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Wednesday, October 06, 2004
10:34 AM

Steal the Pork Product?

During the Course of our trip we noticed many, how shall I say this, hmmm, interesting cultural differences in both London and Spain. They are both totally different from the U.S. and totally different from each other. Case in point: pork products. Yes, pork products.

During our first full day in London we visited the British Museum and then the National Gallery. Both great museums, but incredibly huge and tiring (especially when jet lagged). So after much viewing of antiquities and art (see the Fabulous London Pictures for examples), we just wanted some food. A burger to be precise. We managed to locate a place that looked good in Leicester Square and ordered two bacon cheeseburgers (yes, we are total Americans). The food arrives, we look at the burgers and strangely enough no bacon. But there is a piece of ham on each. Yes, ham. What's up with that? The menu didn't say "Ham and Cheese Burger". Apparently the British don't get the wonderfulness that is a bacon cheeseburger. Oh well. Their loss really.

Given that we were starving, the ham certainly didn't deter us. The burgers were fine and off we went on our merry way touring the heck out of London. (Side note: the British do get the concept of fries or as they call them "chips". Amen to that.)

Then on to Spain. At the hotel I ordered an appetizer of ham with tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella cheese. Food comes and it isn't ham, it's cured meat - clearly in the same family as bacon. Huh? Why are they doing this to me?? At this point I figured that the Europeans were just scheming to drive the crazy Americans even more crazy. And they were using something as insidious as pork products to do it.

What is up with all the confusion over pork products that apparently exists in Europe? Ham and bacon are two different concepts. They are not interchangeable (at least not in my egocentric world). What do the school children play over there? It can't be "Steal the Bacon" given all the pork confusion. "Steal the Bacon which is Really Ham"? "Steal the Ham Which Is Really Cured Pork"? I am really not sure. I suspect that this game simply doesn't exist over there, which is a serious loss to all those European school children.

At least I had th sense to keep my mouth shut and eat what was put in front of me. But I did stop ordering pork for fear of what might turn up next . . .

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