I had a bit of a discussion with someone on Reddit a while ago about American bread. They claimed decent bread was available in almost every bakery section of every grocery store. All American bread I remember was full of sugar and preservatives, not just the wonder bread type, but also everything else. Since my memory could be wrong, or one-sided, or perhaps things have changed, I left it at that.
Now I’ve been in the U.S. for over a week and visited at least one grocery store per day (we don’t have reliable access to a fridge so we buy fresh stuff daily). I just cannot find anything close to the fresh bakery section in a Dutch supermarket. And compared to other European countries that isn’t even a particularly high bar.
What I find is either to way too sweet and fluffy/cakey, and nothing even close to the mediocre pre-sliced bread back home. What am I doing wrong?
I’ve tried Aldi, Walmart and a few local(?) chains.
Hey, @mayonaise_met did you ever find any decent bread? Alternatively, did you make any good sandwiches with American cake loaves?
I didn’t really find anything to write home about, but I was also just there for only a couple of weeks. I’ve been back in Europe for almost a week now and I’ve been eating loads of bread.
Admittedly I could have tried a smaller bakery but I checked once or twice and there weren’t any near me.
LOL, oh well. Sometimes we travel, in small part, to better appreciate home. I hope that overall it was a good trip. We Americans do love our soft crumb.
Every time my wife returns from a work trip to Europe, or we all get back from vacation, within 24 hours she orders Tex Mex for lunch or dinner, because there is simply no place outside the US or Mexico that does it well. The flavor profile doesn’t seem to appeal to a lot of people outside the US, the authentic ingredients are not widely available, and while a fusion cuisine with a rich history, even when done well Tex-Mex is not subtle or elegant in the way some foodies (the ones who hate joy, LOL) will expect.
True. The US obviously has a lot to offer in other aspects. The nature was absolutely amazing, even though we stayed mostly in the less spectacular parts. I think Americans tend to do visitor centers and museums very well too. But Europe isn’t really that bad in that regard either.
As for Tex Mex we visited this place: https://goo.gl/maps/VUej9DhgFY1aPMZu6. I have no idea if it was authentic or particularly good for those who get to eat good (Tex) Mex more regularly, but it was one of our favorite meals during the trip. I do love the Mexican food we prepare at home too, though it is probably all sorts of inauthentic.
We stayed in Flushing during our visit to New York and the Korean/Chinese food there was absolutely fantastic too.
