Bangers ‘n Mash

Itty Bitty Amin, that curmudgeonly old soul otherwise known as Drac, wrote a recent post on the things he liked about the Old Country. In many ways, when I am abroad, I do go looking for things that remind me of England. So even here in Canada, a lot of the Canadian aspects of life to me seem by-and-by and I am constantly on the look-out for the aspects of life back in England that I enjoy.

As any good political scientist and a comparativist to boot should do, I am going to undertake a comparative analysis – based on an exhaustive empirical study, albeit limited by my limited time in Canuckistan – of the relative merits of life in England and in Canada. Let’s start with the most important thing in life. Beer. As no less an authority than Winston Churchill said in response to his wife’s claim that she hated beer “So do many people – to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many have been able to overcome.” (Tye 1997: 7)

On this count, I can find little to choose between the two countries. Rather surprisingly, the Canadians brew a range of very good beers though they are pricey and I am quite happy to buy European for the most part. Nonetheless, I am not in want, and can enjoy a good pint without prejudice.

Close behind beer in the stakes of grave importance is something I cannot live without, food. Amin makes two astute observations in his excellent and concise analysis (Drac 2009); to take his second observation first, a good roast dinner – ‘preferably with nice and crisp Yorkshire puddings that sop up the gravy.’ Now that, my friend, is what I am talking about. Frankly, I am yet to find a good, decently priced Sunday roast. Perhaps that’s because I do not know where to look but I’m pretty sure I am yet to spot a Yorkshire pudding on any of the pub menus in town. On the subject of good British food – damn all those who claim that the British fare is soulless – I had my first decent pub bangers and mash the other day and the only reason it was good was because it was quasi-French. Yes, French. Like you know dill sausage with fennel or somefink and with dijon mustard. It was bloody good but it is rather galling that the simple but beautiful gifts that British cuisine has given the world – bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, meat pies and indeed the Sunday roast – seem to be of middle-of-the-road quality. Here is Radiohead’s take on the Bangers ‘n Mash phenomenon (from here):

The chips, too, are universally substandard. I don’t know what it is but there is a general inability to get it just right. The malt vinegar, however, is an absolute must. That said, this poutine stuff that the Quebecois have come up with is pretty amazing: for the uninitiated, chips with gravy and cheese curds.

Sounds suspicious, sure enough, but it is luscious. I mean, look at it (from here)

At the end of the day, however, I can get most of any food I want here, which is more than can be said for Sri Lanka. And considering the diasporic Lankans over here, I can also come by the local delicacies, at least when I am in Toronto. In any case, I can cook. To paraphrase King Julien, I’m pretty amazing at it now but I want to become like  even better, though perhaps stop short at making a living out of it. That’s what this pretty prose is going to get me. I can’t write food after all, though writing is forever made inadequate by the fact it cannot be eaten. The day that somebody invents words that can be eaten – and not just eaten, but wolfed down with the vigour and joy that would accompany a high quality kukulmus curry, dhal and sundry veggies – will be the day that I will know I have nothing left to live for.

Amin also made the perspicacious observation that England is damned good for going down the pub for a (relatively) quiet pint and a morning/afternoon of football or rugby union. This, alas, is available but on a fairly limited basis in Canada. For one, the time zones are such that only the Champions League games are on at respectable hours. That said, a favourite Irish pub in town will open doors at 9.30am for the Carling Cup final tomorrow. So all is not lost. And I will be there, enjoying the ridiculously cheap all-day breakfast and a pint (though I suspect this may be available only after 11 – that said, I probably don’t want one any sooner than that).

Nonetheless, there is one aspect to life in Canada that trumps anything Britain can offer and that is the fact that once you’ve gotten through the horrendous winter, there is actually a summer here. And heck, do I look forward to that – to patios, to beer gardens and to prancing around in sunshine.

References

Drac (2009), “We like,” The Lair: http://lair.fierydragon.org/2009/02/we-like [accessed February 28, 2009]

Tye, Michael (1997). Ten Problems of Consciousness: A Representational Theory of the Phenomenal Mind (Boston: MIT Press)