"Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
om...
> "Simone Kerby" > wrote in message
news:<4046C770.6723.1DCF0FD@localhost>...
> > AMERICAN FOOD vs EUROPEAN FOOD
> >
> > In general, which offers a more healthy diet?
> >
> > Americans tend toward fast foods, either take-out
> > or home cooking that does not take too much time
> > to prepare.
> >
> > In Europe, people still spend hours over a hot stove.
> > People still stop at the market on the way home from
> > work instead of weekly or monthly shopping as in
> > North America.
>
>
> Interesting...I've read that France is McDonald's single most
> profitable market outside of the US. IIRC there is a French chain
> that offers nothing but frozen food for sale...and it's very, very
> popular.
>
> Many people in Europe shop just like Americans - in bulk and at huge
> supermarkets, which in Europe are called "hypermarkets" (the
> hypermarket being a French invention). They drive their cars to the
> Tescos or whatever that litter the outskirts of most European cities
> of any size - it's the same from Newcastle to Krakow to Palermo to
> Oslo. Growth of this kind of shopping has been especially rapid in
> the former Eastern Bloc states....
>
> Here in Chicago I shop just like an "old - fashioned" European - I
> shop several times a week at smaller stores for my vittles. Don't
> have a car, so I don't drive to Costco or wherever to shop, I walk or
> take the bus. There are a lot of us like that here ;-)
>
> US - style fast food has established healthy footholds all over
> Europe, from Paris and Rome to provincial Russia and other former
> Communist states. Some of these firms are US, some of them are home -
> grown e.g. in Germany you can find "Schnell Imbiss" outlets
> everywhere, and there is a chain in Russia that offers "home - style"
> Russian food fast and cheap. They mostly use the same marketing ploys
> and technologies as McDo's, etc. Pizza is a very popular fast food
> both in the States and everywhere in Europe - is this a "US" or
> "European" phenomenon...???
>
>
> >
> > What are your favorite American dishes?
> >
> > What are your favorite European dishes?
> >
> > What are your thoughts on the difference in these 2
> > styles of cuisine?
>
>
> There is increasingly a "world cuisine" that comprises stuff like Tex
> - Mex, Asian (stir fry and sushi) hamburgers, Italian, fish and chips,
> and many other things. In pretty much any city of any size all over
> the world these "cuisines" are readily available. You can great sushi
> in Vladivostok and pretty good Singapore noodles in St. Paul and
> decent hamburgers in Kathmandu and tolerable pizza in Havana and and
> fajitas and margaritas in Bangalore and Southern BBQ in London and
> quiche in Beirut...etcetera, etcetera, etcetera....
>
> And what about those "Irish" pubs that are ubiquitous absolutely
> everywhere? Those are big world - wide chain operations, not the
> result of some disgruntled Irish ex - pat wanting to open up a wee bit
> 'o the old sod at the airport in Osaka or in downtown Santiago....
>
> I declare your questions as to preferences, then, as moot :-)
>
> --
> Best
> Greg

I don't know the stats for Europe, but I heard reported that in North
America (I assume USA and Canada were actually included), 75% of restaurant
meals consumed involve a burger, and 95% involve fries....which is not to
say that you can't find fabulous, healthy food in pretty much any
reasonable-size city in those two countries, just that most people prefer
burgers and fries.