Foods to Try
The food is of course not radically different to what you’ll find at home, but there are a few specialties that stand out…
Fish and chips is what comes to mind for most. This is a bit controversial, but I find the fish and chips that you get from the “chippy” (translation…a takeaway or counter service place that only serves fish and chips) totally disgusting – dripping in grease with fat, soggy French fries. I’d honestly rather not eat. That said, it’s an English tradition that many love and probably worth a shot if you’re really keen to try it. As an alternative, pubs pretty much always have fish and chips on the menu, and it’s a good, solid choice (portions are massive…be prepared). The best fish and chips I’ve ever had was at Rick Stein’s in Padstow (Cornwall)…truly worth both the time we had to wait and the calories.
An Indian meal – This is obviously a broad category, but England has wonderful Indian food, and it’s definitely worth finding a good local spot to try it out. Indian restaurants are everywhere so I’d suggest asking your concierge or just doing a quick review search to find one close by. The staff will guide on the curries…mild to PTSD-inducing hot. Be sure to order some poppadoms, which are kind of like large Indian chips that you dip in chutney and a variety of other sauces (yum!).
A “99”, which is soft serve vanilla ice cream with a chocolate flake (stick of chocolate that flakes off when you bite it) stuck inside. It was so named because it originally cost 99 pence but will run you nearly double that these days. You can buy one from the many ice cream vans you’ll see around London in the summer.
A roast meal, which is the main menu item for Sunday pub lunches and a true English tradition. You can usually choose from beef, lamb, pork, or chicken and the code isn’t hard to crack – everything is roasted, including some very delicious potatoes, and served with gravy and Yorkshire puddings (those flavorless pastries mentioned above.
Nut roast – If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, pubs will often offer a nut roast as a substitute for the meat in the roast meal option. It’s basically like a piece of meat loaf made from various kinds of nuts. I think it’s delicious and will often order it.
Pies…so many pies – If you love pie as I do, England is the place to be. They make incredible pies of both the sweet and savory variety. Steak and kidney is Ed’s favorite choice, whereas I love the vegetarian pies and tarts. If you’re a vegetarian, do ask about the crusts used in dessert pies, as they sometimes contain suet (or just stuff your face in blissful ignorance like I do!). You’ll also see Shepherd’s Pie, which is more like a casserole with mashed potatoes on top – a fact that in my book totally disqualifies it from being a pie.
Sticky toffee pudding, which is a dessert consisting of a cake made from dates that’s covered in a caramel/toffee type sauce. It should be eaten as often as possible.
