What do you miss about the UK?

I love British food, and I can count on one hand the number of bad meals I had when we lived there in the '90's, so it's been good for more than 20 years. :)

I want to be clear, though: fusion cooking and embracing the latest trends to create new things is all well and good, but that's not what I'm talking about. That actually turns me off a bit, because in my heart, being a Midwestern America boy...I want meat, potatoes, and gravy. And IMO, ain't nobody does MPG better than the UK! :okay:

We lived on full English breakfasts, sausages and mash, Sunday lunches of roast meat, roast potatoes, some other unimportant veg, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy. We had banoffee pie and fruits-of-the-forest crumble with custard all the time. We never felt the need to go looking for anything beyond that kind of food, because it was so good on its own.

A local I used to work with used to derisively tell me my culinary tastes were stuck in the 1950's, but it didn't care. Good food is good food, and when I find something I like, I stick with it.

Oh, and apart from the cheese, Britain brews some wonderful beers. I used to love Theakson's Best Bitter, for example.
 
One thing that is really good here (there aren't many) is the bewildering range of breweries and beer. I'll give an example. When I first moved to Scotland in 1992, there were about eight breweries (in Scotland, I mean). Now, I couldn't begin to tell you how many there are. It's a similar story across the UK. You only have to look at an old Good Beer Guide and a modern one and compare the thickness to get some idea of the growth.
 
I want to be clear, though: fusion cooking and embracing the latest trends to create new things is all well and good, but that's not what I'm talking about. That actually turns me off a bit, because in my heart, being a Midwestern America boy...I want meat, potatoes, and gravy. And IMO, ain't nobody does MPG better than the UK! :okay:

Don't get me wrong - I love all kinds of UK cuisine. I don't really differentiate so much. As said elsewhere - a steak and kidney suet pudding can be a Michelin starred meal as much as a homely old fashioned comfort meal.
 
Don't get me wrong - I love all kinds of UK cuisine. I don't really differentiate so much. As said elsewhere - a steak and kidney suet pudding can be a Michelin starred meal as much as a homely old fashioned comfort meal.

I'm surprised that cod and chips haven't become a Michelin starred meal given the price that (I'm told) they currently are.
 
We've often said that visiting Oxford was not a good idea... (Endeavour, Inspector Morse, Lewis to name a few)... often wondered how there was anyone left to murder lol
We've said the same thing about Midsomer Murders and Agatha Raisin, as they both seem to take place in very small villages.

Granted, they do travel to the next village over on occasion, but by this point, I'd think anyone left is probably a murderer. :laugh:
 
I consider slow roasted Prime Rib with mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding, properly prepared Fish n Chips, Welsh Rarebit and the like and turnovers of all sorts British food. It's all in how it's prepared.
No complaints here.
 
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We've often said that visiting Oxford was not a good idea... (Endeavour, Inspector Morse, Lewis to name a few)... often wondered how there was anyone left to murder lol
360px-The_Eagle_and_Child.jpg

Interesting reading:
The Eagle and Child - Wikipedia
 
Its an ok pub - a bit dirty and shabby though, it needs a bit of a spruce up. If it wasn't for the Inklings connection then I doubt many people would make an effort to go there. But I guess that's why they haven't bothered to spend the money on maintaining it....the tourists will come anyway so they don't need to bother attracting repeat customers. A shame really, because it could be so much better :(

Oxford has much nicer pubs: The Crown and The Chequers are two of my favourites in the city centre.....though not the easiest places for find :wink:
 
Locally known as The Bird and Brat. It's quite a characterful pub, but the beer isn't much cop. The best pubs in Oxford are not in the city centre - in fact, there's not very many right in the centre. There's also been a large decline in the number of pubs. When I first lived in Oxford, I lived near Jericho, just north of the city centre. There used to be masses of pubs there, but there are only a few these days.
 
We've often said that visiting Oxford was not a good idea... (Endeavour, Inspector Morse, Lewis to name a few)... often wondered how there was anyone left to murder lol
I lived in Oxford when Morse first appeared on TV. The first two series were, largely, shot in Oxford and it used to be fun to work out what pub he was in. Then they starting shooting most of it around Elstree studios and I recall seeing one "Oxford" pub that was actually in St Albans. I knew this because I had friends who lived right near it.

Another bit of Morse fun was playing "spot the mistake." There was one where there had been a body found in a public toilet, which was obviously the one at St Giles. When Morse and Lewis emerged from the toilet, however, they came out by Merton College, which is on the other side of town. Another one I recall is them coming down the steps of the police station and turning left. That would take you off down the Abingdon Road. When we saw them a moment later, they were turning into the High Street, which would have required them to turn right.
 
Another bit of Morse fun was playing "spot the mistake." There was one where there had been a body found in a public toilet, which was obviously the one at St Giles. When Morse and Lewis emerged from the toilet, however, they came out by Merton College, which is on the other side of town. Another one I recall is them coming down the steps of the police station and turning left. That would take you off down the Abingdon Road. When we saw them a moment later, they were turning into the High Street, which would have required them to turn right.
Its the same with films shot in London - especially ones with car chases. I've lost count of the number of times we've watched them drive southbound over (for example) Southwark bridge, only for them to then turn onto Cheapside or drive past the Lloyds building or the Gherkin. And then the next moment they'll be somewhere near Trafalgar Square or out at Docklands. :laugh:
 
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