This is just an observation and in no way an anti-French rant, but I never seem to have a decent meal when I have been to/lived in France. The food seems to be over sauced and over complicated and stuck in the past. They do nice seafood though.
On the other hand, IMHO, one of the most under rated cuisines is Lebanese/middle eastern food. Yum yum!

What are the forums favs?

I'm not particularly partial to French grub either TBH

now the Italians on the other hand ……… mmmmmm

Exactly… I was in Calabria this summer and the food was absolutely delicious! It was amazing how they could make something as simple as pasta with a tomato sauce taste so good.

I think it depends to some extent where you are in the country. My first experience in Italy was in Turin for several months with work and found it expensive and dissapointing pretty much without excoption. I have had better trips to Milan since then, but in general not great.
I lived and worked in France and have always liked the food their.
I think there is great food to be had in America if you get past the usual McDonalds sh1t and authentic mexican food is ace (not TGI Friday style fried texMex though)
Just my 2p worth

Got to agree! I live in France but am about 100m's from Spain. The food I have had in France is expensive and nothing to write home about, even the seafood. The food in Spain on the other hand is awesome, even in crappy wee huts up in the mountains you can get some fantastic simple meals for a few euros.

I suspect most "cuisine" tries too hard and possibly French more thatn most, all that history/tradition/expectation – french cooking's just fine by me though

Some of the best food I have ever had was in France, but there are a lot of places where they don't seem to give a **** and it's not cheap.

Have had more consistently nice/cheaper food in Spain and Italy.

Thinking about it it might just be a factor of the cost. I want to spend 15€ on a meal and that is middle of the road in Spain but bottom of the pile in France.
God, I'd kill a moderately sized man for a curry. Sorry, off topic but I would. They just don't have them here, even in the cities.

here you go Doug :

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:AuZ3LQdWSyY4uM:http://brasilcomz.files.wordpress

http://www.ashokaglasgow.co.uk/index.php/menus/2-ashoka-menus/3-alacarte

-)

Man, that would be paradise at the moment. First stop in Scotland is Mother India in Glasgow with a pint of 80% in the Islay over the road afterwards.

mmmm, I'm getting hungry thinking about it 😛

God, I'd kill a moderately sized man for a curry. Sorry, off topic but I would. They just don't have them here, even in the cities.

You're not far wrong there, although you can get some in Madrid: it's a lot better now than it was when I first got here. Nowhere near UK standards, though.

I like Med cuisine…it seems similar on all the areas that touch the med – Italy, France and Spain and it is fantastic…subtle differences are there but overall, it's a great food and I love it- I've sepnt some time on holidays in the south of France and not much elsewhere in France so not sure if the cuisine is similar…if so, I reckon they are lucky!

Hmmm, I could be in Madrid in 4.5hrs. Tempting!

French food, definately over rated. So is the wine for that matter. Give me Greek, Italian, Spanish, Indian, even English food before some of that over complicated nonsense, and give me some proper full blooded wine where the grapes have had some sun rather than that thin, watery, overly expensive French drivel.

?????????

Trolling? I have never had bad food in France and have had some fantastic meals. I have had loads of badly cooked overpriced food in spain.

Didn't say I'd had bad food in France. Just over rated over complicated stuff and that I prefer cuisine from elsewhere.

Opinions not allowed ?

Fair enough.

Most dissappointing experience in a foreign country:

When the band was touring in Scandinavia in the 1980's, we went to what promised to be an oasis in a bland gastronomic desert – an "Indian" restaurant in Gothenburg.

Naturally, we ordered curry. What we got was stew with rice…

The waitress explained that Swedish people don't like spicy food, so they made their curry with, er, no curry in it… 🙁

Might I interject with an observation of British cuisine. Vastly improved from 30 years ago, for sure, but still pitifully low in so many places.

Perhaps it's because we are so in thrall to chain restaurants that we settle for mediocrity (Pizza Express, anyone?), but the emblem oif modern British cooking seems to have become too much butter and too much cream.

I had a curry in Copenhagen last night and it was crap as usual. I also had a couple of pints before hand that cost about £6 each.

Generally best to eat the local stuff and I have been told by quite a few Indians I have worked with that the UK is the only place in Europe where you can get a decent curry.

FWIW I have had great food in the north of spain and some crap in the south in the holiday resort areas.

steak is usually very good in france, and seafood around brittany.
but why do they serve fruit of the sea cold on ice.
in barcelona in a bar on the bit between the beach and harbour they do it raw with a hot oil fondue type thing, so you can cook all the shellfish in that or over the charcoal they provide..
best meal i have ever eaten.
tapas is awesome too.

Have you try getting out of bonds?
You can't really complain if you get a cheap flight or ferry to France and get to a touristic place and get offered expensive Frozen food really can you?

For example I don't eat anywhere on the sea front. However summer time I just see every single brits queuing their to be over charged for dinner…

Talking of food – did anyone see Mastershout last night – sound turned down as I was on the phone, but, ohh boy, some of that food looked amazing. The poached egg bloke especially – I assume he won through?

steak is usually very good in france,

That's cos it's made of horses. 😉

The poached egg bloke especially – I assume he won through?

He's in the final, along with the other fella he was up against in the previous round – Daniel? – and also the woman, Marianne.

I thought as much – never heard such eulogising from the experts as he got!

Nowt wrong with horse meat…rather tasty…

I have had loads of badly cooked overpriced food in spain.

That's pretty much my experience – at least anywhere touristy. The normal restaurants are fine.

British food (at least in London) is very underrated, the opinion over here is based on 30 year old data.

I'm even going to defend Pizza Express here. I'm no fan of pizza in general but love pasta and while not up to the standard of some authentic 'yah, I holiday in Tuscany every year' family run trattorias that i have had the pleasure to eat in in rural Italy, I think you get a perfectly acceptable pasta dish in most of the chain Italian joints for reasonable money.

I'm not that old but I remember eating out as a kid and food was shocking. We've improved a hell of a lot since then.

Why the long face?

IGMC

spanish food is terrible IME
French can be OK, they sometimes do weird things to their pasta though, it can be terribly over cooked
Had plenty of fantastic meals in Scotland.

Yeah deep-fried mars bars are pretty good aren't they? 😉

Went to Rick Steins place in Padstow a few years back (I still had a large chunk of compensation money left over after a motorbike accident) – over-rated, extremely overpriced, and one of the most uncomfortable dining experiences I've ever had. There's a place in Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, called Pelagos – it's quite expensive (by Greek standards), but it's the best food, in one of the friendliest places, that I've ever eaten.

Barnsley – totally agree re. Rick Steins – and quite literally uncomfortable due to the cramped sitting conditions too.

And where in Agios is that restaurant? Went to the resort myself and enjoyed many a good meal there. I especially like gigantes beans and usually gorge myself on them every time I go to Greece 🙂

It's just up past the 'bottomless lake', kind of on the second road in from the main one, heading east but still in the town centre. Bit vague, sorry. Deep fried saganaki, mmmmm.

The only Spanish food I've eaten was in Cantabria,and it was all good,mind you I love paprika.
Ian

It's just up past the 'bottomless lake',

I remember one just at the edge of the lake at the bottom in front of the taxi rank. It was great and we went back there a couple of times. Mmmm, kleftiko.

No, it's about a quarter of a mile past there – stand with the lake on your left, and go straight up – it's got a wrecked rowing boat out the front, and the restaurant itself is in a kind of walled garden. while were on it, Lamb Kleftiko, Spanakoptika, freshly made tzatziki – mmmmmmm.

France, Spain, and Italy are no better or worse that UK. I've had both bad and good. As ever, it depends where you go.

For me the only overrated thing is ponsy service. A million waiters doing everything apart from wiping your arse. I prefer being served by normal people and hate being called sir.

Mastershout

Did the fat one eat the Australian then?

What is going on with Michel Roux's eyeballs? Is he at a rave in the 90s? Is that why the overuse of techno music?

Although Roux does give the camera some great 'I don't think so mate' looks.