h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having lived in B.C. all my life and then travelled extensively all over Canada I'd be very surprised not to find "Tim Horton's, a Harvey's/Swiss Chalet, a Second Cup Coffee place" in an airport anywhere in Ontario or most of Eastern Canada! Just try to find one west of Winnepeg. Or a good sushi joint east of it...

hehe... here I thought I wasn't going to laugh today. Tim Horton's as fine dining??? hehe

My point exactly. But you can't travel a block in Ontario without finding one. And they make fun of the fact that we have three Starbucks on the same block on Robson St.!

hehe.

True. However good the coffee is, the food at Starbucks is fairly bad. And just as over-priced.

On the other hand, my ex was very impressed with the number of doughnut shops when he visited Toronto with me. Thereafter, to my annoyance, he used to refer to doughnuts as "your native food"...lol.

I don't think I'd buy food at either place. I've noticed un Calgary, Edmonton, and here in Vancouver there seem a lot more small ethnic restaurants and of course in all the small towns there are always the "Chinese and Canadian Food" diners! I trave quite a bit in North America but my favourite comment was from a waitress in an German restaurant in a small town. Not wanting bacon in my red cabbage I asked how they prepared it. "The same as everywhere else," she said "We take it out of the can and microwave it!". Unfortunately she was mystified by my laughter...

Reminds me of the time I made the mistake of ordering spaghetti in Hull (Quebec). The sauce was Campbell's tomato soup

Also the waiter, who, when asked what type of cheese was in the cheese sandwich, replied blankly (wondering why we asked): "Orange"

But of course!

My teenage daughter worked in China for the summer. When she ordered spagetti the second time at her hotel, they brought the noodles and Heinz catchup. When she asked for the hot tomato sauce the waiter said "All the same, I will heat it for you!". Hey, this could a be a thread!

no question

Sorta like around here (San Antonio, Texas) some of the Chinese restaurants are run by Mexicans and the fried rice isn't fried rice but yellow, you know, what they call Spanish rice. While this doesnt quite reach the heights of your daughter's experience there is a erm, dissonance involved. Doesn't clash... just doesn't... go

I spent 18 months attending the International School in Jakarta, Indonesia (1986-1987). The "expat" community in Jakarta is rather unusual in that it is composed of an unusually large number of Texans because of the oil industry.

As a result, the school cafeteria attempted to provide "appropriate" cuisine. This frequently resulted in a side dish of refried beans.

Let us just say I'd choose "spanish" rice with my chinese meal over Indonesian refried beans any day.