HewRon wrote:
>
> Dear Sally and Other Seafood Lovers
>
> I can eat sea insects if they are mashed up into something unrecognizable --
> like crabcakes, which unfortunately vary vastly from place to place but
> sometimes, as in a cafe in the Marquis Hotel on Times Square, taste yes yummy
> and remind me of British food! And I mean really working-class English food of
> the kind found in pubs and fish and chip shops. How d'ya like them eggrolls,
> all you gourmets? In England there is (or was) a great number of "spreads" --
> you know for those dainty little sandwiches that come with cress or tiny
> little ladylike shreds of lettuce, often eaten under trees on semi-summer
> days. These spreads came in little glass pots. You could get meat spreads and
> fish spreads. It must always be remembered that the food you grew up with has
> much to commend it, if only that it's what built your body, put your cells
> together.
>
> Then there is the to me appalling question of hurling living creatures into
> boiling water alive, always with the assumption that they will not feel it
> because it is bound to be over in a flash. Let us hope so. I am not so sure
> myself.
>
> It is not my intention to put anyone off their favorite food. My dear friend
> eats seafood with a relish that is a joy to behold. A plate of shrimp or
> shelled things is gone before I can get through four or five fried dumplings.
> And of course it is really good food -- nutritious, excellent for the immune
> system. And who said eating is a kind thing? And I have to admit I like my
> steaks on the rare side (if one dares to say such a thing these days). I
> wonder how many cavemen were vegetarians! There must have been some artistic
> types, probably the ones who left all those wonderful modern pictures on the
> walls, who would just eat gravy and fruit and nuts. They probably also wrote
> plays, but I wonder on what.
>
> I have just watched Long Day's Journey Into Night, which has to be one of the
> world's most depressing yet sublime plays. Next to nothing happens, which is
> what I like; everything is said in beautiful language, which is what I like;
> there is an awful lot of shouting, but when the shouting is done by the likes
> of Ralph Richardson and Kathryn Hepburn, well, the dimness and darkness of it
> all comes as a blessed relief from the usual brilliance of TV -- which I
> happen to like too.
>
> Now fish and chips. That I could eat, right now. A nice big plate, slightly
> greasy. As glorified in an Irish pub not far from here. But no vinegar,
> please. That is one British peculiarity that even I cannot swallow. A nice
> flaky meat pie or sausage roll -- especially as glorified in an East Side
> bakery whose name I forgot long ago -- would be rather nice too. My friend has
> to work tonight, so I have to fix a meal or go out and eat alone. I think I
> will whip up some rice and chicken and mixed vegetables.
>
> Whatever you are eating, I wish you a healthy appetite. What I said about
> boiling water shows the extent of my hypocrisy, for who knows what a cow goes
> through as it lines up for its meeting with the rest of Universe (from which
> of course it has never been separated -- but at that moment a sacrifice as
> supreme as any ever made)?
>
> I love the letters I usually get when I say something about British food. But
> is true that the food there now is better than it was, but the secret is to
> eat in the middle of a big city, in a Chinese, Indian, French, Malaysian or
> any other "foreign" restaurant and sample British food when you are in America
> and it has been modified for American taste. I have yet to meet a Britisher
> who didn't love American food right off the bat -- except for the one I think
> I told you about, who said all American food tasted of pepper, even the apple
> pies. Though, come to think of it, he ate everything with relish.
>
> To the rice!
>
> God bless
>
> -- Ron
>
> Dearest Ron,
As usual your descriptions are so real I feel I am there. I do wish you
had been in England when I was there (1987) as a regular ole American
"touron" (tourist moron). I found the food boring, bland and not at all
appetizing...obviously I didn't make it to the right places. I don't
care for dark ale either...I was a bust as a gourmand (???) in
England...but how I love the food in Chicago, San Francisco and Sante
Fe. When ARE you coming to Texas so I can treat you to a little "down
home cookin?"
Hope you are having a wonderful day.
love, sylvia
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