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Post by Alice on Nov 13, 2005 17:59:18 GMT -5
When we went Herkimer digging in NY last May, we stopped to grab a bite to eat at a "mom & pop" fast food restaurant.
Their menu said "Fish & chips", "Sandwhich & chips", "Hotdog & Chips", "___ & Chips".
Now coming from Canada, When the menu says Fish & Chips, it means Fish & French fries. I was very surprised (not to mention disapointed) that what came with my fish was a bag of rippled potato chips.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with words in another country?
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Post by parfive on Nov 13, 2005 21:24:01 GMT -5
Must be something about upstate New York, Alice.
I remember getting a pizza in a bar near Watkins Glen about thirty years ago and the only thing on it was tomato sauce.
And fish 'n chips is always french fries, even in the colonies.
Stefan - What gives?
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Post by rockds on Nov 13, 2005 21:30:54 GMT -5
Merry ol england had the best fish-n-chips i've ever had
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Post by Alice on Nov 13, 2005 21:40:13 GMT -5
Parfive, that pizza sounds yummy  Sounds like they might as well have given you pita bread smeared with tomato paste. Did you ask about the cheese? or other toppings? |
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Post by krazydiamond on Nov 15, 2005 15:19:52 GMT -5
what you got, parfive, was what the call "tomato pie", and yes, it's just pizza bread with tomato sauce and the slight sprinkling of parmesan cheese. i have no clue why it is so popular.
"chips" do not mean french fries in Central New York, sorry. maybe in the rest of the world, but not here. buffalo wings are not really buffalo meat either, no matter what the advertising sez.
"pudding" is a word that used to confuse the heck out of me in the UK. "pudding" has always meant creamy flavored dessert, usually served chilled in a glass bowl. "Pudding" in the UK has all sorts of meanings, encompassing "dessert" in it's entirety and also far reaching to savory pastry served with a meal (as in Yorkshire Pudding).
and something i'll NEVER understand is the desire to eat Mushy Peas as a side dish (also the UK)....but then, i don't like Pea soup either, so maybe it's me.
i think the funniest "food issue" we had was in Mexico one time on vacation, my husband was looking to try real authentic dishes and asked one of the restarant managers if they would make him "Estafado" (which is kinda like a stew) and the guy was HORRIFIED.."Oh, Senoir! I would NEVER serve that in my restaurant, that is what my mother used to make!" ummm, yeh, the point. that is the same vacation i tried baby shark tortillas...but that's another story.
oh well, anybody else got a good one?
KD
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Post by Cher on Nov 15, 2005 17:24:33 GMT -5
Every Wednesday the ladies who lived near my mother got together for coffee and chat. One of the gals was from England and boy oh boy, the first time they got together with Sheila they almost split their gut laughing.
She had just come back from visiting her mum and was telling about going shopping. She said she picked up some rubbers for her daughter to give her friends. The ladies almost choked since they knew that her daughter was only 10 until she explained it was those little things you put on pencils.
Another one was when she told them while she was there she went and knocked up her best friend from school. Ok, we all know where that one is going. *smile*
I'll have to think about it, I know there were more. Oh yeah, chips here in Minnesota are potato chips but then fries are fries. They all come from potatos, just depends on how you cook 'em. American fries area also big here, those are when you slice the potatos thin and fry them up in a pan with butter. Some also add onions and bacon. Then you have jo-jo's, those are big ol' fries made from slices of whole potatos with the peeling still on. Sliced in 8's like a pie but left the full length of the potato and generally deep fried.
Now I'm hungry and all out of potatos!
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Post by krazydiamond on Nov 15, 2005 18:37:36 GMT -5
wide eyed and without Spud....  the various forms of potatoes...kinda like pasta, the FORM and size determines the name most of the time. hash browns and home fries (here, anyway) are the same thing (pan fried potatoes usually already cooked once) but the particles are smaller in hash browns. potatoe pancakes, refried mashed potatoe shaped into patties. steak fries are what we (in CNY) call the big french fries with the skin still on. as opposed to all the different variety of "french" or "freedom" fries that have no skin and are uniform in shape at least to each other. scalloped potatoes are casseroled with milk and cheese and if you are very lucky some ham bits. baked, twiced baked (my favorite)and all manor of flavored mashed (garlic, cheese, bacon)... are we on our way to the store yet?? KD |
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Post by Tweetiepy on Nov 15, 2005 21:35:27 GMT -5
Anyone from the States tried "Poutine"? Alice, how about you? This is french fries with cheese curds & gravy. The best is: fries with shredded chicken, a white gravy & cheese YUM! If no one has tried one in the states then it must be a Canadian (Quebec) thing
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Post by Cher on Nov 15, 2005 21:37:46 GMT -5
Nope, haven't heard of that one, sounds good though.
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Post by rockds on Nov 15, 2005 23:01:47 GMT -5
I've done the 'poutine' thing but in the south we called it 'all the way' Also come with cheese, chillie, chives, sour cream, baccon basically what ever you want. One most of you have probably not heard of is deep fried baccon - baccon that is battered and then fried. Its used to fill in all the little holes that are in your viens.
robert
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Post by rockds on Nov 15, 2005 23:04:35 GMT -5
A couple of UK words I like: torch - flash light and windscreen - windshield
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Post by pinemountaintrader on Nov 15, 2005 23:15:13 GMT -5
UK word I don't like "curd" I love lemon curd, and I'm thinking cheese curds just might be something really tasty, but why "curd"  ? makes it sound like it's gone bad. Oh, and "clotted" cream, delicious, but the only other association we have here is blood clot, ewwww! Maybe curdled clots would be something special, eh? |
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Post by joe on Nov 15, 2005 23:39:43 GMT -5
Ok then, would someone in UK please explain "spotted dick". Thank you.
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Post by pinemountaintrader on Nov 15, 2005 23:50:17 GMT -5
spotted dick is an unfortunately named wildflower, at least here in CA it is  |
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Post by pinemountaintrader on Nov 15, 2005 23:51:39 GMT -5
I think in the UK they have a dish called "boiled babies" don't remember what it is though and something else spotted, um...spotted dog? Oh and Haggis!!!! ? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! |
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Nov 16, 2005 4:22:04 GMT -5
Anyone from the States tried "Poutine"? Alice, how about you? This is french fries with cheese curds & gravy. The best is: fries with shredded chicken, a white gravy & cheese YUM! If no one has tried one in the states then it must be a Canadian (Quebec) thing Mmmmmm... poutine! Well, I don't need the cheese curds, but my daughter loves them. Popular in western Canada too, but we don't seem to have the street vendors selling poutine like you do in Ottawa. I just love gravy and fries. Seems you can get this at any fast food place in Alberta, except McD's. Available at Harvey's, Burger King, Arby's, A&W, Dairy Queen....everywhere but MacDonald's. This seems strange to me, since if you go to a McD's in Arizona, you can get tacos and other "Mexican" items. But they don't seem to offer a "northern" flavour to their menu items up here. They must be the only fast food place in Canada that doesn't offer gravy with fries. Harvey's and some others offer the full poutine, but McD's, forget it. |
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Post by Alice on Nov 16, 2005 8:19:37 GMT -5
Tweetie, Poutine was born in Quebec.
Other provinces and some states in the US serve poutines, but they just don't make them right.
I've ordered poutine in a few places in Ontario, and I got a very lumpy dark brown sauce topped with 3 or so very short strings of cheese (shredded cheese) from all the places. They are the most discusting things I have ever tasted! and I never order poutine from a pizza place anymore (even here in Quebec), because they don't use cheese curds. Just shredded mozzarella, and by the time you get it, the cheese is all melted into the sauce, making it into a cheesy sauce. Needless to say, it's not very appetising.
I can't say I've tried your favorite poutine. I generally stick to the original. No fancy meat sauces, or anything... just plain 'ol poutine sauce and curd cheese.
Oh, here in Quebec (I'm not sure if all across Canada) but we also can order something called a "Michigan". It's a hotdog, topped with meat sauce.
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Post by Alice on Nov 16, 2005 8:24:46 GMT -5
rollingstone, that's strange to hear. Here in Quebec EVERY restaurant serves poutine. Even McDonalds. McDonald's doesn't have the best poutine, but it's much better then Harveys, Burger King, or KFC.
I'd have to say the best poutines come from Greasy spoons. Either mom and pop run places, LaFleur's (Don't know if I spelled that right). Places where their main "food" is fries.
KD, Buffalo wings are chicken wings here. Either with baked in sauces (911, Suicide, medium, mild, etc...) or just dipped in sauces (very messy)
pinemountaintrader, They call them cheese curds because that's what they look like. Little curds... of cheese. As a kid I used to call them "Squeeky cheese" because the cheese squeeks against your teeth.
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Post by Tweetiepy on Nov 16, 2005 8:27:57 GMT -5
Rolling: McD's has poutine on their menu here.
I've learned many british words reading Harry Potter (seeing the 4th movie this friday - taking the day off for that!). Not sure what treacle tart is (molasses?)
Spotted dick I thought was some type of bread (with currants?) I watched a lot of Nigella Lawson & that other woman with the cooking show - Delia?
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Post by hermatite on Nov 16, 2005 9:55:14 GMT -5
Spotted dick is rice pudding (or bread pudding) with raisins. Very yummy. And poutine is good too...you can get it in New Hampshire, due, i think, in large part, to the amout of Quebecers who pass through on their way to Florida. And yes, just as it sounds, it's pretty much a heart attack in a bowl...but good. Since I'm a transplanted Canadian in the US there are lots of words here that no one has a clue about...a bunny hug...a toque...a parkade... all of these are very confusing to the Yanks. However, I had also never heard of a grinder (a sub sandwich) or a frappe ( a milkshake) until I moved here. Also, if someone in Boston asks you if there's a "bubbla" around...they mean a water fountain.
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? makes it sound like it's gone bad. Oh, and "clotted" cream, delicious, but the only other association we have here is blood clot, ewwww! Maybe curdled clots would be something special, eh?
