Favorite foods

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 18:43:00 +0000, Louisa Hennessy wrote:

As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things to
eat while there? I know I do.

In Belgium I like to have moules et frites.

I would also recommend eels cooked in sorrel. Anguilles au vert. Paling
in't groen.

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 19:02:55 +0000, Charles Hawtrey wrote:


France: steak frites, pizza (don't laugh; I'm referring specifically
to Nice, which has pizza different from any other place I've been).

Nice is really Italy. :-)

(OK, county of Nice. They spoke Italian though.)

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 19:16:53 GMT, devil wrote:

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 19:02:55 +0000, Charles Hawtrey wrote:


France: steak frites, pizza (don't laugh; I'm referring specifically
to Nice, which has pizza different from any other place I've been).

Nice is really Italy. :-)

(OK, county of Nice. They spoke Italian though.)

Also had an excellent pizza in Nice - "au feu du bois" - one of the
fold-over variety - calzone is it called? Whatever.....excellent it
was.

Donna Evleth wrote:

As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things to
eat while there?

Belgium (Brussels): Moules (of course) and gaufres (from street
vendors, not restaurants), also snails (if there's some festive occasion
so the street vendors who offer them stewed in a peppery broth are on
the Grand Place selling them), and chocolates. To eat in my hotel
room: assorted cheeses and pates, along with bread and Belgian beer.
(Also, most French cuisine seems to be better in Brussels than in Paris
- there may be some truth the to legend that the Belgians invented it.)

Austria (Vienna): Almost any soup (which they seem to do particularly
well), smoked salmon, Wiener schnitzel, rotkraut, goulash (with
spaetzle), pastries, those wonderful little fancy cookies that seem de
rigueur at Christmas, and (again to eat in my room) assorted cheeses and
pates. (I'm particularly fond of one liver pate with apples and
mushrooms in it.)

France (Paris): Anything containing duck (we so seldom find it on offer
in restaurants in California, where it's usually "a l'orange" and quite
expensive), pastries, pates, cheese. Except for the restaurant in the
hotel where I stayed on my first visit to Paris (which seemed dedicated
to destroying the reputation of French cuisine), I've seldom had a bad
meal in Paris - I just think the Belgians do it even better.

Switzerland (Zurich): Don't ASK! I'm sure there must be good Swiss
cooking somewhere, but none of the restaurants near my hotel offered
anything that was not swimming in fat, and at prices higher than I've
ever paid elsewhere, even in New York City. (Usually when I have what I
consider an expensive meal, I at least find it worth the price.) ...On
the other hand, the opera in Zurich was definitely world-class quality
(although that was more expensve than elsewhere, too.)

"Donna Evleth" wrote in message
...
As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things
to
eat while there?

Germany: Those fantastic Döner Kebaps, although they really are Turkish. I
eat them all over Germany
whenever I encounter them.

Also in Germany: Spargel! In May/June the wonderful white asparagus that is
everywhere and pops up
in special "Spargel Speisekarten" menus for the 6 to 8 weeks that it's
available.

"Javaman" sir_eric_23atyahoo.com wrote in message
...
"Donna Evleth" wrote in message
...
As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things
to
eat while there?

Germany: Those fantastic Döner Kebaps, although they really are Turkish. I
eat them all over Germany
whenever I encounter them.

Also in Germany: Spargel! In May/June the wonderful white asparagus that
is
everywhere and pops up
in special "Spargel Speisekarten" menus for the 6 to 8 weeks that it's
available.

Spargel Suppe at the Weissbier Brewery in Erding, Germany near Munich is the
best ever!

Joe in Texas

Donna Evleth wrote:

As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite thing=
s to
eat while there? I know I do. Here are some of my own very favorites,=
and
I would like to hear about other people's. Especially since my reperto=
ire
of countries is a bit limited.

FRANCE: I live here now, but I didn't always. My all-time favorite, as=
a
tourist and now as a resident, is the plateau des fruits de mer. A goo=
d
plateau has raw oysters, sometimes of more than one variety, raw clams,=
and
sometimes raw mussels, cooked shrimp, of two varieties, the "bouquet", =
a
medium sized pink shrimp and the "petit gris", a small shrimp which is =
gray
when raw but salmon colored when cooked, crabs of several varieties, th=
e
"=E9trille" which is small, the "tourteau" which is large, and two kind=
s of
sea snails, the "bulot" and the "bigorneau". These latter are eaten by=

using a pin to pull the meat out of the shell.

I a similar platter when I was in Paris 10 years ago. We walked by the
restaurant every day on our way back and forth from our hotel and had sel=
ected
it for dinner on our final night. They English translation was "Seafood
Platter", so I assumed, incorrectly, that it would be similar to what we =
get on
a seafood platter here, which would be some shrimps, some scallops, some =
fish,
maybe calarmari. I was surprised when we were delivered a huge platter of=
raw
molluscs. It was tasty, but I have had many meals in France that were mu=
ch
better. I was disappointed every time we had lamb there. When I think of=
great
food in France I always think first of the great bread.


HOLLAND: I have not been to Holland for a while, but we have a Dutch fr=
iend
who often brings me my favorite treat from Holland when he comes to vis=
it
France. This is smoke eel. You get the whole smoked fish. You peel t=
he
skin off, which is very easy since it comes off in a whole piece, then =
you
eat the inside with your fingers, nibbling it away from the bone.

I had smoked eel for the first time in Denmark. My parents had been there=
and
told me about it, but their impression of it was different from mine. Th=
ey did
not like it at all. When I went for the first time I was met at the airp=
ort and
taken for a drive to see the sights. I treated my guides to a late lunch =
at the
restaurant in my hotel. The menu was in Danish and I asked them to pick o=
ut
something for me that was a Danish speciality. We all had smoked eel smo=
rsbrot,
and beer and Aakavit to wash it down. It was fabulous. On a return trip =
with my
wife we were treated to smoked eel at a friend's place, and she liked it =
as much
as I did.

I can get smoked eel from a Dutch delicatessen here. It's pretty good, b=
ut it
does not
compare with the stuff I had in Denmark.

My hotel in Denmark served a wonderful breakfast buffet. When I got to th=
e sweet
pastries I tried something that I later learned was Vienbrot, It is proba=
bly the
most delicious pastry that I have ever had in my life.

We spent only one night in Belgium. We had roasted chicken in a small res=
taurant
in Ypres. It was nothing fancy, but very tasty. My outstanding taste trea=
t there
was the draft beer, the best beer I have ever had in my life. Breakfast =
in our
hotel was a simple continental breakfast, coffee, juice, a soft roll and =
a sweet
pastry. They were delicious.

I don't recall anything in Germany that stood out over everything else. I=
n three
trips there I only had one meal that was disappointing.

"Donna Evleth" wrote in message ...
As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things to
eat while there? I know I do. Here are some of my own very favorites, and
I would like to hear about other people's. Especially since my repertoire
of countries is a bit limited.

FRANCE: I live here now, but I didn't always. My all-time favorite, as a
tourist and now as a resident, is the plateau des fruits de mer. A good
plateau has raw oysters, sometimes of more than one variety, raw clams, and
sometimes raw mussels, cooked shrimp, of two varieties, the "bouquet", a
medium sized pink shrimp and the "petit gris", a small shrimp which is gray
when raw but salmon colored when cooked, crabs of several varieties, the
"étrille" which is small, the "tourteau" which is large, and two kinds of
sea snails, the "bulot" and the "bigorneau". These latter are eaten by
using a pin to pull the meat out of the shell.

Our daughter, who lived here as a child and now lives in the US, also loves
the plateau des fruits de mer. For her it's even like a comfort food, and
she insists on having it on each of her annual visits. She learned to eat
the plateau des fruits de mer when she was five years old.

GREECE: We vacation every September on the island of Aegina, and I have two
favorites there. First is the grilled fish served with a simple sauce of
olive oil and lemon juice. The second is the pistachio nuts, which are the
island's specialty, and which are the best I have ever eaten anywhere. And
I am originally from California, where they also grow pistachios.

HOLLAND: I have not been to Holland for a while, but we have a Dutch friend
who often brings me my favorite treat from Holland when he comes to visit
France. This is smoke eel. You get the whole smoked fish. You peel the
skin off, which is very easy since it comes off in a whole piece, then you
eat the inside with your fingers, nibbling it away from the bone.

Those are my favorites. Do other people have things they feel they MUST eat
when they go to certain countries?

Donna Evleth


I love the AUSTRIAN kitchen. If you ever have the chance to go to
Austria don't miss: Wiener Schnitzel, Zwiebel Rostbraten,
Schweinsbraten and of course Apfelstrudel!!!!

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in
message ...


Donna Evleth wrote:

As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things
to
eat while there?

Belgium (Brussels): Moules (of course) and gaufres (from street
vendors, not restaurants), also snails (if there's some festive occasion
so the street vendors who offer them stewed in a peppery broth are on
the Grand Place selling them), and chocolates. To eat in my hotel
room: assorted cheeses and pates, along with bread and Belgian beer.
(Also, most French cuisine seems to be better in Brussels than in Paris
- there may be some truth the to legend that the Belgians invented it.)

I thought it was known that French cuisine was invented by the Italian chef
who came with Catharine de Medici (g).


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 11:32:43 -0800, "Javaman" sir_eric_23atyahoo.com
wrote:

"Donna Evleth" wrote in message
...
As a tourist in European countries, how many of you have favorite things
to
eat while there?

Germany: Those fantastic Döner Kebaps, although they really are Turkish. I
eat them all over Germany
whenever I encounter them.

Also in Germany: Spargel! In May/June the wonderful white asparagus that is
everywhere and pops up
in special "Spargel Speisekarten" menus for the 6 to 8 weeks that it's
available.

Germans are good at these special menus with seasonal food - like the
"Pfifferlinge" mushrooms which IIRC are around late summer/early
autumn.

The railway station at Offenburg gave me a chance to try a
Pfifferlinge menu a couple of years ago - nice creamy Pfifferling soup
+ schniztel with a Pf sauce. Delicious.

Some station restaurants in Germany are - perhaps surprisingly
(especially with the crap we're served in UK stations) - excellent and
sometimes as good as the places in town.