Hi, i will start it : I tried quite a lot of 3 starred restaurants in europe, and several "great" restaurants in the states, and while the cuisine in the states is very good, the places are usually much cooler, it simply can't rival the european haute cuisine in terms of service , creativity or finesse. What do you guys think (if possible unbiased opinions)....?
The Problem with North America is that it has some exceptional top grade restaurants, but no decent "middle class" restaurants. It's either a Michelin * or the Golden Arches. I tried sushi in Vegas, and it blows Europe out of the water.
Hahaha that's fun. No i don't mean it's such a failure, but even places like Spago, bernardin, Picasso etc. are still far from what you get at top place in Europe.
Top of the line is great food either way. I find US steaks to be better than Euro. But average restaurants and food is absolute crap in the US. No variety at all. Europe absolutely owns.
Again, i don't mean steak (esp. if they are filled with great hormones that gave a 20 cm edge -not where you think- over the europeans). I mean GREAT food.
i think the trick in the states is to find the hole in the wall mom and pop restaurants. they usually have the best.
When I went to France I found the overall quality of food to be not as good. But then again, I've never gone to a top tier restaurant in my life. Coming from Santa Barbara, I've had plenty of middle of the road places and I like most, if not all, more than what I had in Paris.
You take the time to find the good restaurants or you don't. To say the cuisine is better in one continent than another is an empty opinion (to me) unless you state why. I've been to dozens of countries across Europe, to a few countries in Africa, and simply nothing comes close to the variety of Southern California and thus and North America. You can find almost anything out here but you must take the time to sample and find those places. If you ignore the origin of the cuisine, North America certainly has the best cuisine. It has something for everyone of varying qualities and price from all over the world. Simply put, there is no one city or country in Europe in my experience that is able to combine the best of each type of cuisine in one area. There are certain countries or regions that have signature dishes from their culture that are simply without comparison, where the food (and experience) can never be duplicated. For example: Can I visit a local safari camp and eat a venison and impala stew cooked in a potjie with fresh bread right off the coals, climb onto the roof with a view of the Southern lights, and enjoy a fine cigar for dessert while listening to the rustle of wild animals and hunting cats nearby? No. Can I go anytime I want into Landstuhl and visit the fire house for their world famous potato soup and mouth watering schnitzels covered with heart stopping gravy or pepper sauces while the owner tells stories and plays his accordion? No. Can I stroll into a restaurant and order cherry and mesquite BBQ ribs that have been smoking over coals for the last 8 hours with a large scoop of homemade beans made from 5 different types of bean with pork shavings that have been simmering as long as the ribs have been smoking on the grill as I will be doing for Memorial Day today? No. Cheers, Sunny
Vincent: And you know what they call a... a... a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with cheese? Vincent: No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fukc a Quarter Pounder is. Jules: Then what do they call it? Vincent: They call it a Royale with cheese. Jules: A Royale with cheese. What do they call a Big Mac? Vincent: Well, a Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it le Big-Mac. Jules: Le Big-Mac. Ha ha ha ha. What do they call a Whopper? Vincent: I dunno, I didn't go into Burger King. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Less narrow minded then yours. California is a special case, the rest of america has horrible food except for a few enclaves (Miami, New York and environs etc) you are telling me that if I go to some small town in Omaha or something and get decent food? Get out... I live in a small town in Switzerland in the heartland, yet we have a staggering amount of great restaurants for such a small town. You want variety? London has it all. Again US has some exeptional restaurants no doubt. But the "middle class" is not there, it's either 300$ per person, or it's Hooters/TGIF. Here I can go to a Bistro and have a good meal for 20$ (Or less). One example. In Vegas, the expensive restaurants were VERY nice. But we couldn't eat breakfast because it was so horrible. Just grease and crap tea. It's easy to import a few french chefs but it's hard to make a decent breakfast (go figure).
the american way is to spend millions per year trying to live like peasants in tuscany. >have a good meal for 20$ and in zurich ... mda exc.food/drinks + prices = balkan
Oh really? Then educate us. I don't remember "special cases" from being excluded in the question. You my friend are a "special case." P.S. nevermind, I'd rather not read anything more you have to say.
