SC - US bars UK

[Wanda Pease]

Well, I can't sink myself any lower than to admit that I've eaten at
McDonald's in many cities and countries in Europe.  I can hear the sounds of
the angry mob with pitchforks coming up the walk now so I'll explain fast.

Why would anyone eat at Mickey D's?

#1.Because I know what I'm going to get.  One meeting with fried chicken
livers, which I do not like was enough.  I was hungry, I was in a hurry, and
I didn't speak the language except to know that whatever it was was chicken.

#2.  Not all countries do lunch outside the house.  Going to a small village
in France, Germany, or even England and looking for food around lunchtime
can be an exercise in futility.  Mum was expected to furnish Dad and the
kids with their lunches, and no one has even Heard of a Martini, much less a
3 martini lunch!  The best thing here, since these places don't always have
McDonald's and his rivals, is to go to the local grocery and buy lunch meat,
etc.  However, then _you_ have a mess to clean up!

#3  Because I'm hungry NOW!  and it's mid afternoon and nothing is open for
food.  I want to get food, and sit down (my aching feet) in a covered and
warm/cool spot.  This is not dining, this is to keep me from killing and
eating my companions.  European food spots are frequently not open except at
what they deem to be mealtimes (dinner is the exception.... sometimes, and
in some places.)

#4.  I'm in a hurry.  I don't want to sit in a Gasthaus for 2 hours at lunch
when I'm shopping.  Been there, done that.  It took 1/2 hour to get the
food, 1/2 hour to eat, and 1 hour to get the waitress so we could pay.
Standard in small towns/villages.  If I'm going crystal/china/fabric
shopping I want to be in and out fast!

Now, to address the idea of going to a US Style Bar in the UK.

Because I want a Mixed drink!  I don't like either beer or ale (Quiet out
there! Stop throwing rocks at the house.)  English pubs do not serve
Margaritas, Daiquiris, Apricot sours, etc.  I once managed to get rum and
black current by persuading the barkeeper that I had a terrible sore throat,
and it was medication.

It was my experience in the British Isles that you either drank your liquor
straight as God made it, or you didn't drink at all! :-)

Except for these things follow Ras' advice of eating the local cuisine
whenever possible.  Get a Menu Master (little plastic jacketed pamphlet with
most of the common food names translated with a short cooking description)
so you don't mistakenly order chicken livers, cold eggplant pizza, or even
spaghetti ice cream as an entrée'!

Regina Romsey
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