Eight hundred and fifty days after I ate my weight in tapas in Madrid, Spain, I boarded a jet plane for England. My family’s ambitious itinerary led us to famous universities, ancient and modern royal palaces, sites of natural wonder, and medieval seats of religious power with MANY pub stops along the way. Over the course of two weeks, I visited 13 different pubs and five restaurants where I enjoyed a cool Pimms or lemonade and indulged in my favorite pub delicacies.
This wasn’t just a vacation for my stomach though; it was also an opportunity to acquaint myself with a cuisine both strange and familiar. In many of our stories, we trace how food traditions have migrated as the British Empire forged itself in all corners of the Earth. As much as I fed my stomach, I also fed my mind.
Savory Meat Pies
I enjoyed a variety of pub-style pies served with chips, gravy, and a vegetable. These pastry-topped, savory eats paired especially well with a history of meat pies (check out Episode 2 and Episode 32 for some tasty pie lore) and why British shortcrust tastes better than American (it’s the wheat - check out Episode 20 for some wheat growing history). I particularly loved the duck and mushroom pie served at The Old Buttermarket in Canterbury. This pub stands across from the famous Canterbury Cathedral - the site has been home to a public house for more than 500 years and stands on ancient Roman ruins.
A Fishy Repast
In a country where any number of public houses bear the names and portraits of royalty, it was somehow both endearing and jarring to encounter a painted portrait of modern-day Prince Harry at The Duke of Sussex near the Waterloo train station. I don’t know I was so surprised - he is a member of the royal family still - but it was eerie somehow seeing the face of someone so contemporary on a pub sign. The pub inside was all warm wood and the oaky, hoppy smell of cask-pulled ale and I couldn’t resist ordering fish & chips served boldly with grilled lemon, tartar sauce, and mushy peas plus some conciliatory ketchup for the American. I earned some points for pointedly requesting malt vinegar.
Pro-tip: try mixing some malt vinegar with mushy peas for an amazing umami bomb and check out Episode 19 for some sweet vinegar history.
A Curry Break
From Durban-style curry in my parents’ native South Africa to curry houses across the United Kingdom, Indian curry is a family food tradition. We took a small break from our pub food fare to sample Portsmouth’s finest Indian restaurant where we indulged in chicken tikka jalfreezi, saag aloo, chana masala, lamb balti, and more.
In Episode 9, we traced the unusual path that curry took from South India to Great Britain and beyond.
Afternoon Tea
No trip to England could ever be complete for me without a day spent at the British Museum. To perk myself up in the afternoon, I thoroughly enjoyed a pot of Earl Grey tea accompanied by a selection of finger sandwiches and sweet treats.
I love eating in museum restaurants where, in general, the food is treated as an extension of the beauty of art. The collection of savory and sweet treats evoked the many lands from which the pieces in the museum’s collection originate. Tea itself is also a global food, and the subject of a future As We eat episode - stay tuned!
Back in the States, I’m back to eating my favorite foods but I’m finding myself already longing for meat pies and afternoon tea.
If you could teleport anywhere in the world for a meal, where would you go?
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Glad that the Old Buttermarket is still open; I know many pubs and restaurants have closed during the COVID era. Some fond memories of that place
I’d teleport to Turkey!