It’s no secret that people tend to have a love-hate relationship with food. It tastes delicious, but our bodies sometimes display the consequences. I spent the entirety of my junior year away from the small quaintness of Ann Arbor and in the “brilliant” city across the pond: London. Traveling throughout Europe I was faced with this age-old conflict between love and hate. So, to ease the struggle, I came up with my own personal food motto that applies to any situation: “Calories don’t count on vacations, celebrations, and in other nations.” Lucky for me, I would be exempt from calorie counting and nothing would stand in my way of all the fish n’ chips, desserts, and fried food I could consume.
Now London isn’t exactly the food capital of the world, but if all you’re after is some pub food or anything out of a deep fryer, then it’s certainly the place to be. To best immerse myself in British culture I figured my first dinner outing would be at a pub. Ending up at “The Porcupine” on Charing Cross Road in Leicester Square, my friend and I had no trouble sorting through the menu, definitively set on trying some meat pies. We ordered one chicken and one beef, paired with some mash and steamed vegetables. Note about pub vegetables: whether peas, carrots, broccoli, etc, they are bland and distasteful. Maybe they’re meant to balance the heaviness of the pies; I don’t know.
However, while the city doesn’t boast much British fine dining, the city does possess the outstanding food market known as Borough Market. I’ve yet to find anything comparable to this mecca for foodies. (Plus, if you’re a fellow film fan like myself, the general location has been used in both Bridget Jones’ Diary and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Only open Thursday through Saturday, traders offer their food-related products from all over the world. From homemade preserves to freshly baked goodies to meat and alcohol, it’s impossible to leave empty-handed. Plus, with all of the free samples you won’t leave on an empty stomach either.
On my many visits to the market I accumulated several favorites. “Burnt Sugar” sells some of the best fudge I’ve ever had. With flavors like crumbly fudge, stem ginger fudge, and fudge with sea salt (my personal favorite), you can’t go wrong. Diverging from the sweet tooth, there are stalls that boast huge wheels of cheese, from Comte to Stichelton to Parmesan. A cinnamon elephant cookie, berry-flavored vinegar, hard cider, dulce de leche spread, brownies, granary bread…I had it all! Borough market is just one of the many food experiences I have from my time abroad, and if I ever return to London it will be a can’t-miss stop.
My food travels through London are far from over, and that’s only beginning. No time spent in London is complete without fish n’ chips and afternoon tea. So I hope you stay on board my journey through Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Spain as I provide you with a virtual taste of some of the world’s best foods.
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