So your Hungry

Okay so when you come to visit there a few things you should know about British restaurants.

First many of your favorite fast food joints are already out there so if your homesick you can get your BigMac fix. You have heard that the Brits call French Fries "Chips" The younger generation calls them fries just like us so don't worry about it. You will want to double check your favorite number. A number 10 my not be a number 10 in a British fast food place. Other then that they are the same and taste the same. KFC on the other hand does not have mashed potatoes.

Of course you did not travel all this way to pay twice the price for American fast food. If you decide to go to a real restaurant here are some tips. You don't normally tip the waitress. You also don't usually tip a bartender. Since you are not tipping they don't care about the quality of your service, so expect the worst service you have ever had.

When the waitress first comes over they will ask if you want still or sparkling water. Still is like bottled water and sparkling is with the bubbles. If you ask for still water they bring out a glass bottle of water. You may need to ask for more if you run out. They don't always automatically bring more.

The portions are much smaller. I went to a run of the mill British restaurant and ordered a steak. It was 6oz. Not 16 it was 6oz. That is about the size of a deck of cards. As your eating you will notice they don't come by to check on how you are doing or to bring you your check. When you want the check you need to ask for it.

If you manage to have enough left over to bring home don't. It is considered rude to ask for a doggy bag. honestly I could care less about offending a restaurant. I paid for it so I should get to bring it home.

If you decide to order take out like pizza or Chinese they call it take away.

Food terms
Bangers and Mash = Sausage and mashed potatoes
Rockets = a type of lettuce that has pointed ends
zucchini = courgettes
lima bean = butter bean
Eggplant = Aubergine

Scary British Food

Black Pudding is made from blood
Marmite is a spread made from the leftover yeast from brewing.

Toad in the Hole is sausages covered in batter and roasted.

Bubble & Squeak is like leftovers that have been fried in a pan.

Pie and Mash used to made with eels

Need I say more?

The First Trip

So I went over to London for a week on business to check out were I will be working and the flat were we will be staying. I did not get to actually see the flat. The company has not acquired it yet but Lucy (my english boss) told me what area it will be in. I have marked it on the google map found at the bottom of this blog. It is within easy walking distance to the office but as far as tourist attractions its in the middle of nowhere. It is near the Liverpool tube station so anyone staying with us can hop on that and get to a more exciting area of the city.

I did get a few pictures, but because I was working I could only go out at night and it rained two nights so many photo opportunities were lost. I'll have more opportunities later anyway.

Right near the flat is a cool Argentine steak house. In front of said steak house is a really radical lighted square. The lights change colors and the benches are made of glass block which glows with the changing spectrum of colors. The serving sizes of beef are measured in ML (no idea what that means mil liters perhaps) instead of ounces. I found the 400 ML to be equivalent to a normal American steak house serving. The prices seemed reasonable until you do the exchange rate, but still I feared much worse.

Notice in the picture below the word Passport is missing the P. I guess this is where they do the body cavity searches. Now that would put a damper on tourism.

Actually this sign was in the Dublin airport. I went over there for a couple hours to check out our office there and meet a few people. I would like to go back and check Dublin out some more. The people look like they came straight out of South Boston. The driver that picked us up from the airport looked and laughed just like Peter Griffin from Family Guy. Funny Stuff!

Near these classic British phone booths is Piccadilly Circus which is like Times Sq and on the opposite is a street full of brothels. Now you know where the red light district is.



In London they have a Smog tax and a Congestion Toll you have to pay when entering and leaving the city. However if you have one of these sweet rides below you don't have to pay those fines. Its an electric car for two.




Double Click on the photo to see the slideshow.

London - week 1