Different cultures and their quirks/food/customs/drink 5

[ziggi]

This is a continuation of a post on a hijacked thread, which was primarily about booze (the post not the thread), but then evolved, but then I forgot where it went, so I'm making a new one.

For those of you who wonder why this is in the self-improvement section. The next time you end up in Poland overpaying a restaurant meal by $80 b/c you gave the waitress $100 for a $20 meal and said thank you, you'll be glad you read this post.

To start us off, when in Poland and at a restaurant, first off pay in cash (credit scams are rife) and secondly don't say anything to the waitress/waiter when paying, saying "Thank you" denotes that you want the waitress/waiter to keep the change.
Also Croatians tend to stare right into your eyes when talking to you, that may creep out the introverts out there....pretty much most engineers ;-) .

 

[epoisses]

No it's a local beer, as drinkable as in any other place. You can't have beer without food, though.

Re the cheque, yes you are almost always supposed to ask for it, it's not considered good service when they put the cheque in front of you, in other words asking you to free up the chair. In any case dinner is usually so long that there will not be anyone else on the same chair during the same evening. I guess eating out in Europe must be more expensive in the US or Australia for the same reason.

Re being ignored during 2 hours after placing the order in Europe, actually this is not considered good service at all, the waiter is supposed to come back not too long after serving the food to check if things are fine.

Re the hopeless napkins, yes this is a common and major problem in Europe, you really need to go to an above-average restaurant to have decent napkins. We usually take our own with us for the kids otherwise it becomes a complete mess, this should obviously not be necessary.

 

[Sprocket59]

Many years ago, as a kid, I ordered fish in Germany. I was put off by the head, scales, and bones. A few years ago I made the same mistake, assuming things had changed. Too much work for so little meat. Perhaps I'm just a spoiled, lazy, filet-loving American.

Is it just my imagination that American waitresses/waiters are friendlier than their European counterparts? I realize that tipping can do that to a person. It may be phony, but it makes the meal more pleasant.

 

[plasgears]

I attended a posh birthday party at Westbury, Long Island, and I tipped the matre'd a ten for his attention to detail. The event costed well into five figures, but I was not part of the planning and paying the cost. The guest of honor was my 90 yr old mother in law.

As I was getting the coats at the end of the party, the owner, a goon of a character, came over and said that a more appropriate tip would have been $100. I said that others must have given something in appreciation. My estimate is that the owner wanted me to pay his MD's salary.

Can you top that?

 

[sms]

This is not food related, but I suppose it falls under customs... I was staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur and as I walked through the lobby dragging my one wheeled suitcase, and carrying my brief case/computer bag, I had literally 5 or 6 hotel employees come come up to me wanting to take my bags. I know they meant well, and I know they were not expecting a tip necessarily, but darn it I don't like giving up my bags, especially my computer bag.

On top of that most of those wanting to take my bag were little bitty women. Now I know the world has changed etc etc, but I just could not bring myself to let some young woman who is all of 90 lbs soaking wet haul my bags for me. A 240 lb 6'2" man following this little bitty woman through the lobby while she hauls my luggage, I don't think so. My attitude may be sexist, but I think I can handle my own bags thank you.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[epoisses]

Sprocket59, no that is not your imagination

 

[ScottyUK]

Is it just my imagination that American waitresses/waiters are friendlier than their European counterparts?

That kinda depends on whether you consider the phoney 'Have a nice day' as friendly, or sycophantic. Friendly is good, but not too friendly. In the US many waiters / waitresses are too friendly for my European tastes. That said, some of their European equivalents are outright rude. As is often the case, the middle path is the best.

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I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy it...

 

[epoisses]

French waitresses and shopkeepers say "have a nice day" as well, but as soon as they have to (try to) speak English, they lose all their eloquence. It's so much easier to be polite in your mother language...

 

[SomptingGuy]

Slightly OT I know, but on the subject of American waitresses and the rate of turning tables...

The one phrase that I used to find myself translating a lot for my British guests and visitors when eating out in America was "So you're all set then". This means "My part in this transaction is complete. Please leave now."

 

[lewtam]

Re Ice problem in Europe: It isn't just the ice thing, they tend not to serve any beverage cold enough for my taste. Beer, white wine, soda & water were all at least 5 degrees warmer than I was accustomed to.

When it's the middle of a Paris summer, rel humidity is about 85% and the smog is keeping every degree of heat around well into the night, you just want a cold beer. Loved France, but just couldn't satisfy my thirst.


LewTam Inc.
Petrophysicist, Leading Hand, Natural Horseman, Prickle Farmer, Crack Shot, Venerable Yogi.

 

[IRstuff]

Didn't the English like to drink warm beer as well?

I recall someone describing a particular ale as being "warm and chewy, with bits of pond life floating in it."

TTFN

 

[ScottyUK]

The idea of the English drinking warm beer makes me smile. Maybe it is a Southern thing; in the North we drink our lager / pilsner style drinks cold. There are now a few beers which are branded as 'extra cold', for example Carling and Guinness, and are available alongside the regular draft beers. When I worked in a bar while at college we served beer at 4C, so I guess these extra cold types are just about at 0C. They are noticeably colder, and have less flavour too. Good European pilsner becomes like Budweiser.

The beers which are served less chilled than lager tend to be the traditional English cask beers or 'real ales'. Overchilling them kills the flavour, so you have no idea of what you are drinking. There is only a couple of degress difference in temperature: 6C or so being about right. They should be crystal clear with no floaters (or sinkers!) in the glass. Cloudy beer is bad beer, either because the cask has been tapped too early, or because the beer has gone stale.

A few English beers really need to be cold though: Newcastle Brown Ale becomes positively toxic if it is served too warm. Warm lager or pilsner is just disgusting, so we don't drink it warm! I can understand LewTam's need to chill Aussie beer to the point where its flavour disappears: Fosters? Castlemaine? Yuk!

Could it be Scrumpy (rough cider from Somerset) that you are thinking of with bits of pond life and branches in it? There are some really nice brews out there if you are in the area, and some which would be great for degreasing truck engines. The ingredients (other than apples) which go in Scrumpy might seem a little strange - raw meat being a common additive. Folklore (I hope) has it that the meat is added in whatever form is available - rats, pig's heads, etc. Lovely!!

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I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy it...

 

[SomptingGuy]

When asked in America if I'd "like a beer" I'm always tempted to reply:

"I'd love one, but you don't sell any. However, I'm prepared to accept 4/5 of a pint of ice-cold horse p155 served in a frosty mug."

More seriously, during the 90's it seemed like beer that tasted of something started to catch on in America (the mid west at least). But then the whole thing overshot - many beers had so much flavour they became almost undrinkable.

 

[epoisses]

Reminds me the beer I had in one of those Chinese 2 dollar lunch places when I was in Houston. You could pick either Bud or Bud light. The beer was then poured into a frosty mug.... half full with ice cubes! But that did not really change the taste anyway.

 

[livingston]

Mine is more of a question....What is it with butter on sandwiches in the UK? They seem to use it like we would use mayo or mustard in the US.

 

[ScottyUK]

I'm with you guys: I detest the stuff!

Mayo is good, if not exactly healthy, mustard is great. Does the US have an equivalent to the fiery English mustard? The yellow stuff (French's?) is very nice on hot dogs, but not so good with a roast.





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I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy it...

 

[Ussuri]

Sandwiches just dont taste right without butter or marg.

I know have noticed a worrying trend in our supermarkets. They have started selling sandwiches without mayonnaise, which to me just taste bland. I think its to cater for the 'diet' market which seems to be getting bigger, kinda like the UK populace.

 

[kchayfie]

Our office caterers seem to serve sandwiches with a slice of margarine on there. In fact no, not even margarine - a particularly foul form of "low fat spread". Dry bread is preferable to that stuff! When I'm motivated to make my own sandwiches, soft spreadable cheese does the job for me - as long as the rest of the fillings match up.

 

[sms]

I live in the US and I would and I agree, it is terribly hard to find a real beer in this country. I don't drink what they call beer here. I would prefer water. I wait until I get to Europe to drink beer.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[ziggi]

I've got to agree about American beers, they'e terrible.
And why are they all so weak? 3% alcohol is not enough liquor, I don't know about the rest of you but I enjoy a good buzz, it makes nap time easier ;-)

Speaking of cloudy beer, I once tried a 'dirty ale' in Calgary, it was basically a very very cloudy beer, very refreshing too.


I agree about the sandwiches with butter, they do taste better with it. My wife is a native Canuck and I just can't understand her love for mayo and/or mustard on her sandwiches, and vice versa.

A good fiery mustard is 'dijon', the French version is pretty weak, for a real kick try an authentic East European version, it's got stronger horseradish.
OR just buy mustard and add horseradish, mayo and hot sauce is really good too, especially with fried fish.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Butter on bread?

It makes the bread moist and more edible. The French and Italians often dunk their bread in olive oil, which is a similar substance, only posher. "Mayo" and mustard (mega-mild "yellow" American mustard) have similar uses.

Butter these days in the UK is almost extinct as a spread. There was a shift to margerine many years back and more recently a shift to something called buttermilk (God knows what that really is!). Similarly, I've never had "mayo" either in the UK or in America that is anything like the real thing you'd get in France or Holland. My theory is that what we call butter (low fat spread) and what we and Americans call mayo (low fat something) are converging and will ultimately be produced using the same by-products of the petro-chemical industry.