gyros in Brussels). But there is a lot of very good Middle Eastern food here.

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On the question of kebabs my local takeaway (which I dont goto ) does a pizza called geordie delight, pizza base with tomato then with kebab meat and garlic and chilli sauce on it, you can add chips to the topping if you wish. One for the daft drunk locals I think.

[nicky g]

"You missed out the D Portions generally are small compared to the half cow sized portions americans expect."

Portions are smaller, yes. If you want big portions, the place to go is Portugal. Delicious, too.

I think another problem is that people look for the wrong thing here. Americans for example may try London pizza or Mexican food because that's what they like to eat back home, find that it by and large sucks, and conclude London food is terrible. It's not, but you need to eat what London does well - for example Middle Eastern food, Thai food, South Asian food, gastro-pub food, decent trad English food (hardish to find but is there) and some types of Italian food. If I judged American food by the Indian food I've had there, I would rate it mediocre at best, and terrible compared to British food. Every time I've been to an Indian restaurant in teh states it's been to me exactly what London food is thought of as in America; pricey and tasteless. But I know American food is actually very good because I eat what my American wife tells me is good there, not what I'd eat if I was at home.

[thatpfunk]

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I think another problem is that people look for the wrong thing here. Americans for example may try London pizza or Mexican food because that's what they like to eat back home, find that it by and large sucks, and conclude London food is terrible. It's not, but you need to eat what London does well - for example Middle Eastern food, Thai food, South Asian food, gastro-pub food, decent trad English food (hardish to find but is there) and some types of Italian food. If I judged American food by the Indian food I've had there, I would rate it mediocre at best, and terrible compared to British food. Every time I've been to an Indian restaurant in teh states it's been to me exactly what London food is thought of as in America; pricey and tasteless. But I know American food is actually very good because I eat what my American wife tells me is good there, not what I'd eat if I was at home.

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No, no, no... you're making waaaaayyy too much sense [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

FWIW, I thought Spanish food was by far the worst in Europe, everything else was pretty good.

[jakethebake]

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What is the best city on Earth to eat?

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I thought was gonna be a Godzilla thread. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[GimmeDaWatch]

I dislike alot of things about living in LA, but the food aint one of 'em. I love Indian, Mediterranean, Japanese, and Chinese food, and ethnic restaurants are a dime a dozen around here. Ironically, I cant find a good Mexican joint on the westside. I've traveled in Europe a bit, and obviously everybody loves Italian food, so Rome was really good, but I dont think I had a single subpar meal in a Parisian cafe, they do it up rott noss. Typical British food makes me gag for the most part, but London does have alot of Indian and Pakistani restaurants, so thats a plus.

[turnipmonster]

I really like belgian food as well (eaten more in antwerp than brussels though), but as you pointed out every place seems to have a very similar if not identical menu. there is always potato and cheese croquettes, some type of spaghetti bolognese, frites, etc.

--turnipmonster

[nicky g]

I love Belgian spag bol. Not offering it up as any kind of haute, or even good, cuisine, but I can't get enough of that stuff. The cheeese always fuses with the sauce to make some kind of delicious bolognese-flavoured chewing gum concotion. Yum.

But yeah, it's true. But the food is always good, and there's the endless diffent beers for variety. There's a bit more variety in Brussels where a lot of restaurants experiment a bit more or have some kind of angle. My favourite restaurant is a Portuguese owned Belgian restaurant; all the Belgian staples but a lot of good seafood and Belgian takes on trad Portuguese dishes as well, plus a great Portuguese wine list.

For a city of its size it has a decent but not amazing range of good ethnic restaurants, I guess.

[daveymck]

I really hated Brussells the 48hrs I have spent there, but then I think I might just hate capital cities as I hated Paris as well (and dont really like London although it improved the 6 months I was there). Spent a few months in the Diest/Leuven area and thought it was much nicer than Brussels, completely different vibe and much quieter nicer place.

[jen]

"That is what makes Houston a surprisingly good restaurant city as well."

Surely, you jest...