Wot I Ate On My Holidays

[GrinningChimera]

The best burger I ever had was in a restaurant at the bottom of the Empire State Building. I forget the name but it's on your right hand side as you walk into the main entrance. It made me seriously consider moving to New York just so I could eat there every day. Everyone needs to eat at this place before they die. 

[Buttonman]

The end is near! The change in the photo quality is down to my camera killing itself and my phone having to take over.

This is in an Irish pub in Chicago that was doing Oktoberfest - amazingly it came out great.

I have two large slices of German roasted meat loaf with red cabbage and spaetzle which is like gnocci. On the side plate I have German potato salad. Despite the massive portions I ate the lot along with downing two pints of lovely Sam Adams Oktoberfest.

[von Boom]

What? No currywurst? Still looks good though.

[Proudhuff]

The end is near!

HUZZAH!

The change in the photo quality is down to my camera killing itself

I know that feeling, one breakfast with you was enough for me...

[The Doctor Alt 8]

I wonder how Buttonmans stomach will cope with returning to the UK?

Will it go into culinary culture shock?

[Frank]

He's Scottish, so the regular intake of fat and carbs will remain unchanged except for the portion sizes. One of the few German phrases which has stuck with me since school is how to ask for potato salad, and by the quantity of the stuff you have on your plate there, I'd guess you managed to say that at least twice yourself, Buttonman.

[Simon Beigh]

I LOVE Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer! When we were younger my wife and I travelled a lot around New England in the Fall. It's beautiful. And made even more so by a nice pint of Oktoberfest. If anyone ever gets the chance to visit the Sam Adams brewery in Boston it's well worth a trip, and there are plenty of beers to taste at the end. I don't mind telling you I was a bit 'merry' when I left there! Magic Hat in South Burlington, Vermont is also worth stopping by.

It's just two days until I go to Florida and imagine my joy on searching the Internet and locating a pub not far from where we are staying serving both Oktoberfest and Magic Hat! Joy!

[Buttonman]

Tom it wasn't the breakfast you remember with dread; it was the night before!

Sam Adams beers are all pretty tasty but I imagine a calorie disaster. Their Boston lager is a nice pint too.

Right last one of this trip - <pause for cheers>.

This was one of only two take outs we had. It was a place called 'Frozen Yogurt' next to our hotel in Chicago. I saw people coming out with tasty treats and went to investigate. A nice man offers you small cups for tasters but I went straight for this bad boy tub. What happens is that there are about a dozen dispensers and you fill your tub with what you like - I had marshmallow, peanut butter, apple sorbet and a few others. You then go to a counter where there is an array of tasty sprinkles - here a twizzler is a sprinkle! I has some Oreo bits, fizzy fish and these small balls of flavourerd fruit juices - they look like multi coloured caviar.

Once you are loaded up your tub is weighed and you pay 45c an ounce - this guy cost me less than $5 but a whole notch on my belt.



Overall I'd say this trip didn't hit the foodie heights of San Sebastian lasy year but the service, price and atmosphere in most places more than made up for that. Best dinner was Flagstaff's steak followed by a melee of wings, natchos, tacos and waffles.

[Simon Beigh]

I won't steal Buttonman's most excellent thunder by hijacking this thread with my meals in the US, but just to say the standard of food has been pretty good. And we are mainly eating in the Disney theme parks and properties. We have taken care to hunt out different types of food to the usual "burger and chips" type stuff.

We had a lovely meal in Raglan Road Irish pub where I had bangers and mash and Mrs B had shepherd's pie. We ate in 50's Prime Time Cafe In Hollywood Studios where the servers tell you off for having your elbows on the table and make people stand in the corner facing the wall if they don't eat their veg! Anyway, I nommed down a lovely meatloaf and Mrs B had some fried chicken which she reported was very tasty. Final highlight was The Wave in the Contemporary resort hotel near Magic Kingdom. Mrs B had a lovely pasta dish and I had, well, burger and - not chips - but potato wedges. A lot of the food is locally sourced there, and it tasted fresh and was well cooked.

Lowlights are the pizza from our resort quick service place, which was grim, and the Disney coffee... Thankfully, Universal Studios serve Lavazza in their bakery, so today was the first decent cup of coffee for a week!

Oh - and I tried Froot Loops... Yuck... Too sweet. Even Master B didn't like them. I have tried various Pop Tart flavours, though, including Oatmeal Delights with Strawberry and Wildberry. Both are excellent... And no Disney breakfast is complete without Mickey Waffles and bacon... Mmmmm....

In terms of drink, much Samuel Adams Lager and Oktoberfest has been drunk. Also had a cheeky New York white beer in Raglan Road called Ommegang Witte which was a guest beer on special this month and Leffe Brune, which I had at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival from the Belgium stand. It washed down a very nice Leek & Potato Waffle with Braised Beef (tasted better than it sounds, I think!). Had a Florida lager called, er, Florida Lager. S'OK. Nothing special.

If you want to read a bit more about my hols, I'm keeping a blog at simeonbrewer.blogspot.co.uk. It's mainly a record of what we did and when so I can figure out what photos belong where and is mainly text. I will embellish it with some videos and photos when I get back home. More food details can be found there...

[Proudhuff]

this could run and run....

anyone else taking a trip?

[Ghastly McNasty]

Didn't get a photo but last night me n Mrs McNasty went to a restaurant in out hotel (Crete) where they brought you a massive 3 section plate, the centre section containing a huge sizzling square rock where you had to finish cooking you own meat, pots, and veg.

Exhausting experience, constantly tending to you own meal, rotating potatoes from side plate to sizzler and back again, managing 3 meat skewers - pork, chicken, steak - finishing off the barely cooked veggies to suit personal taste.

Novel idea but serious stress. Need a holiday to recover.

[Proudhuff]

M&S supplied these delightful goodies on my Virgin Cross country to Kendal,


living the dream, living the dream.

[Frank]

Mrs B had some fried chicken

Racist. See if you can fit in a review of American sweeties, Simeon - they seem to have a very different definition of what constitutes chocolate .

[von Boom]

A lot of the food is locally sourced there, and it tasted fresh and was well cooked.

Makes you wonder where disgruntled employees and lost children end up.

[Simon Beigh]

Mrs B had some fried chicken

Racist. See if you can fit in a review of American sweeties, Simeon - they seem to have a very different definition of what constitutes chocolate .

Yeah. Sorry about that. Chicken....that was fried....

Well, I can report Skittles taste the same but sweeter, somehow, and American chocolate is OK if you don't buy American chocolate. If you buy imported chocolate, like Toblerone, it's all good Or if you buy it in cookies or muffins, it's fine too... I warn you, a Twix is not a Twix. It's like a cheap knock off...

A lot of the food is locally sourced there, and it tasted fresh and was well cooked.

Makes you wonder where disgruntled employees and lost children end up.

In the quick service burgers at Universal Studios...