Finding restaurants

On 2015-01-19 21:19:09 +0000, PeterN said:

On 1/19/2015 4:03 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , PeterN
wrote:

cuban food in florida is good, and something sandman should have done
rather than to go olive garden or taco bell.

i doubt there are very many cuban restaurants in sweden, if any.

Google is your friend.
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Cuban+Restaurants&find_loc=Stockh olm

2 is not very many and i doubt they're any good anyway.

The words "if any" mean you think there are none.

i didn't think there would be. as usual, you're arguing just to argue.

I admit I don't know how good they are. What is the secret of how you know?

because it's nowhere near cuba. duh.
see below.


do you think mexican food in italy is going to be any good?

I have had really good Indonesian food in Amsterdam, and good Chinese
food in Lisbon, and Qubec.

so what? cuban food is a lot less common than chinese.


There are less Cubans than Chinese.

....but they have cornered the market on '57 Chevies.

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 1/19/2015 4:21 PM, Savageduck wrote:
On 2015-01-19 20:39:03 +0000, PeterN said:

On 1/19/2015 2:58 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , PeterN
wrote:

cuban food in florida is good, and something sandman should have done
rather than to go olive garden or taco bell.

i doubt there are very many cuban restaurants in sweden, if any.

Google is your friend.
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Cuban+Restaurants&find_loc=Stockh olm


2 is not very many and i doubt they're any good anyway.


The words "if any" mean you think there are none.
I admit I don't know how good they are. What is the secret of how you
know?

I have had really good Indonesian food in Amsterdam, and good Chinese
food in Lisbon, and Qubec.

The Dutch have a tradition of Malay, Surinam and Indonesian cuisine due
to their colonial history since the 1600's. As a result they have quite
a large local population of folks of Malay, Surinam, and Indonesian
descent. When in the Netherlands and you want that type of food, just
look for, or ask for rijstafel. My wife due to spending time in
Singapore as a child, had a fondness for rijstafel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijsttafel


I know the reason. Just wanted to see if nospm did. His response makes
the answer to my question, obvious.

--
PeterN

On 2015-01-19 21:20:28 +0000, Tony Cooper said:

On Mon, 19 Jan 2015 08:43:26 -0800 (PST), Whisky-dave
wrote:

On Monday, 19 January 2015 15:27:03 UTC, Tony Cooper wrote:
On 19 Jan 2015 14:29:30 GMT, Sandman wrote:

In article , Andreas
Skitsnack wrote:

Oh, a troll thread from Andreas. Been a while.

Troll thread? I don't know what is trollish about a discussion of
finding acceptable restaurants in an area one is not familiar with.

well this is a photography NG we should have pictures to argue over at
the very least.


I haven't found restaurants to be interesting as a photographic
subject, but this is a candid taken in a Wendy's
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3wjqqruj8g...-33-3.jpg?dl=0

And this is a candid taken at a food truck here in town that kinda
ties in with the gun thread comments

https://www.dropbox.com/s/syb3ccf9hg...07-01.jpg?dl=0

Nice Springfield '03. What was the food like?

--
Regards,

Savageduck

In article , PeterN
wrote:

There are less Cubans than Chinese.

fewer.

On 2015-01-19 21:28:37 +0000, nospam said:

In article , PeterN
wrote:

There are less Cubans than Chinese.

fewer.

Except in Florida.

--
Regards,

Savageduck

In article , PAS wrote:

Andreas Skitsnack:
A poster here has repeatedly whinged about not being able to
find good restaurants in the tourist corridor of the Orlando
area. Hardly surprising because 1) he was looking for good
restaurants in an area where simply being open is all it takes
to attract customers, and 2) "good" is a subjective judgment
that is based primarily on acquired taste.

Most adults feel that "good", in restaurant fare, is what they
are used to and have found to be "good" over time. A restaurant
in a country other than their own is not likely to serve the
type of dish, prepared in the way they are used to, and spiced
the way they are used to.

Sandman:
Not at all. I like testing different food. Unfortunately,
Americans don't season their food much at all, especially not in
tourist-heavy areas, where most tourists are Americans.

I don't know much about Swedish food but if I had to guess, I
wouldn't think that the food you eat is seasoned much.

True, swedes aren't known for spicy food so to speak. Swedish "husmanskost"
is often traditional and high in fat (for the farmers back in the day), but
modern versions of the dishes are not very fat at all. But while Swedes may
not season the food all that much, you have to realize that the high
quality of swedish meat gives enough of a taste in itself.

My not-very-educated impression of Swedish and Norwegian food (I know
quite a few Norwegians) is that is is somewhat bland when it comes to
seasoning and that's fine by me. I'm a picky eater, I don't like a lot
of things and I am the farthest from an "adventruous eater" as you will
find. Give me some meat and potatoes and I'm fine.

I wouldn't call it "bland" though, but tastes vary of course. Swedes are
fond of fish, and usually well seasoned. Especially the pickled herring is
heavily seasoned, and is more or less a national dish for larger occasions
(midsummer's eve, christmas eve etc).

And a dish of swedish meatballs made from prime ground beef and with fresh
mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam. Everywhere else I've tasted this (to a
swede, really mundane dish) it's bland, but in Sweden, it has real taste.

Sandman:
As a foreigner, this is not a viable option, since few American
chains exists abroad.

And even on those that do exist abroad (like McDonald's) they
still are of lower quality in the states. FOr instance; in
America, the soda is sweetened with syrup instead of real sugar,
as opposed to most of the rest of the world, which means that a
Coke tastes... well, worse. Also, the quality of produce and meat
in McDonald's in US is lower than most of Europe.

We're finally seeing things turn around a bit. More and more
products are using sugar now instead of corn syrup.

Oh? Well, congratulations! :-D

Andreas Skitsnack:
While I like Carrabba's, I wouldn't recommend it to a person
from Europe. American Italian-style food is not the same as
what a European may be used to. Certainly not what an Italian
is used to.

Sandman:
Too much added sugar, usually. Same with most chinese food joints.

Really? I wouldn't think that Carrabba's adds much sugar to their
food.

Sorry, I meant generally, not specifically about that particular resturant.
Generally, the food in America is heavily loaded with sugar. And not only
on the tourist strips. I had a dish of Teriyaki Chicken in Salt Lake City
once, it was so sweet I could hardly finnish the dish.

If I eat a chicken dish with some soup and a little pasta on
the side, how much sugar can they add to that?

Well not any, if you ask me. It seems that Americans can find a way! :-D

Chinese food, or what passes for Chinese food on the USA, wreaks havoc
with my blood sugar levels because of the sauces - lots of sugar. I stay
away from it now.

Good choice

Andreas Skitsnack:
Had the poster asked me for recommendation (fat chance!), I
would have suggested trying places that serve a cuisine totally
different from what he's used to...Sonny's for barbecue, a Cuban
restaurant, a Southern-style restaurant, or a Mexican restaurant
(not Taco Bell!). He may or may not like it, but be adventurous.
Take your chances. That's one of the interesting things about
travel.

Sandman:
All the places we ate at were new to us, but alas; what most of
them had in common is the low standard meat/produce and the added
sugar/salt/fish fetish.

And Taco Bell most certainly served a "cuisine" totally different
to what we're used to!

If I was Mexican, I'd take umbrage at Taco Bell being labeled a
Mexican restaurant. Mexican food is extremely popular in the USA
and "real" Mexican food has nothing in common with Taco Bell.

I would hope not, or all Mexican's eat food that taste like it was found in
the backyard after a storm.


--
Sandman[.net]

In article , Andreas Skitsnack wrote:

PAS:
I don't know much about Swedish food but if I had to guess, I
wouldn't think that the food you eat is seasoned much.

Whisky-dave:
I did find swedish punch a bit spicy, well more spicy than I was
expecting. The only other swedish food I remeber meating was
crayfish.

Never been to Ikea? I've had Ikea's Swedish Meatballs, but have
absolutely no idea if a Swede would think they were authentically
Swedish.

The meatballs in IKEA restaurants in Sweden is rather ok, not like real
homemade, but passable. I couldn't say wheather the meatballs in IKEA's
abroad taste similarly.

That said, while the swedish meatball may be our most known "dish", it is
considered a rather mundande dish in sweden. It's the kind of dish I make
for the kids (they love it), but not something you make for the family
usually.

In Indiana, crayfish were called "crawdads" and fit only for bait to
catch something edible.

I've had crayfish (also called "crawfish") in Louisiana, and they
are anything but bland and unspiced.

Crayfish has a season of its own here in Sweden, and we have the
"Kräftskiva" which translates to something like "Crayfish party", where
lots of friends and family come over and sit around huge bowls filled with
crayfish in salty water, as well as shrimp. Usually served with cheese and
crackers as well.

It's usually the kind of eating party you see in those stereotypical
italian scenes, with the whole family joined at the table, picking food
from the center. It's a really nice tradition. And it's really good as
well.


--
Sandman[.net]

In article , Andreas Skitsnack wrote:

What is trollish is making sweeping generalizations about the food
quality and restaurant quality of a country based on a visit to one
touristy area of that country. And, one based on what were
evidently choices of places made haphazardly. Your extensive
complaints an example of shirt-tail dragging.

Haha! I've been to more places than one in America, so the opinions of the
american cousiine is based on them all. That said, I'm not really
"complaining". I am just telling people what I think of the food when they
ask, or making an joke. I didn't start a new thread in a photography group
to "complain" about the food.

Sandman:
Not at all. I like testing different food. Unfortunately,
Americans don't season their food much at all, especially not in
tourist-heavy areas, where most tourists are Americans.

If you are referring to the Disney World area, you are correct that
"most" tourists are Americans. Between 18% and 22% of the tourists
who visit there are from other countries.

Indeed.

However, you are making the typical small European country
assumption that there is no regional diversity in culinary styles in
the US.

Can you quote this assumption of mine?

Yet, this is as marked in the US as it is in Italy where
northern cuisine is different from southern cuisine...but more
extensive because the US is larger.

Problem for a tourist, especially a foreign tourist, is that it's hard to
know what restaurant that may or may not serve some "local" cousine that
may or may not be better than the "average" american cousine.

The tourist area restaurant operator, though, cooks for some
unattainable level of pleasing everyone.

It's the other way around, if you ask me. They "cook" for the lowest common
denominator, and since most tourists are americans, that means a lot of
sugar, fat, grease, syrup, deep-frying and whatnot.

Sandman:
The biggest probem is the usually really low aulity of meat,
produce and things like that.

There is a significant difference between grain-fed beef and
corn-fed beef. Corn-fed beef is more expensive and more difficult
to find in Florida. Only the top-end restaurants offer corn-fed
beef.

Ok, help me understand this here. We don't have "meat farms" in Sweden that
way you do in the states. But our cattle are fed by grazing in pastures,
and the livestock is owned by farmers. I think this is a huge difference in
meat culture between America and well - most of the rest of the world,
really.

I usually buy meat that is local, I go down to a food hall and buy prime
beef that is fresh and tastes awesome.

Produce quality, the things you mostly see in the salad course, also
vary regionally in the US. Florida restaurants generally buy
locally grown products because of shipping costs, and tomatoes,
lettuce, and that sort of this don't have the same quality if grown
in the sandy soil of Florida. Midwestern tomatoes, for example, are
far superior to Florida-grown tomatoes.

Maybe. I think most of the problems with produce when I've been there is
that it has never tasted fresh.

Andreas Skitsnack:
US Chain restaurants have some advantage to the traveler.

Sandman:
As a foreigner, this is not a viable option, since few American
chains exists abroad.

And even on those that do exist abroad (like McDonald's) they
still are of lower quality in the states.

You are in very small company if you consider a McDonald's to be a
"restaurant" or any type of benchmark. We refer to McDonald's as a
"fast-food restaurant" and only include "restaurant" in the term
because there is no convenient term to replace it. However, the
inclusion of "fast-food" sets it completely apart from the single
word "restaurant".

Of course - I meant only to say that even in McDonald's, the quality is a
lot better in Sweden than in the states. First of all, we use real sugar in
our sodas, and secondly, we use swedish meat in our patties. I would not,
however, call McDonald's *good* food, regardless of location. Just wanted
to highlight that the higher quality standard is reflected even in american
food chains in sweden.

Sandman:
FOr instance; in America, the soda is sweetened with syrup
instead of real sugar, as opposed to most of the rest of the
world, which means that a Coke tastes... well, worse.

Just above you've complained about the high sugar content in our
food.

Yeah? I don't drink soda's myself. This was just a "for instance".

Sandman:
Also, the quality of produce and meat in McDonald's in US is lower
than most of Europe.

That's a laughable statement to an American. Of course it is. What
do you expect for a 99 cent hamburger? Or anything served in a
fast-food restaurant?

That's the point. Even in a cheap hamburger here in Sweden, the meat is
still high-quality and actually taste like... well, meat.

Andreas Skitsnack:
I've traveled extensively in Europe, and had both hits and
misses.

Sandman:
Plus, Europe is such a diverse place, where food culture changes
ever X miles you travel,

If you are not aware that this is also true in the US, it is because
1) you've not traveled enough in the US, and 2) your selection of
restaurants is at fault.

While I have no problem realizing that food culture changes in America as
well, I have a hard time thinking it's even close to the scale of Europe,
where every country has a very local and very specific cousine, and mostly
totally unlike what is found across the border, just X miles away.

Andreas Skitsnack:
I've never used Yelp or that type of thing for a recommendation.
It's ridiculous to do so. Yelp recommendations are often
"salted" by the restaurant.

Sandman:
Proof? No? Thought so.

I need proof for this?

Yup. Or rephrase it as an opinion or a suspicion.

It's well-known and general knowledge that the Yelp review that says
"Great food and great service" was probably provided by a waiter at that
restaurant. If you want an outside opinion, see

"well known" and "probably"... Hmm, no proof there.

http://kitchenette.jezebel.com/oh-lo...p-r-1641909713

Which is illegal and Yelp is doing their best to vet them out. Read more
about it he

http://officialblog.yelp.com/2013/11...d-reviews.html

That said, some people will always try to game these review sites, and some
"attack" may be successful to begin with, but most of these sites work hard
to prevent and work against it.

There are numerous other examples to be found. A restaurant that
receives a bad review on Yelp will try to offset that review, and
bury it, with a number of positive reviews from employees or family.

Any examples?

How many authentic Yelp reviews did *you* submit based on your
experience?

Only one. In fact, I asked about recommendations for restaurants in another
group and someone there told me that using Yelp could at least give an
indication.

The review was a one-star review (apparently, you can't give negative
stars, or they would have gotten -100 stars or something). So I was late to
the game.

I have used Tripadvisor in the past as well.


--
Sandman[.net]

In article , nospam wrote:

Sandman:
Not at all. I like testing different food. Unfortunately,
Americans don't season their food much at all, especially not in
tourist-heavy areas, where most tourists are Americans.

that's because not everyone likes spicy food, so restaurants in
tourist-heavy areas will tend to be bland.

again, you're picking the wrong restaurants.

And, as I've said many times now, picking the "right" restaurant is pretty
hard for a foreigner with limited time to do any research, which is my
point. If you were in downtown Västerås (where I live) and picked a
restaurant at random, you'd be sure that it has great quality food.

That said, it's not certain that *you* may like the food, but the
ingredient quality will be top notch.

Sandman:
Most food is super-greasy, tons of added sugar and way too sweet
to eat. But that's not really the biggest problem (and could be
filed under the 'this is how we "spice" things in America). The
biggest probem is the usually really low aulity of meat, produce
and things like that. It's like you guys add syrup, sugar and
salt to hide the crappy meat that's hidden underneath somewhere.

not only are you piking the wrong restaurants, you're picking ****ty
ones.

Yeah, but who's to blame? Me for not knowing, or for the fact that there
are way too many ****ty restaurants around?

Andreas Skitsnack:
I've never used Yelp or that type of thing for a recommendation.
It's ridiculous to do so. Yelp recommendations are often
"salted" by the restaurant.

Sandman:
Proof? No? Thought so.

it's well known.

I.e. no proof.

Andreas Skitsnack:
Had the poster asked me for recommendation (fat chance!), I
would have suggested trying places that serve a cuisine totally
different from what he's used to...Sonny's for barbecue, a Cuban
restaurant, a Southern-style restaurant, or a Mexican restaurant
(not Taco Bell!). He may or may not like it, but be adventurous.
Take your chances. That's one of the interesting things about
travel.

Sandman:
All the places we ate at were new to us, but alas; what most of
them had in common is the low standard meat/produce and the added
sugar/salt/fish fetish.

then you picked the wrong ones.

DéjÃ* vü.

Sandman:
And Taco Bell most certainly served a "cuisine" totally different
to what we're used to!

you flew all the way to the usa and went to a taco bell??
seriously??? wtf is wrong with you?

taco bell is ****ty fast food. wtf did you expect?

Oh no, don't give me that! ****ty fast food has it's place. Taco Bell is a
LOT worse than ****ty fast food. It was the worst thing I've put in my
mouth in a long time.

McDonald's is hitty fast food, and it has its place, and is edible when in
a hurry or for other reasons. Taco Bell is a *punishment* to the taste
buds. Taco Bell was horrible goo that they surely found lying in the back
trash bin from another fast food restaurant.

And why did we go there? Well, me and my son had been shopping, and he was
hungry. When driving along, I recognized the logo and thought, why not?
I've seen it in movies, and it's apparently a pretty popular place seeing
how there is one in every intersection pretty much. How bad can it be,
really?

My god, how bad can it be? Worse! It can be the worst food you've ever
tasted my gullible little swedish tourist! It can be the spawn of Swamp
Thing run through a blender and served in a taco bread.


--
Sandman[.net]

In article , Savageduck wrote:

Sandman:
Not at all. I like testing different food. Unfortunately,
Americans don't season their food much at all, especially not in
tourist-heavy areas, where most tourists are Americans.

Where did you eat

I don't remember all the places right now, unfortunately.

and who are these Americans who don't season
their food much at all?

I didn't catch their names.

It is beginning to look as if Swedes
generalize with regard to restaurant food in the USA.

I think most europeans do.

Sandman:
Most food is super-greasy, tons of added sugar and way too sweet
to eat. But that's not really the biggest problem (and could be
filed under the 'this is how we "spice" things in America). The
biggest probem is the usually really low aulity of meat, produce
and things like that. It's like you guys add syrup, sugar and
salt to hide the crappy meat that's hidden underneath somewhere.

Again, where did you eat to come up with that idea?

In the tourist areas around Orlando.

Andreas Skitsnack:
US Chain restaurants have some advantage to the traveler. When
traveling in the US, I know I will find what I consider to be
good food in an Outback Steakhouse or a Carrabba's Italian
Grill. I know that the food in an Olive Garden or a Denny's is
not going to be something I will enjoy. I have no illusions
that others will share this opinion. I pick a restaurant to
please me, not others.

Sandman:
As a foreigner, this is not a viable option, since few American
chains exists abroad.

That's OK! We don't see too many European chains here. However, we
have all sorts of restaurants with diverse non-American flavor.

Cool. I hope you're not talking about things like Taco Bell here. :-D

Sandman:
And even on those that do exist abroad (like McDonald's) they
still are of lower quality in the states. FOr instance; in
America, the soda is sweetened with syrup instead of real sugar,
as opposed to most of the rest of the world, which means that a
Coke tastes... well, worse. Also, the quality of produce and meat
in McDonald's in US is lower than most of Europe.

McDonald's is not in anyway considered to be "good food" even in the
USA.

Not in Sweden either. But the point was that the *meat* is high quality in
Sweden, as opposed to in America.

Andreas Skitsnack:
While I like Carrabba's, I wouldn't recommend it to a person
from Europe. American Italian-style food is not the same as
what a European may be used to. Certainly not what an Italian
is used to.

Sandman:
Too much added sugar, usually. Same with most chinese food joints.

Where are these places which add all this sugar? As for Chinese food
joints, the most nasty food additive is MSG.

MSG?

Andreas Skitsnack:
I've traveled extensively in Europe, and had both hits and
misses. The independently owned restaurant is more prevalent in
Europe, so there's no experience factor involved in choosing
restaurants. In Europe, the full parking lot and the presence
of a crowd in a restaurant is not a dependable way to choose.
The better restaurants often don't have on-site parking, and the
crowd in the place only means that this restaurant offers what
the local crowd likes. That can be quite different from the
style of food that I like.

Sandman:
Plus, Europe is such a diverse place, where food culture changes
ever X miles you travel, most times significantly.

...and the USA isn't a diverse place?? Tell that to the Thai,
Cambodians, Hmong, Japanese, Chinese, French, Irish, Italians,
Spanish, Koreans, Greeks, Moroccans, various Central & South
Americans, even Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and others from countries
too numerous to list. Many of them specialize in serving their
national cuisine to their fellow Americans.

Not in the tourist strips in Orlando...

Andreas Skitsnack:
Had the poster asked me for recommendation (fat chance!), I
would have suggested trying places that serve a cuisine totally
different from what he's used to...Sonny's for barbecue, a Cuban
restaurant, a Southern-style restaurant, or a Mexican restaurant
(not Taco Bell!). He may or may not like it, but be adventurous.
Take your chances. That's one of the interesting things about
travel.

Sandman:
All the places we ate at were new to us, but alas; what most of
them had in common is the low standard meat/produce and the added
sugar/salt/fish fetish.

You really didn't make the effort to seek out "good food" on your
trip.

How would I have gone about to do just that, mr Duck? I mean, we mostly had
a very limited time frame going from the parks to the hotel for planning
our dinner, so for someone pressed for time and no knowledge about which
restaurants are good and which are bad, how would one attain that
knowledge?

In my town, Paso Robles, at the junction of Hwy 101 & Hwy 46 I
can find an astonishing number of fast food joints, All there to
take advantage of theNorth-South L.A.-San Francisco traffic.
However, if I look within a few blocks I can find all sorts of
places to eat, including two French run places, three real Mexican
food places, two very good Italian restaurants, any many more.
Always ask the locals where to eat, don't follow the herd.

There was no herd to "follow". We're in a car, going from the Disney park
to our hotel. Along that trip there is a very long strip with tons of
restaurants on it. What locals should I have asked?

Sandman:
And Taco Bell most certainly served a "cuisine" totally different
to what we're used to!

Taco Bell = food of the last resort.

Taco Bell = Food is not on the menu.


--
Sandman[.net]