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Happiness Scale

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Happiness Scale
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  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    replied to mariner4life last edited by
    #1458

    @mariner4life said in Happiness Scale:

    @canefan said in Happiness Scale:

    The food shits all over Paris

    alt text

    I stand by that. Not talking fine dining, but cheap and cheerful give me pasta pizza and toast meat anyday

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  • mariner4lifeM Offline
    mariner4lifeM Offline
    mariner4life
    wrote last edited by
    #1459

    i love them both. the simplicity of Italian food is incredible. But no way am i judging one to be way better than the other.

    canefanC J Victor MeldrewV 3 Replies Last reply
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  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    replied to mariner4life last edited by canefan
    #1460

    @mariner4life said in Happiness Scale:

    i love them both. the simplicity of Italian food is incredible. But no way am i judging one to be way better than the other.

    If I had one meal to eat in one city? The spaghetti vongole and roasted suckling pig I had in Rome was life changing. A handful of ingredients to create magic

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  • mariner4lifeM Offline
    mariner4lifeM Offline
    mariner4life
    wrote last edited by
    #1461

    there was a pasta i ate on the Amalfi that i will remember forever.

    But i have had so many incredible meals in Paris, and i am happy to roll in to a small bistro and eat snails or tartar

    canefanC 1 Reply Last reply
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  • nostrildamusN Offline
    nostrildamusN Offline
    nostrildamus
    wrote last edited by
    #1462

    Genoa. The foccacia, pastries, and that simple clam pasta. Wow.
    I try not to judge cities by tourist hotspot food because it seems to be crap everywhere. I was surprised though, that Athens still had good places to buy reasonably-priced food.

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  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    replied to mariner4life last edited by
    #1463

    @mariner4life said in Happiness Scale:

    there was a pasta i ate on the Amalfi that i will remember forever.

    But i have had so many incredible meals in Paris, and i am happy to roll in to a small bistro and eat snails or tartar

    I do like a good steak tartare. And I remember having a lovely roast Brest chicken one night. Quite possibly the most memorable meal I ever had in France was in a small village outside Nice where I got frogs legs and a sublime sauce

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  • J Offline
    J Offline
    junior
    replied to mariner4life last edited by
    #1464

    @mariner4life said in Happiness Scale:

    i love them both. the simplicity of Italian food is incredible. But no way am i judging one to be way better than the other.

    If French food is so great, why does every French restaurant have pasta on the menu...?

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  • MajorRageM Offline
    MajorRageM Offline
    MajorRage
    wrote last edited by
    #1465

    Best city food discussions are as pointless as best cricket player lists. Subjective and ultimately futile. I’ve had amazing, and shit, food in every city I’ve ever visited.

    But today, I picked up a gnr uk tour shirt from ‘87 in Rome. For 20 EUR.

    Rome just wins. Every time..

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  • mariner4lifeM Offline
    mariner4lifeM Offline
    mariner4life
    wrote last edited by
    #1466

    My favourite memory of Rome (outside of the obvious) was the Italian waiter's disbelief at how quickly Mrs Mariner and i could delete pints on a stonkingly hot day.

    There was no sipping.

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  • NTAN Offline
    NTAN Offline
    NTA
    wrote last edited by NTA
    #1467

    Happiness: club had its presentation night and it all ran really well. We're not a suit-and-tie bunch of piston wristed gibbons with a hundred-year history 😜 We just get together at the pub, have a few drinks, get on the karaoke and enjoy ourselves.

    I also got to announce the nomination of two of my mates at the club for Life Membership.

    And I've still got the whole weekend ahead of me!

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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    brodean
    replied to MajorRage last edited by
    #1468

    @MajorRage said in Happiness Scale:

    Best city food discussions are as pointless as best cricket player lists. Subjective and ultimately futile. I’ve had amazing, and shit, food in every city I’ve ever visited.

    But today, I picked up a gnr uk tour shirt from ‘87 in Rome. For 20 EUR.

    Rome just wins. Every time..

    The worlds top 50 best restaurants list and 51 to 100 list interestingly have Bangkok as the city with the most restaurants in 6.

    Paris has 4.

    Rome 0.

    CatograndeC 1 Reply Last reply
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  • CatograndeC Offline
    CatograndeC Offline
    Catogrande
    replied to brodean last edited by
    #1469

    @brodean

    That is surprising, both for Bangkok and Rome. Though top restaurants are not the real story, for me at least, as they offer an experience that is often far removed from the actual food. yes the food is good, sometimes phenomenal, but it is usually about the mix of ingredients showcasing the chef's skills, presentation and in many cases the wtf element. For me the discussion would be centred on the more everyday eating experiences and then it usually comes down to which type of cuisine do you prefer. If you prefer French, then Paris will shit on Rome and vice-versa.

    I like the simplicity of Italian food but I also like the marriage of flavours that you get with French food insofar as with one dish you will get say dauphinoise potatoes and another you will get sarlardaise spuds and the marriage just works.

    So on the whole I just about prefer French food, plus of course (in the north) they use butter. Lots of it.

    B 1 Reply Last reply
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  • B Offline
    B Offline
    brodean
    replied to Catogrande last edited by brodean
    #1470

    @Catogrande said in Happiness Scale:

    @brodean

    That is surprising, both for Bangkok and Rome. Though top restaurants are not the real story, for me at least, as they offer an experience that is often far removed from the actual food. yes the food is good, sometimes phenomenal, but it is usually about the mix of ingredients showcasing the chef's skills, presentation and in many cases the wtf element. For me the discussion would be centred on the more everyday eating experiences and then it usually comes down to which type of cuisine do you prefer. If you prefer French, then Paris will shit on Rome and vice-versa.

    I like the simplicity of Italian food but I also like the marriage of flavours that you get with French food insofar as with one dish you will get say dauphinoise potatoes and another you will get sarlardaise spuds and the marriage just works.

    So on the whole I just about prefer French food, plus of course (in the north) they use butter. Lots of it.

    What's interesting is Lima has the second most spots. Ive never been there or Bangkok.

    I didn't have a great food experience overall in France and I felt like many places were phoning it in on reputation. There were some memorable meals though.

    Havent had anything special in Rome but other parts of Italy were great.

    Spain was great overall. Barcelona, San Sebastian etc.

    Interestingly Amisfield Restaurant in Queenstown is in the top 100. Never been to the restaurant either but Ive bought a dozen of the Pinot Noir which is a great drop.

    CatograndeC 1 Reply Last reply
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  • CatograndeC Offline
    CatograndeC Offline
    Catogrande
    replied to brodean last edited by
    #1471

    @brodean France is certainly not immune to the dumbing down of the restaurant scene and yeah, the dial in in element is certainly alive and kicking. I had .a few days in Paris earlier this year with the two Ms Catos. It was NOT a cultural trip, it was all about food and wine and was a great trip. We did our research pretty thoroughly and the only two disappointments were a boulangerie that had a great rep but was trading on past glories and a mediocre Croque Monsieur experience in Le Marais area. No great surprise.

    One great little restaurant not far from the river did mainly grilled meats. Madame grilled all sorts of cuts on a plain griddle over an open fire in the main part of the restaurant without a timer or seemingly any attempt at co-ordination at all. The result was fantastic. I had the most beautiful plate of grilled veal kidneys with frites and a green salad which were simple, great ingredients, cooked perfectly. Two courses were about 28 Euros from memory.

    My nephew has a house out in the sticks in the Charente Maritime and the local restaurant does a set three course lunch for 16 Euros. Again, simple food cooked beautifully. That is the sort of French cuisine that gets my taste buds going.

    canefanC 1 Reply Last reply
    3
  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    replied to Catogrande last edited by
    #1472

    @Catogrande sounds amazing. Last time I went I clearly did not do enough research. It was rocks and diamonds a bit. I did enjoy some excellent Vietnamese food, had a couple of very good traditional French meals, and even had a dirty kebab which was most enjoyable

    CatograndeC 1 Reply Last reply
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  • CatograndeC Offline
    CatograndeC Offline
    Catogrande
    replied to canefan last edited by
    #1473

    @canefan

    A little further afield from my nephew's place - about 20 minute drive at most, there is this beautiful restaurant called la Scorlion, which we always go to whenever we're over there and we always go for the Prix Fixe lunchtime menu. 24 Euros for three courses with a decent choice for each course. It is astonishing value. My favourite main course is the imaginatively named "Buthchers piece of beef with crushed potatoes and brown sauce". It is reffing amazing.

    Notre carte| Saint Jean d'Angely | Restaurant le Scorlion

    Notre carte| Saint Jean d'Angely | Restaurant le Scorlion

    Sur cette page, découvrez notre menu. Tous nos plats sont concoctés maison à base de produits frais et de maison. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour réserver une table.

    canefanC 1 Reply Last reply
    1
  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    replied to Catogrande last edited by canefan
    #1474

    @Catogrande said in Happiness Scale:

    @canefan

    A little further afield from my nephew's place - about 20 minute drive at most, there is this beautiful restaurant called la Scorlion, which we always go to whenever we're over there and we always go for the Prix Fixe lunchtime menu. 24 Euros for three courses with a decent choice for each course. It is astonishing value. My favourite main course is the imaginatively named "Buthchers piece of beef with crushed potatoes and brown sauce". It is reffing amazing.

    Notre carte| Saint Jean d'Angely | Restaurant le Scorlion

    Notre carte| Saint Jean d'Angely | Restaurant le Scorlion

    Sur cette page, découvrez notre menu. Tous nos plats sont concoctés maison à base de produits frais et de maison. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour réserver une table.

    Reminds me of a place we stumbled on in a little village outside Nice. Ate in the courtyard of this little restaurant. One couple had been holidaying there and ate at the restaurant every year for years. The best french meal I've ever eaten. But your place has a lot more seafood on the menu

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  • Victor MeldrewV Offline
    Victor MeldrewV Offline
    Victor Meldrew
    replied to mariner4life last edited by
    #1475

    @mariner4life said in Happiness Scale:

    i love them both. the simplicity of Italian food is incredible. But no way am i judging one to be way better than the other.

    Worked in Basle for 2 years and we used to go over to Mulhouse in France for shopping and a meal. Loved the Alsace cookery and it's simplicity and we found one restaurant/Inn which had Cognac's from 1917 to '87 - which we worked thru diligently.

    Great days.

    1 Reply Last reply
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