In general, the service outside of high end restaurants and hotels is pretty ---- in Europe. That said, the less Americans eat out and continue to get fatter and fatter, the better. It is way healthier to cook at home, and if you have a family, meals together inside the house actually bring the family together. So much of what we do today is outsourcing the raising of kids to 3rd parties. That includes moms that don't cook dinner, kids that don't cut the lawn, and dad's too useless to do normal house repairs. The higher costs go, the more people revert back to doing things themselves - so, Biden's out of control inflation may have that long-term benefit.

"#6 | Posted by ClownShack"

I never mentioned Trump in this discussion. Perhaps your housing would be more affordable if you didn't allow Trump and I to live rent free in your head.

"Trump's dreadful economy will crush Americans buying power, forcing more people into poverty and making do with less.
#8 | Posted by ClownShack"

Under Joe Biden - real wages (wage increase - inflation) were NEGATIVE -------. Biden made your life unaffordable. Thus far under Trump - REAL WAGES ARE INCREASING. Of course, you don't want to talk about the actual data, you want to project out some doom and gloom because the Democrats are incapable of debating with actual facts.

"I was also envious of being able to juke from a cheese shop to a wine shop to a bakery to a bodega to get dinner.
#9 | Posted by Danforth"

I assume by this you mean dumpster diving at 2AM.

"Source, "Trust me, bro!"
#13 | Posted by ClownShack"

Source is the BLS ------- - they publish monthly.

Total inflation under Biden was 20.8%.
Total wage growth was 19.6%

You -------s got poorer by 1.2% under that broken brain pedophile - that is all that he could muster in 4 years.

Meanwhile, under Trump in 5 months, real wages outpaced inflation by 1% - so, you -------s got richer even if you didn't realize it yet.

"Tell me you've never been to Paris or Florence without using those specific words.
#15 | Posted by Danforth"

Both cities are overrated ---------. I will literally take any city in Spain - including Madrid - over either of them. Paris was wonderful 20 years ago. Now? Trash - human and otherwise. Same goes for Florence although to a slightly lesser degree.

"#18 | Posted by Danforth"

Other than the bread, French food is pretty trash. Maybe 100 years ago it was super special because Americans didn't use many spices so the French sauces stood out. Now? Pretty trash level which is why so few French restaurants are actually still in business. Also, their cheese sucks and their wine is a step above the low quality Italian crap.

Italy - and Tuscany in particular - is very similar. 95% of the meals are flavorless steaks and/or cheese and cold cuts. The pizza is decent but they don't actually use toppings so you basically get bland sauce, a bit of cheese, and a lot of dough. Other than nostalgia, pretty much every US city with over 100K people will have an Italian restaurant on par with Italy. Hell, in a truly blind tasting - I suspect Olive Garden would hold its own. Now, American style pizza is different - but for the places trying to copy Italy, it is pretty damn close. I just wouldn't choose to eat that style on a weekly basis because I find it boring.

As I have said - Europe is like a theme park for middle class Americans. If you actually have money and travel, you will go try the food in Japan, Korea, or Turkey. That is on a different level to what they serve in the US.

"I stopped there."

Truth was too much to handle? French food is mid-sauces and mid-ingredients trying to look expensive through presentation. There is a reason why it popularity is cratering world wide - including in France itself.

"And coursed dinners with pairings will show California wines outpacing French wines in the early courses, but the French killing it with the main courses when depth is paramount.
#21 | Posted by Danforth"

Because French wines are dull/flavorless due to low alcohol content. It is the same reason why Bud Light would pair better over an 8 course steak dinner vs. an IPA if the Americans ever tried to be as ridiculous as the French.

Other than some of the disgusting soft cheeses from France, you can get all of those same cheeses in any decent sized US city. Not only that, you can also get the Italian cheeses, Dutch Cheeses, English Cheddars and the awesome US made cheeses on top of that HERE IN THE US.

If you want to go to France for a family history tour - by all means go. But don't pretend it is something it is not. And if you are dazzled by the presentation/plating of the French meals - save your money and go to Benihana so your food comes with a show.

"SnottyS sounds like a fan of Freedom Fries.
#29 | Posted by REDIAL"

Freedom Fries sans Canadian dog barf aka poutine. I like my fries natural and prefer In-N-Out.

Reminds me of a joke about Mexico North.

You could have had the best of the whole world: British culture, French Food, and American technology. Instead, you chose British Food, American Culture, and French technology.

"In France, some of the cheeses are unpasteurized, leading to richer flavors..
#28 | Posted by Danforth"

So, you are MLGA now? Make listeria great again.

This is only done for fresh cheeses really. Most cheeses will undergo heating during the cheese-making process and the heating does the same impact as pasteurizing as pasteurizing is a combination of heat level and time held at the heat. I can get behind hating HTST pasteurization as it leaves the milk tasting 'scorched' in my opinion - but I would not eat a fresh cheese made with raw milk unless I personally owned and milked the cow (or an Amish guy did).

"#31 | Posted by REDIAL"

As I said - it is meant as a joke. I also don't think British culture is superior. I would take just about any Asian culture that values family education and togetherness over British culture which is every bit as class based as the Indian system is caste based.

In fact, the best culture in the world is probably the US Midwest culture - which is separate and distinct from the trash Northeast culture (which is British-lite) or the West Coast (half pagan). In fact, if people do an introspection, they will find most of their really good friends are Midwest transplants or 1st generation East/West coast carrying on their family raising them in the Midwest style.

"#34 | Posted by REDIAL"

It is not MAGA country. Wisconsin (outside of Milwaukee), Illinois (outside of Chicago), Minnesota, Iowa leans right but it is pretty center really. The left voters, in my opinion, do so because they have always voted Democrat but their values more or less align with MAGA.

"I guess that's why you support the Trump Tariffs and you love decent-sized US cities and their multicultural inhabitants.
#36 | Posted by snoofy"

You lefties cannot praise the nordic countries enough - where do you think that is most reflective of the population in the US?

I like having the availability of decent sized cities but do not like deep blue shithole 'mega-cities'. Also, I have no problem with multiculturalism or being proud of your roots. But, if you are in America, you are an AMERICAN first. If you have strong allegiance to a country you just arrived from - then go back there.

Also, it is 100% true that not all cultures are the same or should be encouraged to spread the same. The Indian culture is not good for America. Same goes with the black-American culture (separate from black-Caribbean or African culture). The Hispanic culture is good for keeping families together - but their typical disregard of education is destructive. I could go on and on - but the best culture for producing quality societies is that of the Nordics. Unfortunately, they were not blessed with best geography - but that is the only thing holding back the unwashed masses from mass-migrating and destroying the areas.