First World Problems.

Oerdin

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If you say so though all of the big chains have spent big money to make sure the cooking process is exactly standardized with as little variation as possible.
 

Q

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If you really want a good burger, then make it yourself :)
Same goes for the fries! :)
I eat burgers maybe twice a year. I had a really good one at a local Portuguese restaurant about a week ago, so it'll be months before I have another. I'll probably go to the same restaurant if I get a hankering.
In the restaurant you went to, they probably make the burger themself. That's the best way :)

There is really so much difference between a good restaurant and fast food.
And the nice thing is that a good restaurant doesn't even have to be expensive. Compared to the price for the fast food, it is actually more than reasonable.
 

Q

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If you say so though all of the big chains have spent big money to make sure the cooking process is exactly standardized with as little variation as possible.
Yes, but cooking good food is not something you can standardize. You need to know how to cook.
The ingredients are indeed standard, but also very atrificial due to that. The end result is also artificial.
And then the employees come in, who have time pressure and prepare your burger in 3.4 seconds. The end result is just a mess.

Compare that to a good restaurant. With cook who knows how to prepare a good piece of meat. Who knows how to prepare the vegetables, how to bake the potatoes...
 

LotusBud

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If you really want a good burger, then make it yourself :)
Same goes for the fries! :)
I eat burgers maybe twice a year. I had a really good one at a local Portuguese restaurant about a week ago, so it'll be months before I have another. I'll probably go to the same restaurant if I get a hankering.
In the restaurant you went to, they probably make the burger themself. That's the best way :)

There is really so much difference between a good restaurant and fast food.
And the nice thing is that a good restaurant doesn't even have to be expensive. Compared to the price for the fast food, it is actually more than reasonable.

Definitely. There are not very many fast food places in this area. I think there is a McDonald's and a Burger King and that's it. And some kebab places. Nothing else, really. Portuguese restaurants are very inexpensive, generally. The mom and pop restaurants don't do a great job with vegetables, though. They're very big on meat and seafood here. Not veggies. And I| love veggies.
 

rigor79

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in my radio ..
burger king .. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm deeeeeeeeeeeelicious.
There is a barfer king in my town, which stuns me. I have never eaten there, but it's probably better here than in the US. Higher grade meat, better bread, etc.
Don't go there! A few weeks ago I had not really another option and went to the Burger King.

It was expenside and the quality was even worse from what I remembered. Oh and I did not even get what I ordered, because even giving someone the correct order was too hard... If you want to eat a good burger, there are much better places and fries...? Well, we can get those almost everywhere. I suppose that's no different around you.

If you really want a good burger, then make it yourself :)
Same goes for the fries! :)
let's see if you pass this on ..
Maus_%28volume_1%29_cover.jpg
 

Oerdin

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You are comparing apples to oranges. Yes, traditional restaurants usually are better (but a lot of them also cut corners with prepared food). It comes down to speed and price being the main difference between fast food and slow food. Around here even a crap chain sit down place is going to be $20 per person while an actual good quality local restaurant will probably be closer to $30 or higher. Fast food is typically less than $6-$7.

My wife and I don’t eat out very often these days, we prefer to cook at home, as that is just easier and less expensive when you have children.
 

Oerdin

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Hell, a huge number of restaurants really do cut corners with prepackaged and pre-made foods. There really is no point in going to those. Yet you have huge multinational food companies like Sysco and the like with multi billion dollar businesses just to facilitate that sort of stuff for restaurants.

Pro-tip: If you can see any items with Sysco labeling on it in restaurant then just walk out. They are literally selling people prepackaged foods as if it was freshly made.
 

Q

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There are not very many fast food places in this area. I think there is a McDonald's and a Burger King and that's it. And some kebab places. Nothing else, really. Portuguese restaurants are very inexpensive, generally. The mom and pop restaurants don't do a great job with vegetables, though. They're very big on meat and seafood here. Not veggies. And I| love veggies.
That's too bad. Where do you go for good veggies?
 

rigor79

missing siamese eyes.
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There are not very many fast food places in this area. I think there is a McDonald's and a Burger King and that's it. And some kebab places. Nothing else, really. Portuguese restaurants are very inexpensive, generally. The mom and pop restaurants don't do a great job with vegetables, though. They're very big on meat and seafood here. Not veggies. And I| love veggies.
That's too bad. Where do you go for good veggies?
the anus of your mother .. lol ... asshat .. where would you get them, dumb question when personal preference is involved .. meds mate ...
 

Q

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You are comparing apples to oranges. Yes, traditional restaurants usually are better (but a lot of them also cut corners with prepared food). It comes down to speed and price being the main difference between fast food and slow food. Around here even a crap chain sit down place is going to be $20 per person while an actual good quality local restaurant will probably be closer to $30 or higher. Fast food is typically less than $6-$7.

My wife and I don’t eat out very often these days, we prefer to cook at home, as that is just easier and less expensive when you have children.
Fast food here is more expensive. For 2 adults & 2 kids it is an easy EUR 60,- or more.

Before the whole Corona thing we had dinner with a group of 20/25 co workers every few weeks. Always in a "good restaurant". Not extremely expensive, just good food. It is impressive how much you a good cook can do with simple ingredients. And it is not even THAT expensive. The company was always paying, so I do not know the exact prices.
But when I go out for dinner with my wife we can have a good meal for EUR 25/30 each, excluding drinks.

And then I do not even compare lunch. We have a lunchroom close by, for 35 euro we can eat there with 2 adults and 2 kids.
Compare that to the 60 at the MacDonalds...
 

Breakfall

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You are comparing apples to oranges. Yes, traditional restaurants usually are better (but a lot of them also cut corners with prepared food). It comes down to speed and price being the main difference between fast food and slow food. Around here even a crap chain sit down place is going to be $20 per person while an actual good quality local restaurant will probably be closer to $30 or higher. Fast food is typically less than $6-$7.

My wife and I don’t eat out very often these days, we prefer to cook at home, as that is just easier and less expensive when you have children.
Fast food here is more expensive. For 2 adults & 2 kids it is an easy EUR 60,- or more.

Before the whole Corona thing we had dinner with a group of 20/25 co workers every few weeks. Always in a "good restaurant". Not extremely expensive, just good food. It is impressive how much you a good cook can do with simple ingredients. And it is not even THAT expensive. The company was always paying, so I do not know the exact prices.
But when I go out for dinner with my wife we can have a good meal for EUR 25/30 each, excluding drinks.

And then I do not even compare lunch. We have a lunchroom close by, for 35 euro we can eat there with 2 adults and 2 kids.
Compare that to the 60 at the MacDonalds...
You’re having a civil conversation over food.....hmmmmmm mmm
:geek::Drama Cat:
 

LotusBud

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There are not very many fast food places in this area. I think there is a McDonald's and a Burger King and that's it. And some kebab places. Nothing else, really. Portuguese restaurants are very inexpensive, generally. The mom and pop restaurants don't do a great job with vegetables, though. They're very big on meat and seafood here. Not veggies. And I| love veggies.
That's too bad. Where do you go for good veggies?

Get them from the mercado and cook them at home. The produce here is wonderful. They just don't offer much in typical Portuguese restaurants.
 

LotusBud

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You are comparing apples to oranges. Yes, traditional restaurants usually are better (but a lot of them also cut corners with prepared food). It comes down to speed and price being the main difference between fast food and slow food. Around here even a crap chain sit down place is going to be $20 per person while an actual good quality local restaurant will probably be closer to $30 or higher. Fast food is typically less than $6-$7.

My wife and I don’t eat out very often these days, we prefer to cook at home, as that is just easier and less expensive when you have children.
Fast food here is more expensive. For 2 adults & 2 kids it is an easy EUR 60,- or more.

Before the whole Corona thing we had dinner with a group of 20/25 co workers every few weeks. Always in a "good restaurant". Not extremely expensive, just good food. It is impressive how much you a good cook can do with simple ingredients. And it is not even THAT expensive. The company was always paying, so I do not know the exact prices.
But when I go out for dinner with my wife we can have a good meal for EUR 25/30 each, excluding drinks.

And then I do not even compare lunch. We have a lunchroom close by, for 35 euro we can eat there with 2 adults and 2 kids.
Compare that to the 60 at the MacDonalds...

30 euros per person, excluding drinks, is a really upscale meal here. You can get a very nice meal for 20. Standard, fresh food meal for 10. Just mostly meat, seafood, rice, bread, tapas, small salad. No creativity with veggies.
 

Breakfall

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I don’t get why in Australia the supermarkets don’t consistently supply salted ox tongue? It’s way tastier than corned beef and cheaper since it’s considered “offal”...

images
 
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Breakfall

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I don’t get why in Australia the supermarkets don’t consistently supply salted ox tongue? It’s way tastier than corned beef and cheaper since it’s considered “offal”...

images

Looks good,up here we eat Moose tongue and heart too.
Nice...most people don’t realise how tasty the meat is. It’s entirely muscle after all. I used to give the more fattier and veiny bits near the base to the pets, which they guzzled down without even chewing.
 

Q

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You are comparing apples to oranges. Yes, traditional restaurants usually are better (but a lot of them also cut corners with prepared food). It comes down to speed and price being the main difference between fast food and slow food. Around here even a crap chain sit down place is going to be $20 per person while an actual good quality local restaurant will probably be closer to $30 or higher. Fast food is typically less than $6-$7.

My wife and I don’t eat out very often these days, we prefer to cook at home, as that is just easier and less expensive when you have children.
Fast food here is more expensive. For 2 adults & 2 kids it is an easy EUR 60,- or more.

Before the whole Corona thing we had dinner with a group of 20/25 co workers every few weeks. Always in a "good restaurant". Not extremely expensive, just good food. It is impressive how much you a good cook can do with simple ingredients. And it is not even THAT expensive. The company was always paying, so I do not know the exact prices.
But when I go out for dinner with my wife we can have a good meal for EUR 25/30 each, excluding drinks.

And then I do not even compare lunch. We have a lunchroom close by, for 35 euro we can eat there with 2 adults and 2 kids.
Compare that to the 60 at the MacDonalds...

30 euros per person, excluding drinks, is a really upscale meal here. You can get a very nice meal for 20. Standard, fresh food meal for 10. Just mostly meat, seafood, rice, bread, tapas, small salad. No creativity with veggies.
If you just want to "eat something", you can also get it for 15 euro a person, but that will really be cheaper and you will notice (still better than fast food :) ). And it will probably contain some ready-prepared ingredients from the wholesale.
 

LotusBud

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Where do you go for good veggies?
Get them from the mercado and cook them at home. The produce here is wonderful. They just don't offer much in typical Portuguese restaurants.
Then it is better to do it yourself. Are markets selling food a big thing there? Here we also have markets, but not much food stands.

No. No food stands in the mercado I go to, although in Lisboa I think they have that.

Mexico is great for that. All kinds of food stands in the mercados, and Mexican food is fantastic! OMG. I want Mexican food here.
 

Q

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Where do you go for good veggies?
Get them from the mercado and cook them at home. The produce here is wonderful. They just don't offer much in typical Portuguese restaurants.
Then it is better to do it yourself. Are markets selling food a big thing there? Here we also have markets, but not much food stands.
No. No food stands in the mercado I go to, although in Lisboa I think they have that.

Mexico is great for that. All kinds of food stands in the mercados, and Mexican food is fantastic! OMG. I want Mexican food here.
Isn't Mexico a bit too far for your daily/weekly shopping? :LOL2:

Mexican food is not really a big thing here, mainly beans, corn and tortilla's. I have been in Belgium a few times to a restaurant that is a Brazillian/Mexican restaurant. Hardly anything on the menu I had ever seen here.
 

LotusBud

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Where do you go for good veggies?
Get them from the mercado and cook them at home. The produce here is wonderful. They just don't offer much in typical Portuguese restaurants.
Then it is better to do it yourself. Are markets selling food a big thing there? Here we also have markets, but not much food stands.
No. No food stands in the mercado I go to, although in Lisboa I think they have that.

Mexico is great for that. All kinds of food stands in the mercados, and Mexican food is fantastic! OMG. I want Mexican food here.
Isn't Mexico a bit too far for your daily/weekly shopping? :LOL2:

Mexican food is not really a big thing here, mainly beans, corn and tortilla's. I have been in Belgium a few times to a restaurant that is a Brazillian/Mexican restaurant. Hardly anything on the menu I had ever seen here.

I know. It's a little hard to get there for my weekend shopping, especially with Covid.

Mexican food in Mexico is really varied. It is so delicious I sometimes want to move there just for the food. There's a so-called Mexican restaurant in my town here and it is just NOT Mexican food. It's something else.

grilled-tacos.jpg


food-in-mexico.jpg
 

Q

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Where do you go for good veggies?
Get them from the mercado and cook them at home. The produce here is wonderful. They just don't offer much in typical Portuguese restaurants.
Then it is better to do it yourself. Are markets selling food a big thing there? Here we also have markets, but not much food stands.
No. No food stands in the mercado I go to, although in Lisboa I think they have that.

Mexico is great for that. All kinds of food stands in the mercados, and Mexican food is fantastic! OMG. I want Mexican food here.
Isn't Mexico a bit too far for your daily/weekly shopping? :LOL2:

Mexican food is not really a big thing here, mainly beans, corn and tortilla's. I have been in Belgium a few times to a restaurant that is a Brazillian/Mexican restaurant. Hardly anything on the menu I had ever seen here.

I know. It's a little hard to get there for my weekend shopping, especially with Covid.

Mexican food in Mexico is really varied. It is so delicious I sometimes want to move there just for the food. There's a so-called Mexican restaurant in my town here and it is just NOT Mexican food. It's something else.

grilled-tacos.jpg


food-in-mexico.jpg
That looks good! Freshly made food from good ingredients is also a joy for the eye :)
 

Seamajor

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So many beautiful roof top views. I really it liked there. I loved the Mexican colonial architecture.