August 3, 2002

4:25 PM

How To Say Yes (Or No) To British Food:Apart from the language barrier (ably demolished by Mike Etherington's magnificent online dictionary), British food has a dreadful reputation all over the world. Yet people who try it, whatever their nationality, often find they enjoy it. If it's properly made, that is. Enter Helen Watson's impeccable and ethnically correct recipes. And those who can't be bothered to cook can always plump for the many ready-made goodies (and some real stinkers) now offered by internet mail order firms. The most promising has got to be, with over 2,500 goodies, the FBC Brit Shop. Unfortunately it's based in Japan and will only start delivering in September. The best of the rest is probably yummy British Delights. My mother's English so I'm obviously biased, but aren't a lot of people missing out on the unique gastronomic charms of the good old United K? Oh yes![FBC link pilfered from the Boing Boing larder.]
posted by MiguelCardoso (63 comments total)

I have needed those first two links in my life for years, Miguel. Mwa.

Oh, and jinx. :)
posted by mediareport at 4:33 PM on August 3, 2002

Bah. I'm sitting here in London, and I'd kill for some Nutter Butter biscuits. Mind you, Cadbury's Caramel Fingers are pretty damn fine...
posted by ninthart at 4:41 PM on August 3, 2002

I'm gonna order some toad in the hole, followed by some bubble n' squeak!! Yorkshire Pudding, Shepherd's Pie, Steak & Kidney Pie... And you can back that Cadbury's Wispa truck up to my door...
posted by jonson at 4:59 PM on August 3, 2002

My favorite British recipe is "Kidney Pie". Take two kidnies and boil the p*ss outta'em ...

Sorry ... I know ... welcome to MetaFark.
posted by RavinDave at 5:01 PM on August 3, 2002

You must not forget mushy peas.
posted by Scottk at 5:18 PM on August 3, 2002

I first encountered mushed peas on a trip to Yorkshire, and was surprised to see folks in the pub mashing them onto the *back* of their forks!
posted by MrBaliHai at 5:22 PM on August 3, 2002

Nice links, Miguel. I'm still inclined to think their reputation for heavy-setting food is well-deserved -- but I don't think they get enough credit for having some of the best candy in the world.
posted by RavinDave at 5:26 PM on August 3, 2002

Bizarre stuff, but that first link is a scream, thanks. It reminds me of a thoroughly useless London guide book I used to have that had a meticulously labelled diagram of a Typical British Sunday Lunch^TM. I only kept the thing for the tube map at the back, but it came in handy whenever I forgot what a potato looked like. However, as far as the virtues of traditional British cooking go I'd say that it has a dreadful reputation for a reason.
posted by zygoticmynci at 5:50 PM on August 3, 2002

unique gastronomic charms of the good old United K

There's a reason that they're unique - no-one else really wants to copy them. Using up what would normally be seen as the left-over parts of animals as food (see black pudding, white pudding, tripe and haggis) just doesn't seem to be catching on elsewhere.

And on the subject of national cooking/food, is there an identifiable family of peculiarly US food? What springs to mind when I think of US food is large portions of everything and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
posted by MUD at 6:15 PM on August 3, 2002

Pizza, french fries, potato chips, most soda pop, chewing gum, and spaghetti with tomato sauce are all U.S. foods, along with PB&J. Probably more, but all of a sudden I'm hungry...
posted by stoneegg21 at 6:45 PM on August 3, 2002

And on the subject of national cooking/food, is there an identifiable family of peculiarly US food? What springs to mind when I think of US food is large portions of everything and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

And ketchup with everything. ; )

Cheeseburgers and such are of course American foodstuff, but it's hardly peculiar to the U.S. With small variations you'll be able to get a burger in virtual any country you'd ever care to visit.
posted by cx at 6:56 PM on August 3, 2002

mmm, Branston Pickle. Morrison's is the one I like best, the vegetables are nice and soft.

another favourite: HP Curry...basically HP Fruity but with some curry powder thrown in; good on just about anything.
posted by dorian at 7:52 PM on August 3, 2002

And what is with the hot sauce in the orange juice?

One of my emeritus colleagues, an expatriate Englishman, insisted that I had to try Marmite. So he brought one of his precious tiny jars of the stuff with him to work one day, and had me eat matzohs with butter and Marmite. Apparently, I twisted my face into an expression of spectacular disgust as soon this odious spread hit my tastebuds. Yeeecch. Give me peanut butter any day.

I must also confess that when I was last in England what I really missed was an American-style soda, with the glass filled with ice all the way to the top. A waste of ice, I know, but I did get rather sick of lukewarm Coca-Cola.

I'll definitely give the English high marks for candy, though. Yummy stuff.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:58 PM on August 3, 2002

And what is with the hot sauce in the orange juice?

that almost sounds like sangrita...tasty with tequila.
posted by dorian at 8:04 PM on August 3, 2002

Using up what would normally be seen as the left-over parts of animals as food (see black pudding, white pudding, tripe and haggis) just doesn't seem to be catching on elsewhere

Then how do you explain this and these and how about this and of course this...
posted by jonmc at 8:26 PM on August 3, 2002

Isn't that first one just a bunch of hotdogs? I'm assuming they've got a bad rep because they're cheap, lowest common denominator takeaway food. Kind of like donner kebabs, which everyone knows are made from pigeon, squirrel, mouse, cat or whatever else is handy.

I have to say, though, that Scrapple and head cheese are new to me. I wish they had remained a mystery.
posted by MUD at 8:45 PM on August 3, 2002

Right now all I can think of is: Crumpets dripping with butter...mmmmmmm
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:12 PM on August 3, 2002

Apparently people are saying no to spotted dick.

The sorry state of British cuisine is what led them to conquer other ccountries that had better food.

Kind of like donner kebabs, which everyone knows are made from pigeon, squirrel, mouse, cat or whatever else is handy.

Think of them as donor kebabs; we don't know who the donor is.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:36 PM on August 3, 2002

Bah!

This woman recommends putting lemon in a g-and-t, and does not include a recipe for the most noble and perfect of all British puddings: Haggis.

Bah!
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 10:28 PM on August 3, 2002

Even the worst British supermarket food's better than what's generally on offer here in Holland. The Dutch are good at complaining, and when they complain about British food they do so loudly, convincingly... without EVER having tasted any. It makes me want to smack them. British food can be gorgeous. Nice fry up in the morning. Top desserts (trifle... custard 'n' cake).

My last meal in England was in an Oxford hotel bar. Succulent liver, mash 'n' gravy 'n' tasty veg.

And, mmmmm Sunday roast.

I have Brit envy.
posted by prolific at 12:15 AM on August 4, 2002

Kind of like donner kebabs, which everyone knows are made from pigeon, squirrel, mouse, cat or whatever else is handy.

Ummm.. if Google is to be believed, that's the wildly less popular way to spell what are actually known as "doner kebabs" Not that the second "n" makes all that much difference, it's just that "Donner", in America at least, conjures up visions of ingredients that only Sweeney Todd might appreciate.
posted by jonson at 12:22 AM on August 4, 2002

I just had a full english with some black pudding for breakfast. It's my Sunday weakness.
posted by vbfg at 2:21 AM on August 4, 2002

Using up what would normally be seen as the left-over parts of animals as food (see black pudding, white pudding, tripe and haggis) just doesn't seem to be catching on elsewhere.

You're not an aficionado of chinese food then? Chicken feet are a regular in dim sum, minced tripe in a soupy sauce I've been offered for breakfast and my partner is partial to duck bills...
posted by kerplunk at 3:18 AM on August 4, 2002

I haven't had the opportunity to check out British fare first-hand (oh, how I would love to try Devonshire clotted cream and scones!), but most of the people I know who have spent time in the UK really seem to miss, among other things, the Indian food.


Regarding the U.S., I simply resist the idea that American cuisine is typified by hamburgers and junk food; I've lived (and over-indulged) in nine U.S. states, and in my experience, the diversity, quality and complexity of the American gastronomie is impressive, to say the very least. This inherent diversity, however, precludes simple iconic representation, and so we end up with McDonald's as the international symbol for "American Food". Too bad.
posted by taz at 3:31 AM on August 4, 2002

Most of all, specially on Sundays (boo hoo!) I miss roast beef (rare, lots of translucid fat) , big slice of Yorkshire pud (not the poncey "individual portions), the cracking potatoes roasted in real beef dripping, freshly made, with liquid horseradish sauce and eye-watering mustard. Served by doddering old men from a rickety 19th century trolley with a battered silver cover.

Best place is still Simpson's in the Strand - but downstairs. I also loved the roast beef at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin but apparently it's been taken over by the feckin' frogs. No offense.

Come to think of it yes, offence. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:47 AM on August 4, 2002

I'd like to point out to anyone who may not be aware that actual British food is generally very multi-cultural and the supermarkets are excellent in the variety of food they carry. I bought a middle eastern cook book the other day, expecting to have to go to a specialist delicatessen to get most of the ingredients. In fact my local supermarket had the lot, including pomegranate molasses and rose-petal jam.

As far as restaurant food is concerned, Australia beats every country I've been to hands down.
posted by Summer at 4:39 AM on August 4, 2002

The Dutch are good at complaining, and when they complain about British food they do so loudly, convincingly...

A country whose national cuisine consists almost entirely of sausage, potatos, overcooked greens, and pea soup complains about British cuisine? The UK menu sounds downright sumptious next to theirs (with the notable exception of the plethora of fine Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands).
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:29 AM on August 4, 2002

You're picking awfully regional English food here.

Haggis is rarely eaten in England, and Black Pudding is not popular nationwide at all, and tends to be eaten mostly by Geordies.

More popular national 'dishes' are actually pleasant. They should include roast beef, yorkshire puddings, casseroles, salmon (Scotland primarily), porridge (originally Scottish but now /sort of/ popular in the rest of the UK), fish'n'chips, tea with sugar and milk, cheese and crackers, etc.
posted by wackybrit at 6:49 AM on August 4, 2002

Point of order:

What are "Geordies", wackybrit?

Also: Fish'n'Chips much different than simple batter fried fish and American style french fries? Do they eat it with tartar sauce? lemon? something else?
posted by RavinDave at 7:28 AM on August 4, 2002

My only experience of brit food was in watching the Two Fat Ladies. Fun to watch, but that's as far as I'll go. :)
posted by Modem Ovary at 7:44 AM on August 4, 2002

Ravin - fish and chips comes with fat chips rather than stringy french-style fries. It's not so much a dish as a takeaway shop which also sells fish cakes, sausage in batter and pies. I don't think many people cook trad fish and chips in their homes. Traditionally it looks like this. Optional extras are brown, tomato or tartare sauce, white bread and butter, mushy peas, curry sauce, pickled onion, pickled egg or pickled gherkin.
posted by Summer at 7:56 AM on August 4, 2002

I used to have to attend an annual convention in Southport for many years, so we'd wrap our vacation around it and explore the UK.

I have to admit, a lot of the Brit cuisine had me running for the nearest Pizza Hut, but some of it I grew to like, and eventually seek out. English breakfast, with the fried tomatoes and the mushrooms....Mmmmm. (No beans for me, though. Yech.) Cream tea - wish we could find clotted cream on this side of the Atlantic. Haggis with taters and neeps (in Scotland), and steak and kidney pie.

I don't care for curry, so the Indian fare didn't tempt me a bit. Fish and chips were OK, but I don't know how the Brits manage to stay so thin when I'd see a large portion of them making a meal out of a huge order of chips with brown sauce. (Brown sauce is delicious on fish, BTW; I think it's actually HP Steak Sauce.) Oh, and pizza with prawns - I've only seen this in some specialty pizza parlors in the US, and sometimes in Canada.

Some other decidedly *different* things that stuck in my mind...going to an "all you can eat" buffet at Pizzaland. Instead of the array of pizzas and pastas and salads you find at buffets in the US, it was a long line of people, who, when reaching the front of the line, received two slices of pizza on their plate from a server. Also, I went to this place in the Trocadero in London - can't remember the name now, but it was supposed to be like an American 1950s era diner. I had just arrived in town and was starving - the menu described this stacked ham and swiss sandwich as "piled with a mountain of Virginia ham." When the waitress set my plate down, I lifted the top bun to view one slice of ham topped with one slice of cheese. Small mountains in London, I guess.
posted by Oriole Adams at 8:46 AM on August 4, 2002

'Traditional' British food isn't really 'restaurant' food. It's casseroles and stews and slow-cooked joints and so on. That's probably why it gets a bad reputation, because trying to imitate it in a situtation where it's cooked to order in 20 minutes doesn't work. Unless it's at places like Simpson's, which is basically an upmarket retirement home which allows dining guests, or at the 'caffs' in the east end that work like home kitchens from sunrise to lunchtime for the market traders. (Then there's fish and chips, which is worth a trip down to the seaside. Or at least to east London.)

Then again, proper Indian food, as demonstrated by friends of mine, has little to do with a Friday night curry. So that doesn't let the purveyors of 'pub grub' off the hook.

Black Pudding is not popular nationwide at all, and tends to be eaten mostly by Geordies.

Geordies? That must be why the traditional home of the black pudding is in the north-west, then?
posted by riviera at 8:51 AM on August 4, 2002

Black pudding is also a much appreciated staple sausage in Portugal and Spain (morcela), France and Belgium (boudin noir) and Italy. I think I've had it in Germany too. In fact I'd be very surprised if there was a European country that doesn't make "black pudding" or as near as dammit. Specially great sausage-making countries like Poland, Ukraine, etc.

So enough with this Geordie myth!

RavinDave: I think "Geordie" means someone from Newcastle or it may be the whole of Northumbria or even the North-East of England. They have a distinctive - well, perhaps "distinctive" is the wrong word - very characteristic accent. ;)

Here's a funny Geordie to English translator!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:05 AM on August 4, 2002

I've moved from the NorthWest (Blackburn) to the midlands (Birmingham) and I can't get meat pies anywhere. No, not pork pies, they are common as muck, and not meat and potato pie, but beef pies, just beef. With loads of clear jelly around the meat inside the pastry. Delicious cold or heated up, and sometimes served in a bowl submerged in gravy. Mmm.
posted by ajbattrick at 9:37 AM on August 4, 2002

is there an identifiable family of peculiarly US food?

Come on down to the Deep South and we'll feed you the tastiest (and most shamelessly unhealthy, fat-laden, and starchy) regional cuisine you've ever had. (First, learn to recognize the Four Southern Food Groups: butter, sugar, salt, and bourbon.)

Fried chicken, collard greens (sop the pot likker with your cornbread!), poke sallit, chicken-fried steak, pole beans, grits, biscuits (not a cookie, a breakfast bread), ribs, and let's not forget chitlins!

Must...go...make......biscuits & gravy.........
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:20 AM on August 4, 2002

yes, it's true AFAIK that the uk has the most variety in the supermarkets. this seems to be because the smaller traders have been undercut viciously, and cannot survive unless they are in a boutique town, like edinburgh, brighton etc. (or manchester/london - borough market; yeah baby, yeah. pukka etc.).
i was lead to believe that the (what's the blandest thing on the menu?) reputation of english food derives from the damage that 'Mrs Beeton's' did. we had quite alot of interesting food until mr beeton promoted his deceased wife's unfinished book, adding random recipes to make up the bulk. at least that is what i remember clarissa dickson-wright saying:
'CDW: Yes, I mean if you look at Georgian books, even late Georgian books, even the very early Victorian books, the first editions, for instance, of Eliza Acton, there are enormous swathes of literature about not overcooking your vegetables and how to make them ‘o poarn’ and crisp and everything like that, and then he lifted ‘Piecemeal’, Fanny Farmer’s Boston Irish Cookbook which was, you know, boil everything in four gallons of water for forty minutes, (SL: especially sprouts!) because the Irish are awfully disastrous with vegetables. (They both laugh)'.

british fish'n'chips, cooked in beef dripping, with a beer batter (haddock or cod, while fish stocks last!) cannot be bettered by anyone that i have encountered worldwide. i hope it will still be available in the future, although it may be out of the reach of most peoples pockets. oh, and pasties.

i am with summer on the restuarant food thing - australia wins, best food, best value.
posted by asok at 11:59 AM on August 4, 2002

I have never understood why any American would ever sneer at British food, since the USA must be one of the few countries in the world with even worse food. When your contribution to world cuisine is the cheeseburger or the thick-crust pizza I'd keep my mouth shut..
(end troll)
I think it's fair to say that traditional British food has to include the British variations of Indian food. Curries like madras, vindaloo or tikka masala are either unknown or very different in India, and thus must be considered as British.
posted by salmacis at 12:51 PM on August 4, 2002

In fact I'd be very surprised if there was a European country that doesn't make "black pudding" or as near as dammit.

Here in Sweden it's called blodpudding ("blod" means "blood") and it's a pretty popular dish.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 1:23 PM on August 4, 2002

deep fried mars bar , anyone?
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:02 PM on August 4, 2002

the USA must be one of the few countries in the world with even worse food.


Thems fightin' words, Bucko! Aside from all the obvious imports (Jewish delicatessen food, Japanese Sushi, Latin American dishes) there is a wealth of regional delicacies, from New England Clam Chowder and Maryland Crabcakes to Texas Chili and San Francisco Sour Dough. You don't have to eat crappy fast food if you don't want to.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:30 PM on August 4, 2002

not to mention the produce: Washington apples, Maine blueberries, Georgia peaches, Iowa corn, Florida oranges and Vidalia onions.

Excuse me while I go eat my dinner (Angus beef T-bone steak smothered in Tennessee Bourbon creamed mushrooms with Idaho baked potato and sour cream and California Avocado salad and ranch dressing) ..don't even get me started on the wine because this discussion is all about food.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:02 PM on August 4, 2002

Iowa corn?

Bah! It's full of weevils and half the profits go to Castro.

Ravin' (from NEBRASKA) Dave ...
posted by RavinDave at 10:18 PM on August 4, 2002

fish and chips comes with fat chips rather than stringy french-style fries.

They're French fries, not 'french-style' fries. I know that sounds pedantic, but French fries are not actually named about France.

They are named after the process by which they are created, known as 'frenching'. To french something is to cut it into strips.. and French fries were originally known as frenched fries.

ravin, there are regional variations in the way fish and chips are eaten. I cannot speak for much of the country, but southerners tend to prefer their fish'n'chips plain with salt and vinegar, whereas up here in Lincolnshire, the locals often have a tub of 'mushy peas' in lieu of the fish.. probably because they can't afford it ;-)
posted by wackybrit at 4:25 AM on August 5, 2002

This is a pretty excellent site about English cooking (in part). I really approve of the author's attitude to food- (see his acknowledgements page!)
posted by prentiz at 5:27 AM on August 5, 2002

Oriole Adams: Was the place you visited 'Ed's Easy Diner'? They do a great milkshake (Vanilla and peanut butter, hmm-hmm), but everything else is distinctly average. It's always better to go to the original one on the King's Road in Chelsea than any of the others.

There's a place here in Ealing (that's West London) called Starvin' Marvin's that's a much better example of a US-style diner...
posted by ninthart at 5:32 AM on August 5, 2002

HP sauce. Pancakes with lemon curd. Holy Jesus (expletive).
posted by basilwhite at 5:32 AM on August 5, 2002

It may have been, Ninthart, as that name sounds familiar. And my husband had a milkshake with his dinner that he raved about.

We also had a fabulous meal at some pub in Suffolk... we've tried to find it on subsequent trips, but no luck. My husband had lamb, and I had roast, and it was delicious.
posted by Oriole Adams at 6:12 AM on August 5, 2002

I cannot let this thread pass without a chance to evangelise about Twiglets (original flavour). If Bush was man enough to have eaten a real snack instead of those wishy washy Pretzels - he'd be dead now!
posted by niceness at 7:26 AM on August 5, 2002

Actually, as a Brit, I am constantly disappointed that I have no easy access to excellent foods like large pretzels and ring donuts.

WHY DO EUROPEANS ALWAYS WANT TO FILL DONUTS WITH JAM!?!?
posted by wackybrit at 7:52 AM on August 5, 2002

Why are Europeans (especially the French) able to pull of describing something like ground up fowl liver (pate) calves brains, or horsemeat, blood sausage, sweetmeats, etc as "delicacies" but they then snear at ground beef grilled with spices?

And for all of those who disparage American cuisine, you have not been to America, and you have not sought to eat a real restaraunts. I work with many internationals who are constantly impressed with American cuisine. The secret is, you can't go to McD's or TGIF and describe it as American cuisine....
posted by pjgulliver at 8:46 AM on August 5, 2002

Actually, I'm not sure whether your point is valid to Europe. TGI Fridays in the UK provides extremely high quality food. The portions are somewhat smaller (and more expensive) than those I got used to in the States, but the quality of the food is somewhat on par, IMHO.
posted by wackybrit at 9:19 AM on August 5, 2002

Actually, as a Brit, I am constantly disappointed that I have no easy access to excellent foods like large pretzels

Pret a Manger

and ring donuts.

Safeway bread section.

TGI Fridays in the UK provides extremely high quality food.

You have to be joking.
posted by Summer at 11:27 AM on August 5, 2002

I have a shameful confession.

Probably the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures is ... Salad Cream. Spread on a ham or cheese sandwich. (Oh, the shame!)

I rather enjoyed the haggis I had in Edinburgh -- it was a cousin of the rice-filled boudin blanc we have in Louisiana. (It was even nicer when I snuck my Tabasco bottle out of my bag and anointed it.)
posted by chuq at 12:12 PM on August 5, 2002

*Please excuse personal note*

Chuq, now the thread's over and done with, I have to say I'm shocked about the salad cream. As a fan of your web site and all its wonders, I plead with you to reconsider. How can an American gourmet and connoisseur, living in New Orleans, who knows how to make (and buy) good mayonaise, find salad cream anything but revolting?

On a positive note, about three years back Hellman's released a killer mayo here in Portugal (and the UK) made with virgin olive oil. It's almost as good as freshly made. Can you get it in the U.S.?

Btw, I've been perfecting my Sazeracs with Peychaud's bitters, real French absinthe and Sazerac rye whiskey. I've even found replicas of the original glasses. Thanks to you, I can now challenge anyone to make a better one than mine. I'm looking forward to winter so I can have more.

I tried the Sazerac Royale, with good cognac, but didn't like it. Too late, perhaps. :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:35 PM on August 5, 2002

What on earth is/are biscuits and gravy -it sounds disgusting (sorry)!
posted by titch at 2:57 PM on August 6, 2002

chuq ,

you are forgiven ,

for your penance consume one white pudding supper.
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:46 PM on August 6, 2002

WHY DO EUROPEANS ALWAYS WANT TO FILL DONUTS WITH JAM!?!?

Why does someone who claims to be a 'brit' not use the word 'doughnut', as opposed to the atrocious americanism? Is it in an attempt to be 'wacky'?
posted by riviera at 3:50 PM on August 6, 2002

Biscuits and gravy are a traditional breakfast dish in the American South. "Biscuits" (to us rednecks down heah) are not cookies, not shortbread, nothing to do with sweets. Biscuits are a simple breakfast bread made with flour, butter, eggs and lard (or Crisco). Kinda sorta like an unsweetened scone, I suppose. Mix up the batter in a bowl and, using a spoon, plop them into little mounds on a greased baking sheet (it is because of this process that you will every now and then hear Southerners refer to "drop biscuits", meaning the dough was not rolled and cut, which is OK, too). Bake until the tops are golden.
"Gravy" is a heart-stopping concoction that consists mostly of bacon grease, flour, salt and pepper, and a bit of milk and water. Southerners tend to make gravy using the residual grease in the bacon pan, whisking in a bit of flour and milk and then seasoning to taste. Sounds nasty, I know. It's terrible for you as well. But oh so tasty.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 5:18 PM on August 6, 2002

Why does someone who claims to be a 'brit' not use the word 'doughnut', as opposed to the atrocious americanism? Is it in an attempt to be 'wacky'?

Because I prefer to use the more logical American English, especially in the company of Americans who never fail to pick up on British phrases and question me to hell about them. This time I have drawn the short straw and received the opposite.
posted by wackybrit at 6:25 PM on August 6, 2002

Pret a Manger

Thanks, I'll remember that next time I take the 80 mile hike to Peterborough or wherever the nearest one is ;-)
posted by wackybrit at 6:27 PM on August 6, 2002

Wackybrit, don't even try to fight it, mate. For, as far as I can tell, you are flavour of the week, aka designated nut and doughboy, here on MetaFilter. Everybody's who's anybody seems to be having a go at you. Weather it out and don't stop smiling - it'll be over before you can say "Do nuts and donuts go together?" :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:32 PM on August 6, 2002

I love you, Miguel.
posted by wackybrit at 10:43 AM on August 7, 2002