Top Ten August news item, evergreen category: Is food from country/city X better than country/city Y?
I think a qualification is in order for food quality in the "United States."
Quality is non consistent over such a large country. I'm from Kansas and spent my first ten or so years there, and until 2020 went back there annually to visit fa…
Top Ten August news item, evergreen category: Is food from country/city X better than country/city Y?
I think a qualification is in order for food quality in the "United States."
Quality is non consistent over such a large country. I'm from Kansas and spent my first ten or so years there, and until 2020 went back there annually to visit family. Kansas food in supermarkets or (most) restaurants is atrocious. Of course not every single place that sells food in a state with Kansas City and Wichita and plenty of tremendous home cooks is bad. But day to day it is atrocious, and much worse than France, and most of the rest of the US.
And then there's Sonoma County, where I now live. I'm not even a foodie, and yet it's evident to me the highest quality of nearly any kind of food you want is available at a local supermarket. And a California farmer's market has to be in the running for single greatest venue for food selection and quality anywhere in the world. There are even excellent croissants and bagels, if not in every nook or corner.
I've been to France only twice, for only a few days each time, and I would put Sonoma County (and for that matter most of Northern CA) and NYC and Chicago and LA food on an equal or superior footing to "France". Chicago is equal and the other locations are better.
You have to leave California to really understand how exceptional is the produce here. Living in CA - we forget, but spend an extended amount of time in say - Colorado or New York - and you're quickly reminded just how exceptional the fruits and vegetables of this state really are.
Yup. We recently went from Northern California to Italy, and ... the food is good in Italy! But it wasn't necessarily better than we could find in CA, in large part due to the produce quality in CA.
The food in Italy was way better for the price though.
One of my formative European experiences was taking the train across the Alps from Munich to Milan. You could tell when we crossed the border into Italy, because both the food and coffee at the train station were orders of magnitude better than they had been at downtown restaurants in Germany.
Yeah I feel like this is especially true given realities of modern immigration too. Even in Kansas City there will be ethnic enclaves with a variety of ingredients and grocery stores carrying ingredients appropriate for that ethnic food. However, those are places upper middle class and upper class people are unlikely to be going to.
Top Ten August news item, evergreen category: Is food from country/city X better than country/city Y?
I think a qualification is in order for food quality in the "United States."
Quality is non consistent over such a large country. I'm from Kansas and spent my first ten or so years there, and until 2020 went back there annually to visit family. Kansas food in supermarkets or (most) restaurants is atrocious. Of course not every single place that sells food in a state with Kansas City and Wichita and plenty of tremendous home cooks is bad. But day to day it is atrocious, and much worse than France, and most of the rest of the US.
And then there's Sonoma County, where I now live. I'm not even a foodie, and yet it's evident to me the highest quality of nearly any kind of food you want is available at a local supermarket. And a California farmer's market has to be in the running for single greatest venue for food selection and quality anywhere in the world. There are even excellent croissants and bagels, if not in every nook or corner.
I've been to France only twice, for only a few days each time, and I would put Sonoma County (and for that matter most of Northern CA) and NYC and Chicago and LA food on an equal or superior footing to "France". Chicago is equal and the other locations are better.
Without question. In my opinion.
You have to leave California to really understand how exceptional is the produce here. Living in CA - we forget, but spend an extended amount of time in say - Colorado or New York - and you're quickly reminded just how exceptional the fruits and vegetables of this state really are.
Yup. We recently went from Northern California to Italy, and ... the food is good in Italy! But it wasn't necessarily better than we could find in CA, in large part due to the produce quality in CA.
The food in Italy was way better for the price though.
One of my formative European experiences was taking the train across the Alps from Munich to Milan. You could tell when we crossed the border into Italy, because both the food and coffee at the train station were orders of magnitude better than they had been at downtown restaurants in Germany.
Yeah I feel like this is especially true given realities of modern immigration too. Even in Kansas City there will be ethnic enclaves with a variety of ingredients and grocery stores carrying ingredients appropriate for that ethnic food. However, those are places upper middle class and upper class people are unlikely to be going to.