Americans only eat burgers and fries
My oldest son told me that when he was in year 7, some of his friends seriously thought he only ate burgers and chips because his mother was American. They wondered how he stayed so thin. No joke, they seriously thought that even though Sam initially assumed they were joking. I think a lot of British kids have that perception of Americans! I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before on here about British children thinking all Americans are fat!
So far this half-term for me has been mostly about work and getting things ready for Halloween for the kids. I’ve been working on a print deadline and even managed to get in an emergency rush job for a long-standing client. I’ve caught up on a little bit of sleep too which I desperately needed. For the kids it’s been pretty chilled out, hanging out, relaxing, recharging, seeing friends and doing fun stuff like going to the cinema and having sleepovers.
Yesterday afternoon I took my boys into Brighton and we visited the Sea Life Centre, had a stroll on the pier where Jonah was wide eyed and bushy tailed – all the lights and rides made him a bit hyper, followed by dinner at Brighton’s JBs American Diner. It was pseudo American sensory overload in a very crass but fun way, the food was really good, great selection of drinks and shakes and huge portions. It was also very reasonably priced and the staff were friendly and the service was good. I plan on going again with my daughter who was away on a sleepover. So yes, we had burgers and fries on this occasion. Jonah had a hot dog from the kids menu (again, huge portions! And best kids menu ever because they include a veggie burger. Five stars for that!) In reality, I rarely make burgers and fries at home for supper. And as a child, my mother rarely made burgers and fries for supper. Of course we did have burgers and fries a lot more than we have them here in England. I save burgers and fries for special times like the 4th of July when we can shamelessly be American!
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Meghan Peterson Fenn is the author of Bringing Up Brits and co-author of Inspiring Global Entrepreneurs with Heidi Mulligan Walker. Meghan is also the Director and Chief Designer at her own design company, White Ochre Design Ltd. And, she is an award winning expat blogger.
I have noticed that burgers here taste differently than those in the states. I think that this is because the cattle are grass fed here, and so are more lean than American beef cattle. How did the burgers taste at the JB diner? I noticed your son got a non-beef burger!
I think though that there is a larger presence of french fries here on the island. I am beginning to discern some small variations among the “chips”, but still, “chips” take up much more room here as a rule.
The boys look like they had a great time!! We will have to try to make a trip out to the aquarium there sometime.
I had a veggie burger (aubergine and mozzarella with pesto-yummy!) and Sam had the Hawaii chicken burger. So no beef – sorry can’t say. My husband eats beef burgers but he’s British so probably can’t answer your question either! Hopefully someone else on here will be able to answer your question
Yes, the Sea Life Center is a great day out. Right across from Brighton pier too so lots to do!
I am Rainbow leader and was discussing with other Rainbow leaders about celebrating Halloween. You know how controversial it can be over here. They told me that they even celebrated the 4th of July by taking their rainbows to McDonalds! I told them I will make plans for their next one because that is not what we are all about
That is too funny about going to McDonald’s on the 4th of July! Good for you, I hope it goes really well. What will you plan? Re Halloween, yes I know it can be very hit or miss here. My next blog post is about the Dos and Don’ts of celebrating Halloween in the UK!