American-centric views

[sail7seas]

If it makes them happy to have a burger, where's the harm? Who are they hurting except, perhaps, themselves?

 

Of all the things to worry about, that isn't one I shall overly concern myself with. Unless they are breaking some law, what's the difference to anyone if they eat three meals a day in Burger King and miss out on local cuisine. They're not asking you to do it......and if they are, decline the invitation.

 

Not my business what someone else wants for lunch.

 

[SakeDad]

If it makes them happy to have a burger, where's the harm? Who are they hurting except, perhaps, themselves?

 

Of all the things to worry about, that isn't one I shall overly concern myself with. Unless they are breaking some law, what's the difference to anyone if they eat three meals a day in Burger King and miss out on local cuisine. They're not asking you to do it......and if they are, decline the invitation.

 

Not my business what someone else wants for lunch.

 

 

The same could be said for what people WEAR while they eat....oops...that's for another thread:rolleyes:

[babyher]

I love trying local cuisine while traveling (Ok maybe the sheeps eyeballs and such would be out *LOL*)

 

We also stay away from the Mickey D's and other home based type restaurants. ( except like Sail, to get a soda or use the restroom).

 

Thats all part of the fun of traveling.

[babyher]

I love trying local cuisine while traveling (Ok maybe the sheeps eyeballs and such would be out *LOL*)

 

We also stay away from the Mickey D's and other home based type restaurants. ( except like Sail, to get a soda or use the restroom).

 

Thats all part of the fun of traveling.

 

I

[babyher]

I love trying local cuisine while traveling (Ok maybe the sheeps eyeballs and such would be out *LOL*)

 

We also stay away from the Mickey D's and other home based type restaurants. ( except like Sail, to get a soda or use the restroom).

 

Thats all part of the fun of traveling.

 

I can understand though, especially if someone is on an extended trip, the longing for some simple comfort food.

 

Rich sauces and spicy foods can get to you after a bit, especially when you do not normally eat that way at home. A plain old burger or a sandwich and a salad could be the ticket some nights.

[luvnorway]

This may also belong on a separate thread, but all the comments about "When in Rome. . ." concerning food reminded me of one of our pet peeves = the lack of reasonably priced local wines on Med cruises. I don't go to the Med (or a wine tasting on a Med cruise) to drink American wine. Similarly, (before I get flamed!) when we do cruises down the West Coast of the US, I want to drink Washington state, Oregon and California wines. When I'm in Australia or New Zealand, I want to drink their wines. For us, part of the enjoyment travel is eating and drinking the products of the area we're visiting.

 

What really amazed me was, when a ship (can't remember if it was HAL or Princess) ran out of an inexpensive French or Italian wine we were drinking on a regular basis on Med cruise, we were told it was imported from the US (i.e. it had travelled from Europe to the US and back to be loaded on the ship in the Med) and that they had underestimated the demand there would be for European wine on European cruises!

[babyher]

Don't ask me what the heck I did to make that last post come up three times *LOL*

 

the svreen dissappeared halfway through my typing then it cam back and when I finally printed it , it came out in triplicate :)

 

SORRY ABOUT THAT :)

[Sailorgirlseattle]

luvnorway, I agree with you on the wine (and with all the rest of you about eating local foods!). When we were just in puerto vallarta we walked into a liquor shop and picked up a coupla bottles of Mexican wine ... something I've not seen up here in Seattle. We just brought them home like regular souvenirs and drank after we got back.

 

BTW, I avoid all chain restaurants like the plague, even around home. We're always going to the little local places. Love it!

[fann1sh]

Like LuvNorway, I wish there were more local potables aboard ships (I know Caribbean islands aren't famous for wine ;), but what about local beers?). However, I've been told it's a health/legal issue, only certified suppliers can restock the ship (and aren't necessarily local to the port). Alaska cruises don't have fresh local crab - frozen, shipped "down below", then loaded aboard to "return home".

 

And for those who think the OP and others are criticizing US culture or food - I think/hope these remarks aren't about food preferences, but negative reviews because their trip was "ruined" by not having that food, abroad or aboard...

 

...and there are "ugly Canadians" who can't survive a week without their Labatt's Blue.

[bepsf]

This thread reminds me of when I was stationed outside Tokyo for 2 years in the early 90's - some folks stationed on the base w/ me would NEVER leave the base because things were just too different out there...

...whereas I would go off base almost every weekend - even if for just a short drive in the "country" or a pack of Blueberry Gum (my favorite). Folks would ask me how I never got lost since all the signs were in Japanese (and I don't speak or read the language) - I simply never went down any One-Way streets and always came back the way I went! ;)

However, the McDonalds experience in Japan is almost completely different than the US experience: Ever order a Chicken Teriyaki Burger? Ever receive your change on a little tray? Ever witness one person taking your order, another handling the money and a fleet of other folks behind the counter rushing to prepare your order? Ever had the top of the bag folded down "just so" and the entire package presented to you with the logo facing you while the person behind the counter bows and thanks you (In Japanese, of course)?

When I returned after two years I flew into SFO. The lady at the rental car place was handing out maps and giving folks directions for places to go: "This is how to get to Fisherman's Wharf/Union Square/etc..." When she got to me, I asked where the nearest Taco Bell was. :eek: When I finally got my car (a Japanese import, natch) I immediately tossed the luggage in the trunk, jumped in and proceeded to drive down the wrong side of the road!

:cool:

[jhannah]

... I immediately tossed the luggage in the trunk, jumped in and proceeded to drive down the wrong side of the road!

:cool:

Funny! That's why I've never driven in a foreign country. I know that is the more leisurely way to tour. But I don't want to cause an accident, so I leave the driving to a professional who can look at and talk to us, watch the road, drive and gesture at the same time! :)

[fatcat04]

Funny! That's why I've never driven in a foreign country. I know that is the more leisurely way to tour. But I don't want to cause an accident, so I leave the driving to a professional who can look at and talk to us, watch the road, drive and gesture at the same time! :)

 

Oh you should try it just once!! What fun!!

 

Maybe try it like we did, on a small English speaking carribean island with only one main road. Hard to get lost and if you run into someone at least you understand them when they curse you to the devil. :D

 

We just drove all over Grand Cayman (notably not in congested areas)... what fun!! Hubbie was driver. I was navigator. He drove our "pregnant rollerskate" as he called the miniature rental car we got and my job was to continually scream, "STAY LEFT!! STAY LEFT!!" :p

 

Oh and we had the added adventure that the cars speedometer was in kilometers per hour but the road signs were in miles per hour. Math computations while driving 50 mph or whatever that is in metric and all on the other side of the road. LOL!! Did I say adventure??!! :D

 

But it sure was fun to get out on our own and see the island as it is for the folks that live there. Our motto is all vacations should have at least one fine adventure... funny how ours are generally packed with them.;)

[bepsf]

Oh you should try it just once!! What fun!!

 

 

I agree--

Never once had a problem w/ driving down the wrong side of the road while in Japan - even when I was assigned to drive an enourmous GMC truck (LHD, of course) to a nearby Japanese Defense Force Airbase!

:)

[1055]

This has been such an interesting thread.

Where is the origial review by Carolyn please?

 

 

I apologize if someone else already answered (I didn't have time to reread and see), but I believe the review in question can be found at:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=348

[dougnewmanatsea]

I'm sorry, but all this debate about one off-hand comment that one day, after eating German food for two weeks, Carolyn felt like eating a hamburger? (Others alluded to other comments they didn't like, but I just re-read the review and can't figure out what they mean - other than neutral statements that most of the passengers speak German and that European gowns aren't as flashy as American ones.)

 

I think we are getting a bit over-sensitive here. Most of us probably enjoy eating things that might not be available overseas and after a while we might want some of them, as much as we might enjoy the local cuisine.

 

For me it is bagels - it is very hard to get a really good bagel outside the New York area (Montreal bagels are great too, but totally different). After a few weeks without one, I do sometimes get a bagel craving. If that makes me "provincial", so be it...

[shepp]

Try traveling through India where my sister had a traditional wedding (they told me it was a ceremony but I know a wedding when I see one). We had rice and my Dh only ate the bread for two weeks. We had a great time and stayed in some very interesting local hotels too.

 

 

Well, I tried it...actually, spent a total of six months in India, and came to know and love what is, to me, one of the world's great cuisines. So...glad you had a great time, but if all you ate was rice and naan, your loss.

[RetiredMustang]

Folks,

 

If I may, I think this thread boils down to those who are in the camp of never tried the strange foods and want familiar ones, those who say you should always try to local food, and those who understand that sometimes you just gotta have a cheeseburger!

 

I spent nearly 30 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy. I have eaten in places from Tokyo to Agana, Guam to Naples to Alexandria (Egypt and VA ;) ). I have eaten rattlesnake, Rocky Mtn. oysters in Albuquerque and Cadiz, Spain; haggis in Edinburgh, perlieu (perloo? sp) in S.C., something I really didn't ask too much about in a Cajun restaurant in Pensacola, FL, and stewed camel's knees in Egypt (reputedly a delicacy served to honored guests, and as a ship's officer representing the United States, I had to eat it and express approval -- so I can honestly say I have eaten for my country! :D) and even more perhaps bizarre/at-first disgusting-sounding foods.

 

We lived in Italy for years, including a few months in Rome. If you are at the Spanish Steps McDonald's, go down the cross street to Viale dei Fiore (street of the flowers) and head toward #36 or 38 (I forget which one). You will have a wonderful, authentic southern Italian meal. But, I have also eaten in the Spanish Steps McDonald's. In the late 1970s, we lived in Naples, and never had an American-style dining experience, only what I consider perhaps the best food on the planet, authentic southern Italian in southern Italy. Yet, when we went on vacation to London, the first place we went was Burger King on Shaftesbury Ave., to get a greasy American cheeseburger!

 

We have eaten crepes on the Champs Elysees; octopus in Chania, Crete; lutefisk in Denmark and Poulsbo WA; Sacher Torte in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna; smorrebrod in Copenhagen; bouillabaisse in Marseille; squid and seaweed in Tokyo. Folks, whatever it is, try it -- you may like it! I admit it also might be disgusting, but how will you know if you don't take a bite? That said, I don't drink untreated water in Egypt or Mexico, etc., or buy mussels from the roadside stand in the sun in the afternoon, either. But if what you really want is a good old grease-bomb cheeseburger, wallow in it and enjoy! (Especially at Five Guys on the East Coast -- had one for lunch today in NW D.C.!)

 

Karin, BTW, lumpia is Filipino, not Indonesian, although many cultures have similar rolled things like spring rolls. (Ah, lumpia, pancit and pork adobo -- oh to be in Baguio!)

 

Cheers,

Dave

[jtl513]

I spent nearly 30 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy. I have eaten in places from Tokyo to Agana, Guam to Naples to Alexandria (Egypt and VA ;) ). I have eaten rattlesnake, ...

I admire someone who can eat strange things while knowing what they are! On a business trip to Florence 30 years ago we were taken to several "family style" restaurants by our hosts. We Americans decided early on that we wouldn't ask what things were - we would just sample everything, and if we liked it we'd take more, and we didn't like it we'd stop eating it! That worked well until one night we were served barbequed thrush: mostly charred birds about 4" long stacked in a pyramid on a platter. We were told to grasp the beak with one hand, the feet with the other, and chew and swallow everything in-between! :eek: Only one of us was drunk enough to manage more than a couple of bites! (Not me.) :D

[serendipity1499]

Agree with Walt & don't see anything wrong with Carolyn's off hand remark about craving a hamburger, which they prepared for her on the ship..She wrote a very nice review & raved about the ship & the service..And the remark that it is typically an American trait is way off base.. :(

 

My Mother once served Corn on the Cob to a Scottish Lady, who would not eat it then, because that's what they fed the pigs in her town..Years later that same lady & I had a good laugh over it when she served it in her home..

 

I've traveled all over the world & eaten many different dishes such as Zebra Steak in Africa & Cus Cus (sp) in Morocco & always try different local dishes everywhere.. In Morocco we were invited by a small town Mayor to his home & were served a wonderful meal & never knew what we were eating..One of our favorite meals was prepared in a tiny restaurant in Bruges.. Again, had no idea what it was, but it was delicious..DH ate 100 year old eggs in Hong Kong & DS (13 yr old) loved the panekoken(sp) in Holland but craved a Hamburger so much we were ready to throttle him..LOL

 

In the sixties I shopped for hours to find the ingredients to make Spaghetti & Meat Balls for 20 people in a Wedding Party in a small town in Great Britian...It was only because my British Friend (the Bride) raved to her family & friends about the Italian dinner she had at my home..

 

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've craved things that were typically from home..And I would bet that many of you have wished for a Hamburger or something special that you could only get at home..:rolleyes:

 

Like Sail, I've often had to use the rest rooms in McDonald's abroad..

 

Happy cruising & dining all..:) Betty.

[babyher]

This thread reminds me of when I was stationed outside Tokyo for 2 years in the early 90's - some folks stationed on the base w/ me would NEVER leave the base because things were just too different out there...

 

...whereas I would go off base almost every weekend - even if for just a short drive in the "country" or a pack of Blueberry Gum (my favorite). Folks would ask me how I never got lost since all the signs were in Japanese (and I don't speak or read the language) - I simply never went down any One-Way streets and always came back the way I went! ;)

 

However, the McDonalds experience in Japan is almost completely different than the US experience: Ever order a Chicken Teriyaki Burger? Ever receive your change on a little tray? Ever witness one person taking your order, another handling the money and a fleet of other folks behind the counter rushing to prepare your order? Ever had the top of the bag folded down "just so" and the entire package presented to you with the logo facing you while the person behind the counter bows and thanks you (In Japanese, of course)?

 

When I returned after two years I flew into SFO. The lady at the rental car place was handing out maps and giving folks directions for places to go: "This is how to get to Fisherman's Wharf/Union Square/etc..." When she got to me, I asked where the nearest Taco Bell was. :eek: When I finally got my car (a Japanese import, natch) I immediately tossed the luggage in the trunk, jumped in and proceeded to drive down the wrong side of the road!

:cool:

 

 

See I am sorry , and you can call me an Ugly American all you want.

 

But not being able to have the 9 month pregnant 16 yr wearing more bling than Liberace , ignore me standing there in line while she talks on her cell to her baby's daddy , would ruin the "McDonalds experience" for me :)