Food Glorious Food!

One thing my sister and I noticed consistently when we were in the UK was that the food portions were ridiculously large and rivalled or surpassed the portions you often find in the US.  It is no wonder that apparently, 1/4 of the Brits are considered obese and we saw many young people who were seriously overweight (not that I can talk!).  So, let's talk a bit about food.

In England, whether it was the clubhouse sandwich on the south Thames (with Maria and Kerry) or the entire fish I was served in Looe, I was rarely been able to eat more 1/2 of what I was served.  That is not to say the food wasn't tasty - just way too much.  So, if you consider that often the meals cost nearly twice what we would pay for them in Victoria, I think they should serve half portions at half the price.  I did ask in one restaurant if there was a lot of food wastage and was told that no, people generally ate everything on their plate.  Guess it is me who has the problem!

So, here are some samples of some of our UK meals - not all of them excessive.



One serving of plaice in Looe - yes ONE! 

Kath's granola breakfast sundae at our B&B in Penzance 

Kath's seafood platter in Whitby including at least a dozen whitebait

My rotisserie chicken at Gusto's in Liverpool on Albert Dock

Then, it was on to Ireland where the food, for the most part was fabulous.  My best meal by far, at least to date, was at the Roadford Restaurant in Doolin.  It even beat out the meal at Callahan's, the previous night which was also very good.  However, if you measured it by sheer volume, Kath would probably say it was the over 4 dozen mussels she was served in a pub in Dublin's Temple Bar.

Kath's dinner of mussels in Temple Bar, Dublin



My chicken served over champ in Ballintoy, N. Ireland

Kath's mud pie at the Roadford House in Doolin

Next, it was France and need I say more?  On John and Pedro's first night in Villefranche sur Mer, we went to l'Oursin Bleu, a restaurant that I enjoy.  Pedro had an amazing scallops dish.  I "settled" for filet mignon.  Delicious!  There were many remarkable meals while I was in France but two of my favourites were at L'Audoise Restaurant in Bandol and at le Tire Bouchon in Nice. 

John's scallop dish in Villefranche

My filet at l'Oursin Bleu

The spinach mousse starter at l'Audoise in Bandon - so delicious!

The poached pear and pear sorbet with cherry coulis at l'Audoise

The most amazing cherry tomato tart ever at le Tire Bouchon in Nice

My limoncello crème brulee at le Tire Bouchon

Of course, between the fabulous meals were the regular fare of pizzas, omelettes, salads, sandwiches, etc.  In this blog, I have only included dishes that I thought were worth mentioning, for one reason or another.  I can only hope that all that walking I've done on this trip (250 miles over the 2 1/2 months according to my Fitbit) will mean that when I weigh myself after I get home that I will find out I haven't gained any (or at least much) weight!