Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - July 12, 2024

Bangers and mash

Great Britain has long had a reputation as a place of warm beer and poor food. Neither is warranted, at least not today. On a per-capita basis, the UK has almost three Michelin-starred restaurants for every million people, whereas the United States has only 0.7!

In our recently-completed 10-week stay in the UK, as in the past, we ate in restaurants, in the homes of friends, and in our own full-kitchen home.

In terms of eating out, a few things are different. For one, tipping is not routine or expected. While calling for a reservation is common, walk-ins are usually welcome. A "reserved" sign on a table means it isn't available ... unless a time is stated and a diner can complete a meal earlier than the stated time.

Almost every pub also serves food. It probably won't garner any Michelin stars, but it's better than most fast-food places. While most restaurants are much like restaurants here, in a pub the meal is ordered at the bar, paid for after ordering and then served at the table where the customer is sitting. If advertised as a "free house," the pub is not under contract to any particular brewery and can offer competing brews. Hot tea is also available.

Many eating places may close after lunch and not reopen until near supper time.

The bill in a restaurant will NOT come until it is asked for and no one tries to rush you out the door when you have finished eating.

A "full English breakfast," whether in a restaurant or a bed-and-breakfast, will keep you going until supper with no problem. It generally has eggs, bacon - really ham, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, beans - Campbell's style, toast and fried bread, plus a drink. Eggs are usually fried, but might be boiled. Heavy? Yes! Good? Indeed!

There are a few words to watch for when eating out or shopping in a grocery store. The items on the left have an American equivalent or explanation on the right.

Bap = sandwich in a bun
Carvery = usually a Sunday buffet-style meal, but with servers
Chips = large-cut French fries
Crisps = potato chips
French Fries = shoestring fries
Gammon = ham
High Tea = a selection of sweets and sometimes small sandwiches accompanied by tea
Lemonade = usually refers to any lemon-lime soft drink
Mushy Peas = just what they sound like (it's an "English" thing)
Pudding = a dessert, whether actually a pudding or not
Rocket = arugula
Sponge = white or yellow cake, much like that in a Twinkie
Tea = depending on context, a drink or an alternate term for supper
Trifle = a layered dessert of “sponge” (sometimes soaked in alcohol), fruit cocktail, and whipped cream
Welsh Rarebit = grilled toast with sauce of sharp cheddar cheese, beer, butter, Worcestershire sauce, English mustard
Bara Brith = Welsh bread, similar to fruitcake, flavored with tea, dried fruits and spices

Just as in many places in the U.S., a good steak is hard to find and is generally expensive.

Unlike here, the butcher shop is alive and well. They also sell rabbits, pheasants and other wild game - items we rarely see here.

Lamb is commonplace and quite good. We ate lamb chops from the local butcher several times and weren't disappointed. Friend Jan prepared a meal with leg of lamb as the main dish, accompanied by roasted carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes and other veggies. Delicious!

Fish-and-chips can be found almost everywhere, with many shops specializing in it. Eating it doused with malt vinegar is typical. Often sold as takeaway, the fish is laid on the fries and the two are wrapped in paper. The latter is important as it absorbs any excess grease.

Cakes are frequently served with cream or double cream rather than ice cream, but often the latter is an option.

BBQ may refer to nothing more than grilling - no sauces. However, Hickory's Smokehouse, a chain of restaurants that have popped up near the Chester area, advertises American-style BBQ. We ate at one in Shrewsbury and twice at the one in Wrexham. The "Memphis style" ribs covered in bourbon sauce - called gravy - were as tasty as any we've had in Kansas City and other cities that claim to be "the BBQ capital" of the U.S.

A trip to the grocery store reveals other differences.

Bacon? Forget it. There are things that look like it, but since it comes from a different part of the hog and is not processed the same way, it doesn't taste the same. The various versions of British bacon all taste like ham to me.

Molasses? Look for treacle.

Leeks are popular with a taste similar to onions, although milder.

Hamburger is called beef mince. (There is pork mince as well.) Most is very low in fat and so has little flavor. Want a hamburger taste? Buy the 20-percent-fat beef mince.

Sour cream is hard to find, but crème fraîche was almost identical and easy to locate.

Taco sauce usually comes only in mild. To generate a "medium heat," we bought the mild and a small bottle of jalapeno peppers. Cutting some of the latter and adding it to the sauce did the trick.

Miracle Whip wasn't to be found. Mayonnaise mixed with a bit of sugar and mustard was a passable substitute.

Root beer? Nope!

Most luncheon meats are cut delicatessen thin, so two or three slices are needed in a sandwich.

Milk, rather than coming in skim, 1 percent, 2 percent and whole, combines the middle two into semi-skim.

All this talk about food is making me hungry, and I'm not just talking bangers and mash (sausages with mashed potatoes). If I could just pop down to the local fish-and-chips shop or buy some lamb chops from the local butcher, well, that would be brilliant!