Ham and cheese croissant with hard-boiled egg , Paul and Kristien's B&B, Bruuge, Belgium
Our wonderful bed and breakfast hosts prepared an awesome breakfast for us! There was a basket of various breads, butter, ham, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, tea, coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Charity and I both opted for the croissants which we made into sandwiches using liberal amounts of butter, ham, and cheese. It was perfectly flaky and the ham, cheese, and butter were all high quality. The hard-boiled eggs were perfectly cooked and tasted fresh from the farm. The juice was excellent, and the tea and coffee were great as well. A good way to start the day in Bruuge.
Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce, Train station waffle stand, Bruuge, Belgium
This was our very first taste of Belgium after a long day of riding buses and trains. We needed a snack to keep us going while we tried to figure out how to get from the train station to the address of our bed and breakfast in the rain. The waffle was cheap at about 2€. It was perfectly crispy and soft at the same time, covered in an amazing chocolate sauce that was a little bit salty and not too sweet. It was warm and crunchy and amazing! And from the train station even!
Breakfast at Tiffany's burger, Atomic Burger, Oxford, UK
I’ve wanted to try Atomic Burger since my first week in Oxford, and I finally did! We used some coupons we found in a magazine to get free milkshakes and chips with our burgers. What a deal! We ate with our Oxford friend Stu and our DeKalb friend Eric. It was a pretty good meal. I ordered the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s burger” which was cleverly named as it included a fried egg (breakfast) and onion rings (Tiffany’s). It was very tasty. The meat was juicy, the egg was fried to perfection with a runny yoke. The bun was crispy with a thin layer of flour, (I love it when they do that). The onion rings were perfectly crisp and slightly sweet. The chips had a generous dusting of some type of spicy concoction that gave them just enough kick to not be forgotten. The milkshake was smooth and creamy, and cold.
Cheese burger with carmelized onions and barbeque sauce, Atomic Burger, Oxford, UK
Charity had the bacon barbeque cheeseburger with carmelized onions. The burger was greasy and delicious. I enjoyed the real bacon after only getting English bacon for the last week. It was really good but I couldn’t finish it, I only ate half. The chips were nice and spicy, and the milkshake was sweet and refreshingly cold.
Our friend Nick suggested that we try a traditional English cream tea before leaving England. It made for a great afternoon snack. The tea was nice and warm. The scones were pleasantly crisp on the outside and tender and crumbly on the inside with plump, juicy raisins. The clotted cream was something we’ve never had before. It was like butter mixed with whipped cream, and slightly sweet. The jam tasted of fresh English strawberries.
Steak and Roquefort sauce with salad and pomme de terre frites, Bruuge, Belgium
Our first real meal in Bruuge! We picked a cute little restaurant with outdoor seating near the river. I ordered a delicious steak with Roquefort sauce. The steak was perfectly cooked rare, as can be seen by the juice leaking into the Roquefort sauce. The sauce was very smooth and the Roquefort flavor was not overly strong, nor was it too scarce, it was the perfect cheese sauce. The salad was a great accompaniment to the steak, as it provided a fresh taste with each bite. There were greens and tomato and cucumber and a bit of watercress. The frites were well done, crispy and salty. A great first meal in Bruuge.
Moules with frites and bread and Bruuge Zot, Bruuge, Belgium
Moules and frites were delicious. The moules had been cooked in white wine and garlic. They were tender and flavorful, and the liquor at the bottom of the pot was absolutely delicious, I enjoyed it just as much as the mussels themselves. The frites were a bit undercooked for my taste, I prefer a crispier frite, however, they were liberally salted and still tasty. The Bruuge Zot was cold, pleasantly savory, and satisfying.
Scotch egg with Oxford sauce, The King's Arms, Oxford, UK
This was a delicious appetizer we had at the King’s Arms. It’s a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs, and fried. We topped it with something called “Oxford Sauce” which was pretty much some rebranded brown sauce, I think. The egg was served cold, and it made for a great appetizer/bar snack. I wish we had these back home. (Adam’s opinion)
Lamb liver with "bacon" and mash and veg, The King's Arms, Oxford, UK
The most exciting meal EVER!!! No joke! This dish excited my taste buds like no other dish ever has before. The “bacon”- I’m calling it “bacon” because English “bacon” is not bacon at all. It is an extremely fatty, yet dry, very thin piece of over-salted, limp ham.
I think the chef started the tomato sauce with “bacon”, then added the lamb liver to the bitter, sickening sauce to cook and release all its disgusting minerally, gagging nastiness to the mix. The lamb tasted and felt like eating a filthy penny covered in sand and soap scum with a tender jelly center. I have never hated anything so much that I almost barfed when my taste buds registered all its’ “complexities”… until this lamb liver in tomato sauce. I am so glad to finally find a food/ dish that I absolutely, unquestionably abhor. The veg was the only edible part of the meal, in my opinion, (Adam ate the liver!!!???!). Every somewhat decent meal will feel like a blessing from heaven itself after this “I’d rather spend a day in hell than take another bite” dish.
Chicken and jalapeno wrap with tomato soup, Pret A Manger, Oxford, UK
This was the first not-so-good meal I’ve had from Pret. They let me down. This burrito-like wrap was bad news from the beginning and I should’ve known. You get what you deserve. The sauce was way too sweet, and not nearly spicy enough to balance. Just poorly done in general. The soup was good though, I’ve had it before.
English cheddar and pickle sandwich with tomato soup, Pret A Manger, Oxford, UK
Very nice lunch! The soup was served very hot- perfect. I really loved the soup because it had toothsome bits of onions, garlic, and fresh tomato in the really fresh, perfectly seasoned tomato base. The sandwich was very unique. I’m still not sure what “pickle” is exactly. I would describe it as a sweet, slightly vinagary carmelized onion or maybe fig …chutney? Not sure , but it was a really nice fruity complement to the properly stinky, mature English cheddar. The coffee was energizing and good, as usual 🙂
Beef stir-fry over rice, Oriel College dining hall, Oxford, UK
I know it doesn’t look very tasty, but it actually wasn’t too bad. Not a lot of veg on the plate, but hey, you can’t get veg with every meal in England, (because that would be healthy). The beef was a little tough, but the flavour was there. Not a bad meal.
Steak and ale pie with mash and veg, The Chequers, Oxford, UKObviously, I didn’t eat the chair; however, I thought it should be included in this photo so you can absorb this English pub in all its’ charming glory. The pie was salty, beefy and slightly sweet from the ale in the gravy. The pastry was crisp, tender, and flaky. Surprisingly, the veg was very good- not overcooked, just perfectly steamed. The mashed potatoes could’ve used a little more love, but overall this was a very pleasing lunch. The cask ale was a perfect accompaniment. It’s bitter-caramel notes complemented the pie nicely.
Lasagne with stuff that used to be veg, Oriel College dining hall, Oxford, UKLasagne, I think? This was so bad, I’m having a hard time finding the right words to describe it properly. Especially the veg, I ate it strictly for the microscopic shreds of nutritional value that was still hanging on after hours of being cooked. Simply disgusting.
Salmon with veg and potatoes, Oriel College dining hall, Oxford, UKCharity’s salmon was not much better than my lasagne. The veg was the same, simply disgusting. This was an all-time low for the college dining hall. I will not miss meals like this one.
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 