Does anyone know french?

[Redskin in Canada]

Would you mind awfully if I asked you not to bring reason into this - I'm enjoying wallowing in my own bigotry here.

I beg of you to pardon me, dear Sir. Please continue.

And on that note:

An Englishman, roused by a Scot's scorn of his race, protested that he was born an Englishman and hoped to die an Englishman. "Man," scoffed the Scot, "hiv ye nae ambeetion (Have you no ambition)?"

[welch]

RIC

By the way, while some who have visited France like the food,

...but anyone who has been to Belgium (oh, and the beer!) knows that the Belgians cook better!

[BearSkins]

An Englishman, roused by a Scot's scorn of his race, protested that he was born an Englishman and hoped to die an Englishman. "Man," scoffed the Scot, "hiv ye nae ambeetion (Have you no ambition)?"

ouch! cringing at that accent there!

The thing Americans say to me most when they hear my accent is "What?"

[welch]

Bearskins

The thing Americans say to me most when they hear my accent is "What?"

I admit it.

In '98 I was in Cambridge (the "other") Cambridge for a few weeks, during which the World Cup was played. Our group watched all the Scotland games with a kind young Scottish lady from our partners. We cheered like mad.

However, "color" commentay was being done by Aly McCoist, former star, her teenage idol, who, I thought, needed simultaneous translation.

Between halves, they asked McCoist what Scotland needed to do. I heard <strange forgeign language> "take the ball down the wings, cross it , and finish" <more and more foreign language with no similarity to any variety of English I know...and the US has some mighty weird accents>. That snippit was the only bit of McCoist I could understand.

My son is a Celtic fan, by the way, and quite early one Saturday morning, we drove the 60 miles to Austin to watch them thrash a weaker Scottish League team. The other fans, gathered in the semi-darkness of a bar at 7am or so, were welcoming...and even spaced out their words so we could understand. Maybe they were staff at UT and accustomed to moderating their accents for Americans?

[Redskin in Canada]

...but anyone who has been to Belgium (oh, and the beer!) knows that the Belgians cook better!

Let us agree to agree:

Belgium is a beer country. Their products range from bottom-fermented beers, to Wild beers, red beers, top-fermented beers, white beers and dark brown ales. While Stella Artois is undoubtedly the best known product in the international market, my favourite beers are unpasteurised Abbey-made beers. Perhaps with the exception of Germany and the Czeck Republic, nobody can compete with the quality and flavour (although this is a subjective matter of taste).

France, on the other hand, is a wine country. Beer can be had if really necessary but it is certainly not the national beverage of choice. But before I really put down the French on the topic of beer, allow me to say that most of their commercial beer, such as Kronenbeurg, Kanterbrau and Jenlain, are far superior to that watery commercial concoction you call American light beer of ALL kinds. Surely, you can find local micro-breweries in the US worth of very honourable mention such as the Genesee Brewing Company in Rochester, NY, but surely not in the wider national market dominated by the tasteless Miller, Coors and Budweiser bad imitations of a real beer. My worst experience with a beer took place in the USA, I had the audacity to ask for a Schlitz beer -once-. My conclusion? The name had an extra unnecessary L in the name.

Now let us agree to disagree:

Belgian food is GREAT. However, it does not come anywhere near to match the depth and scope of French Cuisine throughout its various regions and weathers. And I am a serious international cook.

You see, the problem with Belgium is that it is surrounded by countries which compete ferociously in all fronts. I would argue that some Dutch and French cheeses are as good or better than some Belgian cheeses. I would argue that some German and Dutch beers could match or surpass some Belgian brands.

Having said all of theabove, I would love to have a Belgian meal with one of their abbey-made beers -any- day of the year ... all year long.

And I would even drink a Miller, Coors or Budweiser imitation as long as I get to watch the Redskins in FedEx or another Stadium in the NFL.

[Fios]

Schlitz is unbearably awful, Miller Lite and Coors Lite aren't worth the cans they come in, I can drink a Bud Light if I am forced to but Yuengling, North America's oldest brewery, makes an excellent beer and there are quite a few good American beers. Personally, I am a Guinness man, nothing better in the world.

[Irn-Bru]

Schlitz is unbearably awful, Miller Lite and Coors Lite aren't worth the cans they come in, I can drink a Bud Light if I am forced to but Yuengling, North America's oldest brewery, makes an excellent beer and there are quite a few good American beers. Personally, I am a Guinness man, nothing better in the world.

I blame prohibition. Americans made good beer before that, and the craft was lost amidst mass production in trying to meet the demand afterward.

I like Yuengling because it's cheap, Fordham because it's the local brew, and many other American microbrews because they are quite good. Sam Adams is, in my opinion, the only mass-produced American beer worth drinking (unless, as you say, ettiquette or some other concern forces one to have a light beer).

Europeans have their share of "so-so" beers, very few of which are imported to the US of course, and a ton of no-name, solid beers. (A local pub in London while I lived there once had a guest ale night with 16 distinct English ales on tap). The biggest difference that I saw, though, in my very limited experience, was that most of the mass-produced beers in Europe are still worth drinking. Oh well. . .at least it's not too hard to get good stuff in America.

[Redskin in Canada]

Personally, I am a Guinness man, nothing better in the world.

What could be more -American- than that?

Have you tried the Belgian Leffe?

[Oh well. . .at least it's not too hard to get good stuff in America.

Ah! The beauty of a large Open Market to spirits and beers from all over the world. You can find -almost- anything you want in the USA if you are patient to learn where to look for.

[welch]

Leffe Brune ("brown"), the best beer in the world, although Samuel Adams is truly fine. Try their Winter Lager.

(For True American Patriots, never call him "Sam". I read someplace that it was an insult in tose days to call someone by the shortened version of his first name. Only person to call my favorite revolutionary founder "Sam" Adams was, I believe, his Tory enemy Peter Oliver...in a book written after Oliver had safely run away to England.)

Leffe is one of the Belgian Abbey beers RiC mentioned, a dark one. Hard to find in the US, although visitors to NYC can find it at a great bar/restaurant called BXL on 43rd between 7th and 6th Avenues. Warning: very noisy place.

(Even Belgians treat Stella as something like Miller or Bud...)

Duvel (and a few others) are famous because they have higher alcohol content, but they taste and smell something like a US malt liquour. Not for me.

To agree to disagree: I think Belgian food has all the best qualities of French, without the excess. I'd call Belgian cooking tempered by the (few) good influences of German cooking.

As for the Dutch, I think the only good meals in Nederlands are when people go out to an Indonesian restaurant. The benefits of colonialism?

(By the way, I did a loooong project in Zurich, which has the worst food in the world, and lousy beer.)

[Redskin in Canada]

To agree to disagree: I think Belgian food has all the best qualities of French, without the excess. I'd call Belgian cooking tempered by the (few) good influences of German cooking.

Was that a compliment to the Germans?

As for the Dutch, I think the only good meals in Nederlands are when people go out to an Indonesian restaurant. The benefits of colonialism?

I am going to have to keep this post to pass it on to your relatives there. People in the Netherlands make some great types of cheese. Nothing like a good aged Edam, Gouda or Maasdammer cut in paper thin slices with a good glass of wine by the side. Interestingly, for the Dutch a "cheese head" is -NOT- a Green Bay Packers fan.

But I concede that Indonesian food is delicious indeed.

(By the way, I did a loooong project in Zurich, which has the worst food in the world, and lousy beer.)

Geneva is a -much- better place for a meal. You must move to the French speaking part. The German speaking part of Switzerland is, well, as you say, less fortunate (although I do find that the cheese fondue, cold meat cuts and sausages are not bad at all in Zurich).

My choice would be to have Swiss white wine (instead of beer) with a meal in Zurich.

[UK Skins Fan]

An Englishman, roused by a Scot's scorn of his race, protested that he was born an Englishman and hoped to die an Englishman. "Man," scoffed the Scot, "hiv ye nae ambeetion (Have you no ambition)?"

ouch! cringing at that accent there!

The thing Americans say to me most when they hear my accent is "What?"

That can't be right. Surely, the first thing Americans say to you when they hear your accent is: what part of Australia do you come from? Followed by, do you live anywhere near Peter Jackson?

[UK Skins Fan]

Schlitz is unbearably awful, Miller Lite and Coors Lite aren't worth the cans they come in, I can drink a Bud Light if I am forced to but Yuengling, North America's oldest brewery, makes an excellent beer and there are quite a few good American beers. Personally, I am a Guinness man, nothing better in the world.

Guinness is a vastly overrated commodity, and causes quite concussive bouts of flatulence, in my extensive experience.

US "mainstream" lagers are not worth going into a bar for (for that matter, there aren't any English lagers worthy of my time, that I know of).

But give me anything from the Sarah Hughes Brewery, Harvey's, King and Barnes, and several by Greene King and Sheppard Neame, and I'll be enjoying myself. But I'm not a beer snob. I'm quite happy drinking a pint of Kokanee when I get down form the ski slopes of Whistler.