[Sca-cooks] OT: Visiting London

[Celia des Archier]

Brangwayna Morgan said:
> Pubs often have very good and quite cheap food.  We went to the pub across
the street from
> our hotel for dinner the day we arrived on our honeymoon.  When we came back
to the hotel,
> the desk clerk asked us where we'd gone for dinner.  When we told her, she
said , "Oh, wasn't
> it horribly greasy?"  Actually it was excellent.  My husband had bangers and
mash (sausages
> and mashed potatos) and I had steak and ale pie, with a lovely puff pastry
crust.

I second that emotion.  In fact, I concur with everything she said, but
especially about the pub food.  When I went to London, many these years ago,
we went the bed and breakfast route, and that's the first thing that our hosts
taught us... eat where the locals eat, which is generally the local pub.
There was one in their neighborhood that had all the British goodies I love
(such as the steak and ale pie mentioned above), but also had the same type of
family restaurant fare that we get in the states if you wanted it, and they
always had a nightly "special".  

It was just like eating at your Mom & Pops down the street (in the south we
have "meat and 3" restaurants... where whatever you get is an entrée and 3
sides/veggies.) 

And I also concur with what Elise said about the little "French" style kiosks
in the train stations.  Our first meal in London was tea and a baguette
w/cheese at the kiosk and it was to die for, and *very cheap*... 1.5-3.5
pounds sounds about right, and that was over a decade ago, so those obviously
haven't changed much. 

Gosh!  Wish I was going with ya!  I *love* the British Isles. 

~ Celia