Sometimes It Tastes Better at Home

In the early to mid-fifties, the American tourist in Europe was a cartoon character. Wearing a Hawaiian floral shirt with two cameras slung crosswise over his stomach, he was invariably shown clamoring for a decent hamburger in Paris. How things have changed! Not only European cuisine but exotic cuisine as well have moved to North America and flourished here. Today one can find a Thai restaurant in any medium-sized city in Canada or the U.S.A. During the past half century, there have been about two generations of American and Canadian tourists and students of all income levels and degrees of sophistication spending time in Europe. Yet to the surprise of my wife and me, we have found that in at least two instances one eats better in the New World than in the Old.

Prior to our departure for our Spanish vacation two years ago, we made sure that we knew where we could indulge in Tapas in the cities we planned to visit. To readers not familiar with Tapas, they are appetizers of different kinds, usually eaten with drinks before dinner, a dinner which may be enjoyed considerably later in a different restaurant. We made three efforts to follow the relevant advice, but with less than impressive results.The Tapas scene, which has a considerable social and convivial element, is often not designed for some one who has just popped in from Auckland, Zürich ( or points between) and speaks little Spanish. In addition the emphasis is definitely on ham, sausage and other meats, all tasty, but not found that often on our menu, back home. Compared to the beauty of the historic sections of Spanish cities, our Tapas experience was “small beer” indeed and only a culinary footnote. However, in Montréal there is a restaurant, Casa Tapas, located in a mixed commercial and residential neighborhood, which serves Tapas of the most astonishing variety. The taste is as good as in the Old Country and in addition to meat, one can enjoy all kinds of seafood, braised veggies and specialties. Most of the customers go there to make a meal out of the Tapas and drink Spanish wines, but others appear to be there in a more traditional mode.

We have another “beef” about European cuisine and it concerns menus in Umbria and such north eastern Italian cities as Verona, Padova, Ravenna and Rimini. In spite of the fact that we saw beautiful vegetables for sale in open air markets and supermarkets, they appear to be strictly forbidden in the restaurants. The same applies to chicken. If you want to get your teeth into something leafy, you can order a salad, either lettuce or lettuce and tomato, but here you find another restriction: You may only have oil and vinegar dressing. These two ingredients come on a little tray for you to mix in the desired proportions. Be advised not to look for the so-called “Italian Dressing,” nor for more adventurous ingredients such as lemon juice, plain yoghurt, white wine, tomato sauce, mustard, oregano, thyme, tarragon and garlic salt, nor for components such as celery, cucumber, avocado, raw mushrooms, endive, radiccio, radishes and so forth. Again, in comparison with the wonders of the architecture, the art and landscape found in the region, the “typico” menus are not significant. The best thing to do is to smile when the salad and the little tray come around for the eighth time in a row.

May 2003