A La Carte Nation…

I’m sure I’ve b!t@hed about this before on this blog...but i just can't get over it…I’ve found that Europe, but especially the UK, requires you to pay for every little thing…

Here are a few simple and very annoying examples:

1) for most quicker service restaurants (order at the counter type of place) that offers a pick-up/take away or eat-in option, there are separately priced menus...obviously, the eat-in option is a tad more expensive…I’m sure its near 10%, if not more…so, people here gripe about how the U.S. tipping culture is so excessive…but the U.S. DOES NOT CHARGE TO EAT INSIDE A RESTAURANT! restaurants are made to be eaten in…you should NOT have to pay for the privilege to have a seat and use plastic silverware…so, ultimately, you are already forced to pay the tip upfront here…whereas in the U.S., you still have the option to jip the waitstaff for shadiness…and when I say, “quickservice”, this does not include the typical fastfood joints (“mackers”, BK, KFC, etc) that we all know and love…and you know why, because these are AMERICAN institutions!!!

2) When you go to most Italian restaurants here (and really most restaurants that you’d expect to get bread), you DO NOT get complimentary bread…you have to pay extra for it…and if they do give it to you without you asking, be fully prepared to see a charge for it on your bill…so, if you don’t want it…then ask if its free, if they say no, then send it back…don’t touch or breathe on it!...paying the equivalent of $5 for stale cold bread is the biggest scam out there…

3) They never ever ever ever give you glasses of tap water with your meal…you don’t ever get charged for it if you ask though…but when you do ask, you can tell that the waitstaff isn’t pleased...especially when you didn’t order a $5 glass of filtered still water that they bottled themselves from a brita filter…rip off (I cough)…hey brits, the tap water here is fine…try drinking Lake Michigan water…

4) And the asian restaurants are not exempt here!...you always have to order white rice separately…never comes free with a dish that you ordered, unless it specifically states it comes with it…so, unless I’m mistaken, you generally eat an asian main dish with rice (unless its noodles of course)…so, you are basically suckered into ordering a few white rice cups (and I mean a tiny little tea cup of rice that a big rice eater can swallow in three bites)…so, f you calculate it, adds about 10 to 20% to the cost of each dish…big rip off (I cough loudly)

5) And lastly, this has nothing to do with food, but the UK has basically perfected a la carte travet long, long before it ever hit the U.S…so, bringing a bag – cha ching…wanting extra leg room – cha ching…sitting by a window – cha ching…getting a glass of water – cha ching…sitting in a B.O. free cabin – cha ching…having the right to fart openly because you ate a bean burrito before you got into your seat – cha ching…