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kubi
Jul 29, 2006, 5:54 PM
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are you aware that in the United States the adjective "European" has incredibly positive connotations? Nobody would eat at Bob's Cafe...but if it's Bob's European Cafe...HOLY SHIT! That place must be fancy!
Same goes for European Spas, European Shampoo, etc. Any company can automatically increase their prices 33% by just adding the tag "European" onto their product.
Just thought I'd let you know, not sure if that was common knowledge overseas. Do you guys use the tag "American" on anything? Like, would Bob's American Cafe imply that it'd be full of fat dudes with goatees and handguns? :lol:
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the_pirate
Jul 29, 2006, 8:18 PM
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In reply to: Nobody would eat at Bob's Cafe...but if it's Bob's European Cafe...HOLY s---! That place must be fancy!
In reply to: Like, would Bob's American Cafe imply that it'd be full of fat dudes with goatees and handguns? :lol:
What about this place?
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/...mericana-Posters.jpg
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slablizard
Jul 29, 2006, 10:57 PM
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Well..maybe for jeans..sure not for restaurants or cafes ;)
Bob's American cafe' would be probably what...a burgher place or a fast food anyway...can't call it a restaurant.
In reply to: are you aware that in the United States the adjective "European" has incredibly positive connotations? Nobody would eat at Bob's Cafe...but if it's Bob's European Cafe...HOLY s---! That place must be fancy! Same goes for European Spas, European Shampoo, etc. Any company can automatically increase their prices 33% by just adding the tag "European" onto their product. Just thought I'd let you know, not sure if that was common knowledge overseas. Do you guys use the tag "American" on anything? Like, would Bob's American Cafe imply that it'd be full of fat dudes with goatees and handguns? :lol: |
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pinktricam
Jul 29, 2006, 11:22 PM
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Here's what's essentially being fed to each locale...
At the Americain bistro: Israel good, Hizbollah bad.
At the Euopean bistro: Hizbollah freedom fighters, Israel, bad.
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overlord
Jul 30, 2006, 6:34 AM
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In reply to: Here's what's essentially being fed to each locale... At the Americain bistro: Israel good, Hizbollah bad. At the Euopean bistro: Hizbollah freedom fighters, Israel, bad.
well, not really, its more like hezbollah bad, israel bad.
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qwert
Jul 30, 2006, 3:11 PM
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i dont know exactly how european is used in the USA, but yes, we have a lot of stuff thats somehow branded american, american style or something the like (at least in germany. in france it shurely is different :lol: ).
but it doesnt refer to fancy stuff, it only fullfills the cheap ugly fastfood cliche und such stuff. Pizza american style, american marshmallows, hamburgers, ....
qwert
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kubi
Jul 30, 2006, 3:55 PM
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In reply to: Here's what's essentially being fed to each locale... At the Americain bistro: Israel good, Hizbollah bad. At the Euopean bistro: Hizbollah freedom fighters, Israel, bad.
way to ruin a perfectly innocent thread :cry:
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kubi
Jul 30, 2006, 4:02 PM
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In reply to: Pizza american style, american marshmallows, hamburgers, .... qwert
How are these "american" products different then the European version?
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overlord
Jul 31, 2006, 6:28 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: Pizza american style, american marshmallows, hamburgers, .... qwert How are these "american" products different then the European version?
yes, they usually contain more fat and poor quality meat :wink:
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tisar
Jul 31, 2006, 7:13 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Pizza american style, american marshmallows, hamburgers, .... qwert How are these "american" products different then the European version? yes, they usually contain more fat and poor quality meat :wink:
Sums it up pretty well, though you can add 'too much sugar' and 'tons of unidentified chemicals' :lol: But some of good things just didn't make it across the ocean. I wish we had Clif Bars over here...
- Daniel
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overlord
Jul 31, 2006, 7:28 AM
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well, we do have power bars :wink:
but i would like to give cliff bar a try.
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booger
Jul 31, 2006, 9:55 AM
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Also missing in Europe: peanut butter, gatorade, and decent ketchup (Euros always wonder why we put ketchup on everything but it's because the ketchup here is like red sugar-paste!). Oh... and corn, dammit!!
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tisar
Jul 31, 2006, 10:24 AM
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In reply to: Also missing in Europe: peanut butter, gatorade, and decent ketchup (Euros always wonder why we put ketchup on everything but it's because the ketchup here is like red sugar-paste!). Oh... and corn, dammit!!
Okay, peanut butter is a little hard to get (at least a good one, but you can import from the netherlands, they even have the crunchy nut stuff), but Heinz and Gatorade you'll find everywhere, at least in Germany. For ketchup you might also find the 'original' McDoIhatethis stuff, but I doubt it's anything but Heinz.
Things I sometimes miss (except Clif Bars of course)
- Angel Food Cake (now maybe not, but this is a childhood memory)
- Marshmellows (it might have been the fact my father brought them from the US and they spent a long time in a suitcase, but I still think they taste better
- Crunchy nut peanut butter
- tacco shells (you can get them here, but they're expensive like hell)
- Root beer!
- Chips with vinegar (more the English thing, I know)
(Still it's all sweet, greasy, unhealthy and a cultural no-no... this looks like a pattern... :lol: )
- Daniel
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gritstoner
Jul 31, 2006, 11:17 AM
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In reply to: Also missing in Europe: peanut butter, gatorade, and decent ketchup (Euros always wonder why we put ketchup on everything but it's because the ketchup here is like red sugar-paste!). Oh... and corn, dammit!!
you can get many different verities of peanut butter over here. but for ketchup, you americans only put that on as you havent discovered the elixir of life that is HP brown sauce.
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booger
Jul 31, 2006, 11:48 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: Also missing in Europe: peanut butter, gatorade, and decent ketchup (Euros always wonder why we put ketchup on everything but it's because the ketchup here is like red sugar-paste!). Oh... and corn, dammit!! you can get many different verities of peanut butter over here. but for ketchup, you americans only put that on as you havent discovered the elixir of life that is HP brown sauce.
Yeah, but your island isn't really "over here", pommie! :lol: Peanut-butter options on the mainland are... creamy/greasy or greasy/creamy. Blach!!
Totally agree about HP sauce!! Add just a titch of tobasco to that and... voilà: even spam would be yummy meat!!!
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boondock_saint
Jul 31, 2006, 11:49 AM
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Well I think there is a very very very bad and as always, only partially true, generalization in everyone's mind that goes like this:
Average American consumer: More for less is always better no matter how shitty or worthless the product is.
European: Quality matters.
Like every broad generalization this is true in some cases, not true in others, but you look at what happened to walmart in Germany. No one gave a shit about their super-low prics and now they are pulling out. Here some people don't have a problem with buying fresh produce 2 isles down from the lawnmower section - in Europe it seems like they do.
Pinky: way to be douche, congrats!
Tisar: if you wanna paypal me some $$$ for bars + shipping, I'll send you some cliff bars. We get stuff from friends in Germany all the time in packets (certain chocolate bars and Gummibärchen and local news). Cliff Bars are IMO best power bars out there.
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tisar
Jul 31, 2006, 11:59 AM
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In reply to: Well I think there is a very very very bad and as always, only partially true, generalization in everyone's mind that goes like this: Average American consumer: More for less is always better no matter how s--- or worthless the product is. European: Quality matters. Like every broad generalization this is true in some cases, not true in others, but you look at what happened to walmart in Germany. No one gave a s--- about their super-low prics and now they are pulling out. Here some people don't have a problem with buying fresh produce 2 isles down from the lawnmower section - in Europe it seems like they do.
I admit I'm a little proud in my fellow coutrymen if it comes to that topic. Even runing cheap is kind of moda right now, the tendency to buy quality food is strong enough to have the cheapest of all dicounters have their dedicated organic brands/isles.
Besides that: there are so many regional specialties (I mentioned Parma and Serrano ham before, there's Champagne and Camembert from France, coffee and ice cream from Italy, beer from Belgium (I learned about that) and Germany, chocolate from Swiss a.s.o., you just pick the best if you want to and go cheap on what ever you don't care about.
In reply to: Tisar: if you wanna paypal me some $$$ for bars + shipping, I'll send you some cliff bars. We get stuff from friends in Germany all the time in packets (certain chocolate bars and Gummibärchen and local news). Cliff Bars are IMO best power bars out there.
Thanks for the offer! I'd do so but it seems as steve-o and the Rammstein PX might help me out on this in the nearest future. You're totally right, they are uncomparably good. I honestly thought of making a business out of it and import them to Germany. It's just the 100.000 nutrition laws over here which would kill me before a single bar is sold... :roll:
- Daniel
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tradman
Jul 31, 2006, 12:00 PM
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Something else europeans have no clue about: donuts. I've visisted Canada and the US twice, and it's almost worth going back for coffee and donuts!
No Krispy Kreme and no Tim Horton's here! DAMMIT!
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kubi
Jul 31, 2006, 12:57 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Pizza american style, american marshmallows, hamburgers, .... qwert How are these "american" products different then the European version? yes, they usually contain more fat and poor quality meat :wink:
kinda like Americans themselves :lol:
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kubi
Jul 31, 2006, 1:18 PM
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In reply to: Average American consumer: More for less is always better no matter how s--- or worthless the product is. European: Quality matters.
I wonder if this has more to do with the increased cost-of-living in Europe, moreso than any particular human trait.
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thorne
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Jul 31, 2006, 1:33 PM
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In reply to: Well I think there is a very very very bad and as always, only partially true, generalization in everyone's mind that goes like this:
- Here's another fun analogy - European stereotypes look at the cream of the crop. American stereotypes look at McDonald's eating, Walmart shopping, bible thumping, white trash. Big fun.
- When it comes to groceries, we can shop at Food Lion... or the nicer stores, such as Harris Teeter, which offer an excellent selection of quality foods.
- We've been eating fresh corn about once a week.... along with fresh strawberies, blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, cantalope, etc. It's all grown locally. Last week I had blackberry cobbler at my in-laws. They picked the berries from their neighborhood.
- There's no Jif or Heinz in Europe??? :shock: My daughters (ages 2 & 4) would revolt without these mainstays. I can see it now - "Sarah, they don't have peanut butter here. How 'bout some raw veggies? It's what all the European children are eating"
- And sometimes less is more. A few years back, I went six months (climbing outside 7-8 days/month) with only Little Debbie's food in my pack. I rarely spent over $1.50/day.
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boondock_saint
Jul 31, 2006, 2:41 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Well I think there is a very very very bad and as always, only partially true, generalization in everyone's mind that goes like this: Think you used enough qualifiers?
Hey, I'm just trying to stay P.C.
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gritstoner
Jul 31, 2006, 3:17 PM
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In reply to: There's no Jif or Heinz in Europe??? :shock: My daughters (ages 2 & 4) would revolt without these mainstays. I can see it now - "Sarah, they don't have peanut butter here. How 'bout some raw veggies? It's what all the European children are eating"
there is jif, but you dont want to give it to your daughters. its a bathroom/ kitchen cleaner fluid.
we have heinz in limey land. not sure about the old trousers and the rest of europe.
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overlord
Jul 31, 2006, 3:31 PM
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hey, we have heinz. i love their stuff.
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