Most overrated - a thread about overrated things

So true, came back from holiday in Italy recently and was surprised by the mediocre to terrible food almost everywhere.
Ice cream and cakes are nice though.

Where in Italy did you go? I don't travel much, but I visited a friend in Lecco nearly twenty years ago and had a/several feast(s) every day, both from her and her mum's cooking and when we ate out in a small neighbourhood restaurant that was simply outstanding.

I remember being on a family holiday in a typical tourist spot once and the food there was indeed very poor, though.

Yeah their fry-ups are terrible. And you can't get a decent cup of tea anywhere.

Bologna is good for food.

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Anyone who says food in Italy is bad isn't trying very hard IMVHO...

Yeah, better go to Torremolinos, where they do proper British food.

Spain is great for foodies, the beans on toast at the St George's in Marbella are the best ever.

And Mallorca for excellent high-cholesterol German food.

We went to Rome, Florence, Padua, Venice, Bolzano. I think my problem is that Italian food is so common and I was expecting that it would be different in Italy. When you eat food in Thailand, China or Japan it very different to what you get outside those countries.
Didn't get that in Italy. No surprises, flavour profiles monotonous, nothing to complement or contrast it with.
Like this seafood. Nicely grilled and fresh but ultimately dull. Also they seam convinced olive oil has magical properties.

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Canal Boats

Whose Mumsnet account is this then?

Fry-up is a good example, you get a variety of disgusting things on your plate so when you grow tired of one you can change it up a bit.
Your first mouthful of cacio e pepe is going to taste like the last one.

You can say that about the UK.

You could... But the general standard of food in the UK is shocking compared to most southern European countries... People aren't brought up to appreciate good food, unless you're middle class, in which case you'll eat very well...

In Spain everyone eats the same thing, rich or poor... And everyone knows when foods are at their best, when not to buy them, how to prepare them, how to spot bad produce... It just doesn't happen in the UK, that knowledge has been lost...

This in spades. UK is probably the worst country for good food in general. Its a demand supply thing, people just dont know better.

And of course totally different in the cities. Much more exciting than most european cities.

With pictures

Guns N Roses
Green Day
Led Zeppelin

Not trying to be rude, but could it be your palette?

I'm struggling to see how nicely grilled and fresh seafood can't taste wonderful. One of the best meals I've ever had was grilled squid in Sardinia. Just seasoning, oil and lemon with some boiled potatoes.

Imo the beauty of Italian food is its simplicity and focus on ingredients. Quality ingredients is the main difference IME.

But I do sort of agree that the difference sometimes is less than it used to be - same with France.

Which is why I'm not sure I recognise the line about the general standard of food in the UK being shocking. Maybe in the past, but not now. I'm not sure where everyone is shopping and eating, or what year they're living in. Likewise this stereotype of Europeans as foodies is a bit old.

@Aroogah posted a grauniad article on the food thread about how French food isn’t all it’s cracked up to be these days.

I too have had wonderful food in Italy, seafood, pastries, pizza, boar ragu etc.

One place I stayed served up the ugliest apricots I have ever seen at breakfast, they were split open and flies were hovering around them. Turned out the splits were not from bruising but because there was the sweetest nectar bursting out. They needed nothing else, they epitomised fresh local seasonal food needing nothing else to enhance them. Absolutely exquisite

Coffee has been generally appalling

Yes, a lemon would have been great and maybe some balsamico for the salad

Likewise this stereotype of Europeans as foodies is a bit old.

Triggered...

I was at the supermarket with my mum and dad today, it's a small market town on the road between A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela, completely unremarkable... This little chain supermarket has huge fresh meat and fish counters, you grab a ticket and wait to be served... The people that shop there are normal working people, no middle class types, they are the most discerning shoppers you'll find anywhere... The fresh produce is top draw and it's all very affordable, if something isn't good it doesn't get offered for sale because people just won't buy it... They know what they're looking for, they know food...

I can't speak for Northern Europeans but us down in the south know our onions while you're more likely to find a British person of a similar demographic in the frozen food aisle at Iceland... This isn't even a class thing, BITD the busiest area in my local M&S in Brixton was always the ready meal section crammed with young white professionals... It's a cultural thing...

Well, UK ones pretending to be German/Czech - yay, a £7 currywurst in Plymouth

Guns N Roses

Green Day

See also: Queen, Bon Jovi, The Beatles.

I have a theory that actually we all think they're shit, just don't want to be the first one to say it

I’ve never got this. Why spend good money on a horrible dish when you can make something much nicer in twice as long as it takes you to microwave some mass produced ready meal?

It's not a Christmas Market without Lebkuchen.