Carlovski

I think Fat Guy is right, Here in the UK we are being taken by storm by Subway. 4-5 Years ago I had never seen one, but now they are everywhere, and they have got one hell of an expansion program (But didn't McD's have a similar strategy?) I must admit, I am a sucker for their Meatball subs (I know they are probably bottom of the pile in the meatball sandwich market in the US, but it's about the only place to get one in the UK). Messy though!

You are always part way there if you have some onions and garlic chopped. Even if it is only to have garlicky onions.

I have posted this before in another topic, but this is an interesting take on what kid will and won't eat Kids at the Fat Duck I agree that the best places tend to take at least reasonably adventurous kids are ethnic places, or anywhere where the food tends to be centrally served. As long as the place has no stupid minimum order rules. Tapas places are a good idea as well. Then the kids can try a little bit of everything. I personally remember being strangely picky as a child. I used to love seafood, especially Mussels (A me and my Dad thing, My Mum couldn't stand them!), I loved spicy food, but couldn't eat most salads or sausages and didn't like tomato ketchup, or gravy!

The last thing that was meant to be the big thing was the soup bar concept wasn't it? I don't thing that one ever got out to the provinces though. Thing is, it is not the Best candidates for fast food which win. Pizza - good. Pizza kept steaming itself into a soggy mass in a cardboard box - Bad. Fish and Chips - Good. Fried food wrapped up in paper until soggy? - Bad. Fried Chicken - Good. Chicken Fry/boiled under pressure by a dodgy mythical miliary figure - Bad (Though I do have a soft spot for Hot wings). By the way, is Spud-U-Like still going? Not seen one for years!

Don't know about specific recipes, but there are specific motions I go through, while 'Thinking on my feet'. Quite often my housemates find me chopping onions and Garlic, and say 'What you cooking', and I say 'I Don't know yet!'.

Give me decent canned tuna over 90% of the dodgy, overcooked 'Fresh' tuna you get served. A decent, fresh piece of tuna steak, lightly cooked can be delicious. But keep it away from my Salad Nicoise! (Although I know people who would shoot me for liking Tuna in it at all!)

There is actually a Pasty chain operating in the sout/south-west of England, called Presto. Presto They aren't bad. They do the traditional pasty, plus some 'novelty' ones of various success. The spicy Chickpea one isn't bad. They also do some sweet ones as well (Chocolate, an Apple one as well I think)

I'm surprised 'Laab 'R' us' hasn't been suggested yet! One unifying thing with good fast food concepts is that the food is usually portable, and doesn't require cutlery - usually resolved by being in a bun. Perhaps a winner would be south indian style breakfast dishes - dosa, idli etc. The fillings could be pre-prepared, and the pancakes freshly prepared (Or at least a rolling supply kept up). I'd go for it anyway!

Unfortunately, like much of the food in dear old Blighty, when a sausage is good, it stands up with anything the French, Italians or Germans can offer. Unfortunately, about 90% of the sausages eaten are the worst kind of industrial pap, textureless, tasteless and containing god knows what. There is a fairly succesful 'mini-chain' of Sausage and Mash cafes/restaurants in London. Not quite fast food though. The problem may be that to cook a Britich Banger properly take at least 20-30 minutes of careful, slow attentive frying. (Or Up to an hour if you listen to Matthew Fort)

Maybe you should have had a big bender instead (For those not in the know, the big bender is a curled up sausage in a bun). For info on this most British takes on the Burger Bar read This

Quote - Butter that Bacon, boy! H . Simpson

Hotel Breakfasts have to be the most over priced eating experience there is, as a rule you are talking High volume (So it should be reasonably priced), low quality and high price. I don't know how many people actually pay separately for breakfast though, Hotels are nearly always on a B&B basis. I can't imagine anyone having breakfast who isn't stopping there. Also, a huge amount of the trade in 3-star accomodation in London must be corporate. And if the companies paying, who cares? (Same thing that drives up air fares).

Perhaps us Brits just get the American Burger Bar concept wrong every time we try it. Ever been in a Wimpy?

OK. My venture into Fast food millionairedom is based on the premise that the USA is no longer seen as the land of the Free, and something to aspire to. So therefore, steer clear of American Food. A good fast food chain must offer the following Consistency. People expect the same in every restaurant. Something for everyone. Must cater for Veggies and vaguelly healthy people Must be fast (No-brainer!) Need good profit margins, but still be fairly cheap. Must be non threatening. No Offal (Damn!) Must be internationally tailorable - No Beef for India, no Pork for Jewish countries etc Must be able to be prepared by low/no skilled teenagers. Gimmicks are good. Think 'interesting' breads, new cooking techniques etc. I quite liked the idea of Omelettes, but they would have to be freshly cooked, and require a modicum of skill. So I reckon the time is due for the first international kebab chain. A range of kebabs, both sliced of the spit, and skewers. They can be tailored to the countries meat of choice, lots of veggie options, adding new ranges is easy - Think Chicken tikka kebabs, Cajun style etc. You could offer a choice of different breads and sauces. Most people like kebabs, but they have a bad image of cleanliness, and 'Mystery Meat'. A super slick, shiny fast food style presentation could remove that image. All the meat could come from a central supplier, it offers simple portion control, it's spicy so people will want drinks (Good profit on those). I think I am going to make a fortune! The only thing that's going through may head is that Simpsons episode where Marge makes Pretzels, with the rival members of her investment club getting a 'Fleet-a-Pitta' franchise. I refuse to call Pitta 'Pocket Bread' and Falafels 'Crunch Patties'!

No they do not exist in England. But the French do not have a clue about Indian food (or any food other than French) and have a need to Frenchify everything to keep it within their monocultural perspective-so:French cheese in the naan. Some Sikhs we know who run an Indian restaurant in Vienna have to make all the meat dishes with pork. Pork is also unheard of in Indian restaurants in the UK. But they say that if they do not put pork on the menu the Austrians simply won't eat there-another example of the same thing. I do remember reading an article by one of the chefs in one of the more upmarket (And authentic) london Indian restaurants (I'll try to dig it out) where he used grated mild cheddar in one of his marinades, as it was the closest he could get to a particular ingredient. I think it was probably more of a textural thing though. I also read something were a chef was confronted by a customer asking why he used wester fish in his recipes, rather than pomfret for instance. His answer was that it is beter to use local, fresh ingredients, than something flown, frozen halfway around the world. I think it is the techniques, philosophies and approaches to cooking that define a particular cuisine, rather than ingredients, so Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza, is definitley not indian, even if it uses an ancient moghul recipe, and uses a chapati base, whereas a dish of spiced fried trout (Don't think you get trout in india do you?) would be. Cheese Nan is a nasty concept though! Look Here for an amusing letter!

Here are some of my favourites (Bit of a UK slant, rather than NY Deli) 1 - Bacon and HP sauce. Cheap plastic presliced bread. Perfect (I'll accept a Fried egg as well) 2- Chip Butty. 'Nuff said. 3- Doorstep sized Cheddar and pickle, on Granary. 4 - Roast Veggies and Goats Cheese. 5 - Stilton and Apple, on Granary. 6 - Cold Sausage, Caramelized Onions and English Mustard, Thick white bread. 7 - Crab, on thin brown bread. Maybe a bit of watercress. 8 - Cold potato curry, wrapped in a Chapati, with a dab of spciy pickle.

I agree here - Lovely summer day session pint (Deceptively strong though!) Looking at the website they appear to have a new summer Ale out 'Halcyon Days'. Not seen it anywhere yet though. But then again I normally drink Cider when it is sunny!

I just can't get the concept of beef mayonnaise out of my head now, it sounds wrong, but o so right! Though now I keep thinking of variants. Beef custard anyone?

We used to always have to get a black pudding for my dad when we went to Bury. Even he wasn't keen on the 'Fatty' ones though, always asked for lean. Although I think Fatty was a bit of a euphemism, more like huge chunks of gristle. I am never that keen on eating them straight from the market - I don't mind a bit of Black pudding occasionally, but I prefer it fried or grilled a bit until it crisps up. You can actually get Bury black puddings at the Deli near me in Winchester (Well at least you used to, not been in for a while), and Kirkhams Lancashire. Anyone else got a decent local market? I haven't really been to any towns with a permanent market like Bury or Bolton outside the North West. In cities, yes, but not towns. My local market just sells cheap knickers and mobile phone covers, apart from one very confused looking greek chap with a lovely stall selling olives and marinated feta. He is totally out of place!

And you can still get a tub of black peas at Bolton Market. Not that you would want to. Bury fish market is quite good to, rather odd space age style new building though. I did get some particularly dodgy mussels there once though. Back to the British delicacies, I must mention potted shrimps (Carrying on the Lancashire theme), decent sausages, mustard (I mock the pitiful french mustard, give me proper sinus clearing English!), clotted cream and Chicken Tikka Masala! I did knock up a rather heretical take on Shepherds Pie last week, confronted by my friends rather bare fridge and cupboard, and a request to use up what was left. I spiced up the lamb a little bit (Cumin, coriander, cinnamon,touch of chilli), added a tin of chickpeas to bulk it out a little, and topped it with a combination of sweet potato and normal potato, with added nutmeg and a bit of mustard. For a 'Throw everything together' recipe it was surprisingly tasty!

I normally have a couple of Nissin cup noodles in my desk. Either hot and spicy or Kimchi flavour. They are good when you are hungover.

I would vote for the humble Eccles cake, and it's lesser known cousin the Chorley cake. And while we are on the subject, both go very well with a nice piece of lancashire. BTW Anyone else ever been to Bury Market? As well as the famous Balck pudding stalls (Only one or two left now, and only one which ONLY sells black pudding) the cheese stall with it's fantastic choice (Do you want crumbly or creamy lancashire?). The odd one is the choice of 'Tasty' lancashire. Is there any other kind?

Everything is improved by a pat of butter on top. Even butter.

Well, they would have been freshly boiled for about 3 hours! Did they have pickled eggs?

And you have missed out on that most British of Pea treats (Along with the Pea Fritter Guide to English food for Americans) mushy peas. Definitely a more traditional accompaniment to fish and chips than a greek salad! Frozen peas are great. The only reason to have a freezer apart from from ice cream, vodka and ice cubes. Aldershot is a very odd place though. Who knows what they did to them.