I am not one of those people who thinks that English food is awful. Because it’s not. Done right, an English breakfast is among the best in the world. They know a thing or two about sausages and their cheese ranks up there with the French. I love fish and chips and roast lamb with mint sauce.
We take most of the English repertoire for granted. It’s one of the backbones of American cuisine, albeit filtered through centuries of separation to the point that the influences are no longer detectable.
The truth is, however, that Italy’s cuisine is in most measurable ways superior to England’s.
I mention this because a tournament has been underway in Europe for the last month – the Euro 2020 football (soccer) Championship – and England are set to play Italy in the final game.
I will not bore you with my thoughts on how that game will play out. If you are a fan of the world’s most popular sport, you have your own opinions and if you are not, you don’t care.
I will also not attempt to assess the relative merits of English and Italian cooking. I believe 99 out of 100 English people would agree that Italians eat better than they do.
I will be pulling for England to win the game, but I’ll be much more likely to be eating Italian food while I watch it.
In other news, the annual “COOLinary” season is around the corner. Sponsored by New Orleans & Company, this year 70 or so restaurants are participating, and those include some of the best in town.
Those restaurants will be offering two or three course lunch menus for up to $25 and three course dinner and brunch menus for at most $45. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but this is a great opportunity to check out a restaurant you haven’t visited. I’ve had great meals dining out during the COOLinary season, and I hope you will as well.
I also had a meal from one of my favorite restaurants the other night and it did not disappoint. We ordered food to go from Marjie’s Grill, which I have continued to think of as an “up and coming” restaurant but which is in fact a “we’re here and kicking ass” restaurant on Broad street between Tulane and Banks. I like the way they cook and particularly the crab & peaches, the smothered field peas and whatever fish they’re serving. Am I hip enough to eat there? I am. Are you? Probably not, but you can pretend you are and nobody is going to call you on it.
Let me know if you’ve been to Marjie’s and whether you plan to participate in the COOLinary program. Please do not email me complaints about British food.
