I really miss the Olympics in London!
Even though they made me stay up every night until almost midnight, it was so fun to get behind our athletes and feel like you were cheering them on from the stands...even though it was from the comfort of my own couch with some nachos!
The whole Olympic experience got me thinking about my visits to London and the food I partook of while visiting.
What exactly is English food?
For so many centuries they controlled so many different countries around the world that its hard to identify true English fare. About the only thing I wanted to make sure I tried while I was over there was English style fish and chips. We were lucky to find a place open one evening that served them after a day of site seeing but I was not impressed. The fish had to much salt and vinegar on it and the fries "chips" were very pasty. Don't let me dissuade you however as you really need to try these while your there and I just think we had a rare "bad" experience.
If you are a tea drinker definitely try some good old English tea and biscuits. Your hotel will bring them right to your room. Even if you do not drink you must experience an English pub while your there. We did a cool ghost walking tour of London one night and visited some 500 year old pubs. Awesome!
The food I enjoyed the most over there was some Indian food we ate at a Tandoori restaurant which was near our hotel. There are a handful of these types of restaurants around the city and I imagine they are all good. The service was fantastic and they were eager to bring out many different dishes to sample at one low price as we had not had a lot of Indian food prior to our visit. Most of the nights we ate at restaurants in and around Piccadilly Circus which is the English version of Times Square in New York. I remember eating at the TGIFridays and Hard Rock Cafe. Again, try not to eat at chains while your there but I couldn't pass up the original Hard Rock.
The most English dish I can think of making sure you try during your visit is Yorkshire pudding (which isn't a pudding at all but a type of pastry with gravy), roast beef and green beans or potatoes. A meat and two veggies is the standard fare. Just do not be afraid to try other European and world cuisine while your there as they are a real melting pot of cultures and foods.
About the only type of food that is hard to find over there is Mexican. Geographically I can see why this is but I could not even find Spanish food in London and Spain is not as far as India or China?
So freeze dry some tacos for longer visits but other than that I think you will be a happy camper while navigating the Underground and seeing the amazing historical sites!
CHEERS for now!
