Shocking food news from London!

I sat in on a talk looking at health safety of beef and the speaker basically said that it was unavoidable to get feces on the outside of the meat during processing. Given this, I'm surprised that more people don't get sick from rare/medium hamburgers.

Personally I like any red meat well done (no pink please). But I will happily eat sushi.
 
Since it is only central London that the news item refers to (Westminster Council) maybe they are thinking that it would be really bad for tourism if someone got sick or died from a hamburger.
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When I go to the British Isles, it's Fish and Chips along with a pint.
Or, Bangers and Mash along with a pint.
 
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Chuckanut said:
When I go to the British Isles, it's Fish and Chips along with a pint.
Or, Bangers and Mash along with a pint.
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Me too, but it's amazing the number of Americans I know that go there and look for burgers and fries.
 
Too (sadly) true.
With the explosion in the number of really good gastropubs in the last ten years, England's reputation for food has practically done a 180 IMHO. It's not Belgium yet, but I've had some really marvelous meals there, in many different cities and towns. They're in no danger of losing this tourist's custom!
 
Chuckanut said:
When I go to the British Isles, it's Fish and Chips along with a pint.
Or, Bangers and Mash along with a pint.
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I think I ate a couple of steak and kidney pies there at the height of the mad cow problem in 1991. They didn't know it was the height of the problem at the time! I guess I would know by now if......

I'm just not a burger eater and really don't care for ground beef in any form - it always lack flavor to me. Give me a steak! Actually, I do great steaks at home so I never bother to order them in a restaurant. Well, OK, fajitas - give me fajitas! (arrachera here - awesome!)
 
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braumeister said:
With the explosion in the number of really good gastropubs in the last ten years, England's reputation for food has practically done a 180 IMHO. It's not Belgium yet, but I've had some really marvelous meals there, in many different cities and towns. They're in no danger of losing this tourist's custom!
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Well that is great news. Other than a lovely restaurant in Fotheringhay which was quite reasonable, we avoided the finer dining establishments (famous for being pricey) and ate pub grub on our cross-country B&B forays. It was - edible. But that's OK, we had many fabulous afternoon teas and the desserts were very good.

Had a great fish and chips at a diner in Whitby, but it was the trifle for dessert that made the day!
 
hmmmm.... trifle... preferably made with sherry

images
 
Bestwifeever said:
Now would we call that trifle a dessert or pudding?
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Depends where you live. Some call it pudding, some call it dessert, some call it afters, others just call it delicious :)



Apologies to those Brits whose regional terms I have missed




 
Alan said:
Me too, but it's amazing the number of Americans I know that go there and look for burgers and fries.
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All over the world sadly. I remember seeing a McDonalds in Nassau full of Americans, and thinking, why come this far to pay a premium to eat a (substandard) hamburger? They're not good hamburgers in the US! I'll never understand...I want to experience as much of the local culture, including local food, as possible when I travel - even in the US (regional culture and food).
 
Alan said:
Difference being that you have to eat a lot of overly cooked beef for you to increase your chances of cancer.

One burger with live e-coli can be deadly. From October this year in N. Carolina. (note that the source of the bacteria was never determined, but is an example of what a batch of contaminated food can do)



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/u...outbreak-that-killed-one-is-tied-to-fair.html
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Of course, under cook any meat and you could risk having a problem.

What ever we do in this day and age, there are risks and probably over reactions making headline.
 
I like my steak cooked medium rare to medium, but am too chicken to have hamburger anything other than well done.

About eating hamburgers abroad, we do not eat fast food when in the US, but several times in Europe, would look for a McDonald . Yes, the local cuisine was great, but sometimes left one wanting some "comfort" food from home.
 
I don't eat much red meat anymore, and poultry scares me - though we eat more chicken than any other protein. I guess I need to learn to exist on carrots and celery...

Just curious how long it will take, and who it will be, for someone to post a warning about carrots and/or celery?
 
Alan said:
hmmmm.... trifle... preferably made with sherry

images
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Oh, I'm sure it was sherry trifle, and really the best I ever had.

Whitby was a delightful seaside town and the abbey ruins spectacular - what a view! It was cooooooold even in July with that wind coming in off the North Sea, but we totally enjoyed our visit. Venders were out selling cockles - I wasn't brave enough to try those.

The biggest conflict we had with the British culture was wanting our coffee WITH our dessert, not afterwards, LOL! It just seemed so odd to our waiters.
 
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audreyh1 said:
Oh, I'm sure it was sherry trifle, and really the best I ever had.

Whitby was a delightful seaside town and the abbey ruins spectacular - what a view! It was cooooooold even in July with that wind coming in off the North Sea, but we totally enjoyed our visit. Venders were out selling cockles - I wasn't brave enough to try those.

The biggest conflict we had with the British culture was wanting our coffee WITH our dessert, not afterwards, LOL! It just seemed so odd to our waiters.
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We love Whitby and had many day trips there last year. Cockles are very similar to mussels so if you don't like mussels you won't like cockles.

When we first came to the USA we sat in our hotel that first evening and ordered dinner. The side salad came out and we sat there for ages waiting for the main course to arrive. It was only through observing other guests that we realized that Americans eat their side salads before the main course instead of WITH it.

Two cultures separated with a common language.
 
audreyh1 said:
I think I ate a couple of steak and kidney pies there at the height of the mad cow problem in 1991. They didn't know it was the height of the problem at the time! I guess I would know by now if...
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Bloodbanks won't take donations from anyone who lived in Britain or Europe (over a certain minimum number of months) during most of the 1980s. I've been a non-donor since the policy started up in the late 1990s.
 
Nords said:
Bloodbanks won't take donations from anyone who lived in Britain or Europe (over a certain minimum number of months) during most of the 1980s. I've been a non-donor since the policy started up in the late 1990s.
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Ditto, although I never lived in Britain. Living in Western Europe in the 1980s was enough to kick me off the donor list. Even lifelong vegetarians don't qualify. The fear was the infinitesimally small risk of Creutzfeld Jakob disease from the brains of an infected Mad Cow. One English hemophiliac got it from his Factor VIII injections.

Canadian Blood Services - Société canadienne du sang - Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease - FAQ
 
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This would be a good time for me to reminisce about the anticuchos in Peru. And the Lomo Saltado. Both of which were pretty much cooked to the cook's orders, not mine, but still delicious! Thanks again to MichaelB for steering me in the right direction.

Now for some pub food recommendations in Southampton and Chichester!
 
As long as they don't outlaw Steak Tartare on the Continent, I'll be happy. It's a dish I've had dozens of times when w*rking and traveling there.

The only place I found it served in the U.S. was a French Bistro, a few blocks from the Capitol Building in DC.

As for hamburgers? The only time I had one was in France at a Micky D's late at night after I/DW came back from a stroll from the Arc de Triomphe since we wanted to grab a quick snack on our way back to our hotel.

I must say, it was one of the best burgers I've ever eaten :cool: . I suspect that it had less fillers than the ones you get in the States. Heck, it could have been horsemeat; it dosen't matter - it was great :LOL:.

As far as the British Isles? We stick to whatever local fare is available, with Guinness.
 
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Sounds like you are ready for horse meat tartare next. :cool:

Just joking. ;) I have not had horse meat nor donkey, but do not see what the big deal is. :hide:

I don't believe horses or donkeys are raised for meat. Rather, when the animals are old and have to be put down, instead of sending them to a glue factory, in some countries people save some edible parts for human consumption. Please correct me if I am wrong.

On top of that, it is a hypocrisy to raise other farm animals for food, while making a big deal about horse meat.

How do we sing "Mary had a little lamb" to our children at bed time, while serving a lamb rack for dinner? :cool:
 
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NW-Bound said:
How do we sing "Mary had a little lamb" to our children at bed time, while serving a lamb rack for dinner? :cool:
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Mary had a little lamb
With dainty little paws
Her mother cooked it up for dinner
And served it with mint sauce
 
I have eaten raw beef (including burger) most days of my adult life, so maybe 8000 times without illness. It just tastes so much better.

I have found that only really expensive restaurants will serve very rare meat. Regular places only go down to about medium rare.
 
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