The best restaurant on earth is... British?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7558792/?GT1=6428

After the recent Roadfood discussions of The French Laundry, I thought this ranking was kind of ironic...

Does "sardine on toast sorbet" even sound appealing to ANYBODY out there? Not for me...

As much as I enjoy sardines on toast, I'll skip the sorbet.

During a visit to friends in Surrey in 1979 (during a lorry strike and a garbage strike, London was headhigh in trashpiles), where I was served dinner consisting of beans and franks as we watched Bonanza on the telly, I was told "A typical English restaurant consists of a non-English meal prepared by an Italian cook and served by an indifferent French waiter..."

Heston Blumenthal does not produce what you would call good typical British food. He is a maverick experimentalist, whilst I find him interesting as a person I really wouldn't be into visiting The Fat Duck despite all the fuss. If any Brit chef deserved to win the award it would be Gordon Ramsay for any of his venues. Again, ignore the hype with his fiery character, the man really knows what hes doing and cares passionately about food.

As for the sardine sorbet blah blah, please don't let Blumenthal's attempts at jokey names for his extreme concoctions lead you into slating British food based on old (mis)conceptions about it.

One of my favorite things about sailing on a British ship is getting beans on toast for breakfast. It makes a great breakfast with bacon and eggs. They were both Princess ships, which means the venerable P & O line. What I could never understand was why the tea they serve is Lipton. Miss Kitty, here in America I'd describe that brand as "floor sweepings." Is Lipton tea sold in England? Do they perhaps sell GOOD tea under that name in England? I bought some Welsh "Glengettie" tea in Porthmadogg, so I'd bring the sachet to the dining room and request a pot of hot water. To us Yanks, a sachet is a teabag. Doesn't sachet sound more refined?

I must confess, "sardines on toast sorbet" does not appeal to me.

I thought a sachet was a tiny "pillow" of pretty-smelling something my grandmother put in the dresser drawer to keep clothes smelling nice. I love the way words mean different things when one is speaking British English vs. American English.

i think culinary times have changed... england and ireland are coming up with fantastic food/ chefs/ restaurants these days.

Michael, a teabag is a teabag here too sachet is either a bag of lavender or maybe something you find tiny portions of sugar in at a cafe etc. Liptons had a very good reputation in the past and is certainly one of the oldest tea companies, I don't think its regarded as one of the foremost these days though. Bear in mind though that often commercial tea used in bulk in places like cruise liners is not of the topmost quality. We have lots of good tea here and each brand has it fervent adherents. As a sidenote, I found it difficult to get a good cup of tea in the USA - that doesnt mean its not out there, just the places I went to didnt serve it - so I just stuck to iced tea or other drinks.

We also have had good food, cooks, chefs etc for a long time, its just the perceptions are changing. If you ever get a programme called Rick Steins Food Heroes on one of your cable channels, then take a look. The kind of food and producers featured therein is what I mean by good british food, and its the kind of thing that has been done well for many years, its just now its becoming " trendy "

Miss Kitty, I wholeheartedly agree with your comment about the tea you get in average restaurants in the US. More places are wising up here in San Francisco. Frankly, when I travel in the US, I also bring my own!