America through British Eyes

Ten years is a long time not to see a person or. a place, and it was ten years since I had last been in America. As one hopes to find when meeting an old friend again, I was pleased that, in many ways, America seemed not to have changed much. I greeted even her familiar blemishes with affection. New York taxi drivers still know nothing about New York, and waiters even in the best restaurants—indeed, particularly in some of the best restaurants—are truculent to a degree which would not be tolerated for a minute in Europe.

The cheapest American food is often excellent. The humble sandwich, for example, is infinitely superior to its equivalent in Britain. What is called “gourmet” food (which seems to mean anything more than a bowl of Wheaties) tends to be uneatable. There is some very good American wine, but American drinking habits are still barbarous.

AL

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Anthony Lejeune

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Ten years is a long time not to see a person or. a place, and it was ten years since I had last been in America. As one hopes to find when meeting an old friend again, I was pleased that, in many ways, America seemed not to have changed much. I greeted even her familiar blemishes with affection. New York taxi drivers still know nothing about New York, and waiters even in the best restaurants—indeed, particularly in some of the best restaurants—are truculent to a degree which would not be tolerated for a minute in Europe.

The cheapest American food is often excellent. The humble sandwich, for example, is infinitely superior to its equivalent in Britain. What is called “gourmet” food (which seems to mean anything more than a bowl of Wheaties) tends to be uneatable. There is some very good American wine, but American drinking habits are still barbarous.