Happy Things Thread

[linguoboy]

This, which people in the rest of America eat, looks much less good. Yeah of course it's nice for a snack, but I could not live off that for a main meal.

As I say, I try to read your remarks in good faith, but it really strains my capacities to believe that anyone could know so very little about American culture.

You do know that California is part of the US and not Mexico, right? Do me a favour and Google "California cuisine". The Atlantic Ocean is not some insuperable barrier which prevented the techniques and influence of nouvelle cuisine from ever reaching these shores.

And barbecue, although I tend to associate that more with, like, Texas.

This is amusing for me to read because my favourite style of barbecue is Low Country North Carolina. I don't really care for Texas styles of barbecue at all, they're all too beef-heavy and I'm a pig-lovin' man.

St Louis-style barbecue is nothing to write home about: grilled pork steaks drenched in sweet sauce. Like the travesty that is St Louis pizza, I love it because it reminds me of home, not because it's particularly good.

[Viktor77]

Eddy didn't actually live in St Louis. He lived in the run down and depressing Northeast that you wouldn't go back to.

I had to look up "Gate District", since that's not a name I remember hearing before. We never called it that when I lived there, probably because Lafayette Terrace was the only part of it that had been gentrified at the time.

Where did you go for barbecue? I've never thought of St Louis as much of a barbecue town--certainly not compared to KC, let alone Memphis. But one thing we have which is first rate is frozen custard. You owe yourself a trip to Ted Drewes before you go.

Yea, this neighborhood is a curious mix of those lovely old homes and ugly suburban ones. We'll try to get some custard! We went to Spare no Rib, it was a Mexican-BBQ fusion sort of cuisine. We also went to the Shaved Duck. Both are delicious. I know KC is better known for BBQ but I got sick off of KC BBQ so I'm leery to go back. I went to a real local place, too, in Kansas City, KS.

Could the northern suburbs really be as bad as Northeast, Missouri? I'm talking towns like Kahoka, these towns were dumps, except Hannibal, Hannibal was pretty.

[linguoboy]

Could the northern suburbs really be as bad as Northeast, Missouri? I'm talking towns like Kahoka, these towns were dumps, except Hannibal, Hannibal was pretty.

What do you mean "northern suburbs"? The northern suburbs of St Louis don't extend into Lincoln County; it's the exurbs at best.

[Viktor77]

Could the northern suburbs really be as bad as Northeast, Missouri? I'm talking towns like Kahoka, these towns were dumps, except Hannibal, Hannibal was pretty.

What do you mean "northern suburbs"? The northern suburbs of St Louis don't extend into Lincoln County; it's the exurbs at best.

I mean I thought he was from St. Charles, which is a suburb, isn't it? And when I spoke of the area that was a dump it was far north of St. Charles.

BTW, we went to the Ted Drewes on Grand. That shit was fucking amazing. I wish we had gone last night too. Had the butterscotch sundae. Jesus Christ.

[linguoboy]

Could the northern suburbs really be as bad as Northeast, Missouri? I'm talking towns like Kahoka, these towns were dumps, except Hannibal, Hannibal was pretty.

What do you mean "northern suburbs"? The northern suburbs of St Louis don't extend into Lincoln County; it's the exurbs at best.

I mean I thought he was from St. Charles, which is a suburb, isn't it? And when I spoke of the area that was a dump it was far north of St. Charles.

He was from St Charles County, which is only partially suburbanised, and split his time between there and Lincoln County, which isn't all. (Lincoln County is where I used to live and we passed through St Charles Co. regularly on our way to and from St Louis.)

BTW, we went to the Ted Drewes on Grand. That shit was fucking amazing. I wish we had gone last night too. Had the butterscotch sundae. Jesus Christ.

I've still never had better.

[sirdanilot]

This, which people in the rest of America eat, looks much less good. Yeah of course it's nice for a snack, but I could not live off that for a main meal.

As I say, I try to read your remarks in good faith, but it really strains my capacities to believe that anyone could know so very little about American culture.

You do know that California is part of the US and not Mexico, right? Do me a favour and Google "California cuisine". The Atlantic Ocean is not some insuperable barrier which prevented the techniques and influence of nouvelle cuisine from ever reaching these shores.

I have never before heard of Californian cuisine, no.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_California
It looks like it contains Mexican style dishes, which is nice, I love mexican food and sadly it is hardly available here and if it is available it is of low quality. It also looks like it includes local seafoods which is good. But then I see the pizza with the egg on top and I think 'noo......' Are there good restaurants in california? Obviously yes, because many rich people live in California, and rich people tend to attract good restaurants. I do not think this is necessarily representative of the entire united states.

As I said before, my main point is that the southern parts of the united states have a richer tradition, and this also includes a culinary tradition which is richer than that found in the north and other parts of the country. Thinks like pretzels are something of which I think 'nooooooooo', for example, which is a commonly eaten food in many parts of the (non-southern) United States, as well as hot dogs, mac and cheese (often out of a box which is a no-no) and other unhealthy dishes. Another bad combination eaten by many Americans is peanutbutter and jelly sandwich (bad combination) and frozen peanutbutter (why would you freze peanut butter ? WHY ON EARTH?) and another bad american habit is serving entire buckets of soft drink with fast food meals (such as one liter of cola being a small portion, while that's an entire BOTTLE of cola here).

Another cuisine which I am not a fan of, is the Czech cuisine. I have family which is of Czech origin, and I always think 'no' when eating Czech food. Every czech food is some shade of brown or yellow in colour, and every food is soft in texture and tastes the same as all other foods. With christmas, we once ate carp. CARP ! Eating carp is a taboo in the netherlands (it is a fish which is simply never eaten), but oh well of course I ate it. It tastes of mud and fat. It was not gross but it is certainly not haut cuisine, the Czech kitchen. The sweets are nice though as they are not too sweet which I prefer.

[sirdanilot]

Spanish food is nice but you do need to know what to order If you just randomly pick something odds are high that it's fried and that you receive no vegetables with it. For example if you order a bocadillo calamares (a sandwich with squid) you will not receive any salad or sauce on it which is bad bad bad, but it is certainly possible to eat well in spain if you know what. But a tortilla is nice for example.

Portuguese food is the most excellent and I love love love it a lot.

Of course Italian food is famous for being excellent.

In France I don't think you can get very good food unless you go to very high end restaurants. A problem with the french is that they utterly hate and despise you solely for not being french which does not help with the quality of the food, unless you pay them a lot.

I do like the German food, although it's also a shade of yellow and brown, like the Czech cuisine, it's warm and comforting somehow.

In Norway we had an excellent breakfast in the hotel, with even different types of herring, and a type of a brown, very vile disgusting cheese which other people loved, perhaps an acquired taste. But you can't order anything anywhere as you will go bankrupt even for ordering the smallest thing as everything is so expensive.

Croatian cuisine is also nice, I ordered something which I couldn't pronounce and I had no idea what it was, and it turned out to be nice small little clams, probably locally produced which I like.

Hungarian is also very nice, great.

Polish cuisine is like the Czech cuisine, everything a shade of green and brown, though I think I liked it a bit more than the Czech stuff, it seems like they have more variety.

Food in Finland was surprisingly good, Salmon and Reindeer are among things I had, and the breakfast was also good and they had a lot of berries.

And as for the other european countries, I haven't been there enough to judge.

---

As for European countries I'd like to visit:

- I'd like to visit England more, I have only been to london one day. As a child we never went to England as my father did not dare to drive on the left side of the road, and I also cannot drive (let alone on the left side of the road... gasp) but maybe I can visit it one day anyway with a friend.
- Slovenia is very nice, I think, and it's not extremly far away.
- Macedonia and Montenegro are underrated, cheap holiday destionations which I'd like to visit, and also cheap alcohol.

the rest isn't directly at the top of my list. sure, iceland and greece and austira and so are hotspots but I would not be super sad if I would never have the chance to go there.

[linguoboy]

Another bad combination eaten by many Americans is peanutbutter and jelly sandwich (bad combination) and frozen peanutbutter (why would you freze peanut butter ? WHY ON EARTH?)

Frozen peanut butter is a thing? I've never heard of this in my life. What Americans told you about this?

[pharazon]

And as for the other european countries, I haven't been there enough to judge.

Yeah, that would have been a dumb thing to do.

[alynnidalar]

Another bad combination eaten by many Americans is peanutbutter and jelly sandwich (bad combination) and frozen peanutbutter (why would you freze peanut butter ? WHY ON EARTH?)

Frozen peanut butter is a thing? I've never heard of this in my life. What Americans told you about this?

I do refrigerate mine, but that's because I'm single and take so long to use a jar, it starts turning colors and tasting a little odd. But refrigerated peanut butter really doesn't taste any different from unrefrigerated peanut butter. You just have to let it warm up a bit before spreading it on your English muffins in the morning. EDIT: I forgot the point of why I wrote this, which is to say that I have never heard of freezing peanut butter either, and in fact most people think I'm weird for even refrigerating mine, but I'm a bit nervous about food going bad so I figure better safe than sorry.

Anyway, I'm just still rather amused that Southern cuisine is apparently the healthiest of all American cuisines, despite Southern cooking being characterized by, like, six sticks of butter per meal and deep-frying absolutely everything. Fried okra, fried chicken, fried potatoes, fried butter... isn't the South the part of the country with the highest rates of obesity, anyway?

[linguoboy]

I do refrigerate mine, but that's because I'm single and take so long to use a jar, it starts turning colors and tasting a little odd. But refrigerated peanut butter really doesn't taste any different from unrefrigerated peanut butter. You just have to let it warm up a bit before spreading it on your English muffins in the morning.

We refrigerate ours, too, because my husband buys brands with no preservatives and it would go bad otherwise. I generally like my sandwich bread toasted anyway, and the heat is enough to warm it up.

Anyway, I'm just still rather amused that Southern cuisine is apparently the healthiest of all American cuisines, despite Southern cooking being characterized by, like, six sticks of butter per meal and deep-frying absolutely everything.

I wrote a response to this effect, but my browser apparently ate it. Not just tonnes of animal fats, but also copious amounts of salt (to ward off dehydration from working out in the sun) and sugar (because that's where they make it). It's tasty as hell, but "healthy" is not a word I've ever felt inspired to use in conjunction with Southern food.

[Viktor77]

He was from St Charles County, which is only partially suburbanised, and split his time between there and Lincoln County, which isn't all. (Lincoln County is where I used to live and we passed through St Charles Co. regularly on our way to and from St Louis.)

You know the area better than me and so I won't say anything to contradict that Lincoln County might look like some of those counties north of Hannibal I visited. I'm also most likely speaking of the area with an angry bias because typically when I visit counties, even when I visited Central and Southern Illinois counties, I usually was pleasantly surprised by pretty and picturesque sights. Old courthouses, charming downtowns, quirky little museums (I'm reminded here of the Oil Field Museum in Crawford County, IL). But that part of Missouri, including Kirksville, but not including Hannibal, was downright depressing. In several counties I couldn't even locate the county courthouse, and in some they looked run down. The houses were beaten and abused and the roads were shot. I actually thought of these towns as methtowns as I went through there as that was the impression I received. Outside Galesburg, IL which was basically the equivalent in Illinois (I couldn't get out of that town fast enough, it was a real POS. And funny thing is, Monmouth, gorgeous), I rarely see such rundown towns on my travels. Indiana had a few I suppose all up closer to the Lake Michigan metro which isn't surprising given the area and how industrialized it is, but even in Illinois such towns have been so far few and far between. Every now and then you come across one, such as Clay County or Jasper County, but then there are plenty of very charming finds that far outweigh them, such as Lake Carlyle, the courthouse of Pike County, etc.

For reference this is what I've traveled in IL and MO.

[sirdanilot]

I do refrigerate mine, but that's because I'm single and take so long to use a jar, it starts turning colors and tasting a little odd. But refrigerated peanut butter really doesn't taste any different from unrefrigerated peanut butter. You just have to let it warm up a bit before spreading it on your English muffins in the morning.

We refrigerate ours, too, because my husband buys brands with no preservatives and it would go bad otherwise. I generally like my sandwich bread toasted anyway, and the heat is enough to warm it up.

Anyway, I'm just still rather amused that Southern cuisine is apparently the healthiest of all American cuisines, despite Southern cooking being characterized by, like, six sticks of butter per meal and deep-frying absolutely everything.

I wrote a response to this effect, but my browser apparently ate it. Not just tonnes of animal fats, but also copious amounts of salt (to ward off dehydration from working out in the sun) and sugar (because that's where they make it). It's tasty as hell, but "healthy" is not a word I've ever felt inspired to use in conjunction with Southern food.

What I mean mostly with southern is the cajun style 'gumbo' dishes and such, which are more French in origin.

Although I have seen some Southern food, such as Deep Fried Catfish and it also sounds delicious.

[finlay]

He was from St Charles County, which is only partially suburbanised, and split his time between there and Lincoln County, which isn't all. (Lincoln County is where I used to live and we passed through St Charles Co. regularly on our way to and from St Louis.)

You know the area better than me and so I won't say anything to contradict that Lincoln County might look like some of those counties north of Hannibal I visited. I'm also most likely speaking of the area with an angry bias because typically when I visit counties, even when I visited Central and Southern Illinois counties, I usually was pleasantly surprised by pretty and picturesque sights. Old courthouses, charming downtowns, quirky little museums (I'm reminded here of the Oil Field Museum in Crawford County, IL). But that part of Missouri, including Kirksville, but not including Hannibal, was downright depressing. In several counties I couldn't even locate the county courthouse, and in some they looked run down. The houses were beaten and abused and the roads were shot. I actually thought of these towns as methtowns as I went through there as that was the impression I received. Outside Galesburg, IL which was basically the equivalent in Illinois (I couldn't get out of that town fast enough, it was a real POS. And funny thing is, Monmouth, gorgeous), I rarely see such rundown towns on my travels. Indiana had a few I suppose all up closer to the Lake Michigan metro which isn't surprising given the area and how industrialized it is, but even in Illinois such towns have been so far few and far between. Every now and then you come across one, such as Clay County or Jasper County, but then there are plenty of very charming finds that far outweigh them, such as Lake Carlyle, the courthouse of Pike County, etc.

For reference this is what I've traveled in IL and MO.

{snip}

ooh you have a map like that too. Did you also fill it in for places you've walked in the city too or just the roads?

Here's mine for mostly Japan but it's got a couple of other places too:

[linguoboy]

What I mean mostly with southern is the cajun style 'gumbo' dishes and such, which are more French in origin.

"More French" than what? Where do you think Midwesterners got the idea to weld all those casseroles together with cream sauce, for instance? What do you think is the ultimate basis for most dishes invented in Manhattan?

If you mean "Cajun", say "Cajun". Despite its disproportionate cultural influence, Cajun Country is a relatively small part of Louisiana, which in turn is the smallest state in the South.

And if you don't like carp, no way in hell are you gonna find catfish palatable.

[vampireshark]

OMG ME RUN AWAY

...well, not that simple, but I just got word today that the Ph.D. proposal I submitted to the Luxembourg Research Foundation (FNR) has been "retained for funding". Now begins the process of working on the AST and getting all of my ducks in a row, but... this feels strange. And so amazing at the same time.

I so happy.

[Viktor77]

ooh you have a map like that too. Did you also fill it in for places you've walked in the city too or just the roads?

Here's mine for mostly Japan but it's got a couple of other places too:

Finlay, that's impressive! Yours is far better documented than mine. I just do driving and only major driving. City streets, etc. anything that can't be seen on a statewide map is excluded. I do add smaller country roads I take that aren't on the map though. I don't do train either.

[Shm Jay]

In France I don't think you can get very good food unless you go to very high end restaurants.

Where did you go to eat in France? Hamburger Quick?

[finlay]

Finlay, that's impressive! Yours is far better documented than mine. I just do driving and only major driving. City streets, etc. anything that can't be seen on a statewide map is excluded. I do add smaller country roads I take that aren't on the map though. I don't do train either.

I've been incrementally updating it for several years now. I feel like I must have the most bloated file on their server. I made the first version of the map in about 4 hours about three years ago, after midnight, and backdated it to the time that I arrived in Japan. I colour-coded it later when it became obvious that all the different modes of transport couldn't be distinguished if they were all red. Occasionally I still find parts that weren't recoloured properly, like I missed them on the first pass. And it's all manual, too - I wish I could just switch my phone onto GPS and have at it for a day, but although there are apps that will do that they won't add directly to the map too, so I usually don't bother and just attempt to remember where I've been (I sometimes take screenshots of Google Maps, like when my boyfriend takes an unfamiliar route in the car).

[sirdanilot]

In France I don't think you can get very good food unless you go to very high end restaurants.

Where did you go to eat in France? Hamburger Quick?

no, it's just that I do not remember any good French food in particular even though I have spent more time in France than in Portugal, and I have memories of much better Portuguese food

[sirdanilot]

Also, remember that the french Haute Cuisine is mostly based on dishes which were created for royal courts or for the guests of the most luxurious restaurants. This can be seen from the sheer lavishness of truly good French Haute Cuisine. Take something like Demi-Glacé, which is a stock made from roasted veal bones which forms the basis of many french dishes and is very expensive and laborious to make. The French Cuisine consists mostly of these expensive, luxirous dishes, while the cuisines of other countries are formed much more from peasant's and street food. In China, you can have great street food at a low price, while you will not encounter this in France. At least, I have not encountered it. Another thing is that french cuisine is extremly rich in butter and eggs and especally Cream which also means that it's not everyday-food.
As I said, France is a place with some of the best food in the world for those who can afford it, but for your run off the mill tourist it is not special at all food-wise.

The only memorable dish I had in french was a fresh fish which we cooked ourselves (we were in normandy so we just bought very fresh fish rather than go to a restaurant) and a Gallette Breton, but even the latter was not that memorable. We also enjoyed our trips to the Carrefour supermarket which is absent in the netherlands but has a great variety of stuff, although the carrefour can also be found in Belgium nowadays. For us France was only about 1.5 hours to drive (city of Lille in northern france) so it was also not very special to go there.

[linguoboy]

Also, remember that the french Haute Cuisine is mostly based on dishes which were created for royal courts or for the guests of the most luxurious restaurants. This can be seen from the sheer lavishness of truly good French Haute Cuisine. Take something like Demi-Glacé, which is a stock made from roasted veal bones which forms the basis of many french dishes and is very expensive and laborious to make. The French Cuisine consists mostly of these expensive, luxirous dishes, while the cuisines of other countries are formed much more from peasant's and street food.

Bollocks. Know what my favourite French bistro dish is? Croque-monsieur. You could say it's just a toasted ham-and-cheese, but I've been eating hot ham-and-cheese sandwiches all my life and it's a cut above. It's all about using the right ingredients. In fact, when American restaurants try to gussy it up (because French food is supposed to be "expensive" and "luxurious") they invariably fuck it up. It's not fancy, it's just a workers' snack. But in France, even the workers eat good tasty food.

Yeah, some of the ordinary dishes are time-consuming. Cassoulet, for instance, or even French onion soup. But that's true of a lot of good peasant food anywhere. A good gumbo may take hours. When I make Sauerbraten or lomo adobado for my family, I have to start at least four days in advance. These dishes are better with better ingredients, but they were developed to be successful even with mediocre ones.

[sirdanilot]

Also, remember that the french Haute Cuisine is mostly based on dishes which were created for royal courts or for the guests of the most luxurious restaurants. This can be seen from the sheer lavishness of truly good French Haute Cuisine. Take something like Demi-Glacé, which is a stock made from roasted veal bones which forms the basis of many french dishes and is very expensive and laborious to make. The French Cuisine consists mostly of these expensive, luxirous dishes, while the cuisines of other countries are formed much more from peasant's and street food.

Bollocks. Know what my favourite French bistro dish is? Croque-monsieur. You could say it's just a toasted ham-and-cheese, but I've been eating hot ham-and-cheese sandwiches all my life and it's a cut above. It's all about using the right ingredients. In fact, when American restaurants try to gussy it up (because French food is supposed to be "expensive" and "luxurious") they invariably fuck it up. It's not fancy, it's just a workers' snack. But in France, even the workers eat good tasty food.

Yeah, some of the ordinary dishes are time-consuming. Cassoulet, for instance, or even French onion soup. But that's true of a lot of good peasant food anywhere. A good gumbo may take hours. When I make Sauerbraten or lomo adobado for my family, I have to start at least four days in advance. These dishes are better with better ingredients, but they were developed to be successful even with mediocre ones.

A croque monsieur is not memorable or special to me and I would certainly not classify it as very good food. I make toasted ham/cheese sandwiches all the time. And I just use the dutch cheese we have here, no reason to buy expensive imported French cheese in a true Cheese country like holland.

A cassoulet may be an example of good French food which is not too expensive, were it not for the fact that it also uses very expensive ingredients such as Duck Confit. Perhaps it was different back in the day, but Duck is quite expensive here. something you only have for Christmas or something. Delicious, true, but not peasant's or simple food.

French onion soup is a good example though, as would be ratatouille perhaps, neither use very expensive ingredients.

Maybe it's also that when I am in france, I am never under the impresion that the people really care whether you have a good experience or not. They just want to take your money and want to see you leave as soon as possible. In Portugal the people are much more friendly and care so much that you have the best experience possible.

French people hate you solely for not being french while Portuguese people love you nd are very hospitable. And that's even while I can communicate in french fine (though I do speak portuguese better of course). If you don't speak french then they will loathe you even more if at all possible.

[sirdanilot]

Tomorrow I will fly to Brazil, I am very excited and I will eat some good food as allways and see my family. I will go to Rio de Janeiro and also the southern parts of Brazil; I have never been in the latter.


Brazil has wonderful buffet restaurant concept called 'restaurante ao kilo', where you can take your food and pay per kilo. Perhaps it also exists in America or is it really a Brazilian thing? I have never seen it in europe.

Even if you would take a kilo of food (nobody can finish that, ever) it would only cost about 17 euros, calculated. So for about half that you can be done and the food is of good quality.

There are also many all you can eat places of Pizza and Barbeque. Instead of having to get your own food, they will come at the table constantly with all sorts of foods to choose from.

Of course there are also 'normal' restaurants in brazil but I like to choose a variety, so then I care less for a fancy restaurant setting.

Incidentally the best Sushi I have ever had was in Brazil, as they have a large Japanese community there.

[linguoboy]

A croque monsieur is not memorable or special to me and I would certainly not classify it as very good food. I make toasted ham/cheese sandwiches all the time. And I just use the dutch cheese we have here, no reason to buy expensive imported French cheese in a true Cheese country like holland.

À chacun son goût.

A cassoulet may be an example of good French food which is not too expensive, were it not for the fact that it also uses very expensive ingredients such as Duck Confit. Perhaps it was different back in the day, but Duck is quite expensive here. something you only have for Christmas or something. Delicious, true, but not peasant's or simple food.

More bollocks. Cassoulet can be made with whatever meats you have handy. Every village in the southern half of the country has its own recipe which it insists is the only authentic one; I guarantee you at least one of these considers duck anathema.

French people hate you solely for not being french while Portuguese people love you nd are very hospitable. And that's even while I can communicate in french fine (though I do speak portuguese better of course). If you don't speak french then they will loathe you even more if at all possible.

I never had this experience in France and I hardly spoke a word of French the first time I visited. I'd been living in Germany for a half a year by that time and I was struck by how much nicer the French were to me than the Germans, despite the fact that my German was nearly fluent.