What's Your Favourite British Dish?

Apologies if this thread has been done already. I was just wondering what newcomers to the UK love food-wise that they'd never had before in the US and what they absolutely hate with a passion upon tasting in the UK?

Did any of you believe the stereotype that all British food is bland and awful and were secretly wondering what you were going to eat when you got there? Or were you confident that dishes such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Fish & Chips were utterly delicious?

I'm kind of embarrassed to say but I really like Bubble and Squeak, lol!  Moving back in March so I will revisit this once I return

Simple things like bread (wholemeal from the local Artisan baker) and apples are so much better here.

Did any of you believe the stereotype that all British food is bland and awful and were secretly wondering what you were going to eat when you got there?

I get this a lot from folks coming to visit Scotland, who think it's all just deep fried mars bars and haggis (love haggis, not a fan of a deep fried mars bar)

Once they taste the local, fresh, artisan, tasty combination of ingredients being served up, they eat their words!  There is some truly stunning food in Scotland now!! 

I love Yorkshire Pudding so much so that I have indoctrinated my parents to cook them when we have roasts.  I also prefer the crisp/chip selection here (meat flavors aside), though my all-time favorite will always be Sour Cream and Onion.

I do not like the prevalence of chocolate in everything!  I cannot stand chocolate unless it's Hershey's in a s'more.  Any time we go out for dinner my only desert option that doesn't have chocolate smothered over it or involve some sort of cooked fruit is sticky toffee pudding.  Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I don't want it every single time.

Getting a bit fed up with all the weekend supplements full of recipes I would never ever eat.  Seems like the cooks-that-be are desperate to overcome the blah British food stigma and go out of their way to concoct the most exotic things they can think of.  Everything has to have chili in it or piri piri (?) or harissa or some other stuff from another culture.  I'm all for multi-culturalism but they seem to be overlooking the basic authentic British stuff. 

Did I see a recipe recently for chocolate haggis??  hmmmm ....

I love Yorkshire Pudding so much so that I have indoctrinated my parents to cook them when we have roasts.  I also prefer the crisp/chip selection here (meat flavors aside), though my all-time favorite will always be Sour Cream and Onion.

I do not like the prevalence of chocolate in everything!  I cannot stand chocolate unless it's Hershey's in a s'more.  Any time we go out for dinner my only desert option that doesn't have chocolate smothered over it or involve some sort of cooked fruit is sticky toffee pudding.  Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I don't want it every single time.

I love Yorkshire Puddings and Sticky Toffee Pudding and I probably could eat it all the time. I actually have done the same thing over here every time Thanksgiving rolls around I make a Yorkshire pudding! Sticky Toffee Pudding is basically unheard of in Texas so I have yet to attempt to make it from scratch. I might try it soon actually!

As for crisps, Prawn Cocktail flavour horrifies my dear wife. 

But yes, I do know what you mean about desserts being mostly chocolate covered in chocolate with a chocolate garnish, with a bit of chocolate on the side because you don't have enough chocolate. I love chocolate but I am not a fan of Hershey though.

Getting a bit fed up with all the weekend supplements full of recipes I would never ever eat.  Seems like the cooks-that-be are desperate to overcome the blah British food stigma and go out of their way to concoct the most exotic things they can think of.  Everything has to have chili in it or piri piri (?) or harissa or some other stuff from another culture.  I'm all for multi-culturalism but they seem to be overlooking the basic authentic British stuff. 

I agree. Simple British fare is the best way to go. I do like Peri-Peri and Sweet Chili Sauce but Peri-Peri Fish & Chips with Sweet Chili sauce does not sound appealing to me.

Chocolate Haggis on the other hand..... 

Favourite "discovered" food is the parsnip!

I've always loved Indian but am happy it's much less expensive here.

I do NOT like Christmas pudding...  And I find cake in general is a bit dry for my liking.

I definitely love the food here and completely agree that British food is not bland or boring.

Token you sound as if you miss the homeland's food.

Have you tried a big Texan platter of Ribs? I can almost guarantee that within a short distance there will be a rib shack, usually run by an old dude in overalls and filthy baseball cap advertising a tractor company. Give it a go. Though if you can find them in Texas (and I don't want to pick a fight here) try to find pork ribs....

Token you sound as if you miss the homeland's food.

Have you tried a big Texan platter of Ribs? I can almost guarantee that within a short distance there will be a rib shack, usually run by an old dude in overalls and filthy baseball cap advertising a tractor company. Give it a go. Though if you can find them in Texas (and I don't want to pick a fight here) try to find pork ribs....

I do miss it sometimes but I am in no way starving to death here in Texas. I have had a big platter of ribs, in a rib shack, served by an old dude in overalls and a filthy baseball cap that advertised a big platter of ribs in a rib shack served by an old dude in overalls and a filthy baseball cap. The cap was redundant but the ribs were bloody delicious. I will never ever get into Potato salad though, it is different on both sides of the Atlantic but the thought of cold potatoes covered in mustard or mayonnaise makes me queasy.

American mustard though I do like. I wasn't a huge fan of English mustard so when I first came to the states I was reluctant to try it and then someone put it all over my hot dog and I had the whole of the restaurant watching me take a bite and to my sheer surprise and delight I loved it.

Favourite "discovered" food is the parsnip!

I've always loved Indian but am happy it's much less expensive here.

I do NOT like Christmas pudding...  And I find cake in general is a bit dry for my liking.

I definitely love the food here and completely agree that British food is not bland or boring.

Yeah I was a little puzzled by the lack of Parsnips there seem to be around here. Roasted Parsnips are truly wonderful!

Ah yes, Indian. How I miss my Tikka Masala and Chips!

Yeah, Christmas pudding is revolting.  Do like Christmas cake though -- no icing please, lots of marzipan and a chunk of Wensleydale.

Never liked porridge, find custard sickly, tea is acceptable only in the afternoon.  Full English grease bath -- never, not even at bed and breakfast where it's included.  Marmite -- don't go there.  Mushy peas    Baked beans with that red stuff (shudder) 

Do like digestive bickies (especially with that Wensleydale), mince pies, soda bread, scones, cauliflower cheese, fruit salads that nobody seems to offer anymore.

filthy baseball cap

BBQing is odd. Almost every culture has certain little things. I like a British sausage sort of charred on an outdoor grille. My South African friend stands out in the rain grilling voorsausage, these big swirled things he makes himself with a hand grinder.

I don't really know that much about Texan BBQ. As you are probably well aware, Texas is it's own place. Different regions do things a little differently. But I always feel better when the guy grilling has a filthy baseball cap.

Another good sign is one of those light blue work shirts with a name patch above the breast pocket. Like a mechanic would wear. The name should be Bo Bo or Earl. Tyler is not a good name for a rib shack cook.

I love chocolate but I am not a fan of Hershey though.

But nothing else works on a s'more!

Also agree about the dry cakes.  I really miss American donuts.  I haven't seen too many places in my area which do just a simple glazed donut so I usually end up buying Krispy Kreme ones.

Baked Beans for breakfast?!  And only Heinz ones (I had a British friend who would not believe me when I said that Heinz was an American brand), no variety of different flavors.

BBQing is odd. Almost every culture has certain little things. I like a British sausage sort of charred on an outdoor grille. My South African friend stands out in the rain grilling voorsausage, these big swirled things he makes himself with a hand grinder.

I don't really know that much about Texan BBQ. As you are probably well aware, Texas is it's own place. Different regions do things a little differently. But I always feel better when the guy grilling has a filthy baseball cap.

Another good sign is one of those light blue work shirts with a name patch above the breast pocket. Like a mechanic would wear. The name should be Bo Bo or Earl. Tyler is not a good name for a rib shack cook.

The blue work shirts just make me think that in the back of the shop he's fixing up an old chevy or something and he does the Rib shack on the side! haha I had BBQ not that long ago and I'm nowhere near sick of it, unlike Tex-Mex... *raises umbrella to avoid the outrage* 

But nothing else works on a s'more!

Also agree about the dry cakes.  I really miss American donuts.  I haven't seen too many places in my area which do just a simple glazed donut so I usually end up buying Krispy Kreme ones.

Baked Beans for breakfast?!  And only Heinz ones (I had a British friend who would not believe me when I said that Heinz was an American brand), no variety of different flavors.

Come to think of it, trying to melt a piece of Dairy Milk to sandwich it between a marshmallow and two pieces of graham cracker would be a task and a half full. Oh and I don't believe I ever had anything like a Graham cracker before coming to the States. I'm sure they sell them in Britain now? I saw the dreaded Hershey in Asda when I went back last March!

Yeah, UK bakeries donuts are usually the cake donut kind. I am NOT a fan of cake donuts and when I tasted an American donut for the first time, I was reminded of these donuts I had from a bakery in Torquay when I was a kid, pure heaven! Light, glazed deliciousness.

Yes, my Wife always makes fun of the British habit of having everything on toast. Beans on toast, Egg on toast, Spaghetti on toast, Cheese on toast. We love toast.

I miss a toasted bacon sandwich too. Back bacon is SO hard to come by over here. The streaky bacon that's common over here suffices sometimes but nothing beats back bacon.

But I'm sure you're all sick of back bacon, aren't you?! hahaha

But I'm sure you're all sick of back bacon, aren't you?! hahaha

I am trying hard to be a vegetarian....

Back bacon is one of those things you get right. There's some substance there. Streaky can just cook away to nothing.

But listen, I remember BB King talking about playing guitar after eating bacon....said it kept the strings from getting rusty. It might have been pork chops....