Bad news for men world wide =(

[ONA 133]

Where I live in Moscow, there's a McD's right smack next to the metro station. It's ALWAYS full of people. I can walk past there at 3 am, 3 pm, noon, etc, doesn't matter... always packed with people. I'm seeing more and more overweight people here, especially overweight children, and men and women who seem to hit the 35+ mark and just eat until they die. IMHO the younger (I mean older teens and 20 somethings) women seem to be gaining weight more so than the young guys, who I find are usually so thin they look too young. It's not as bad as in the US, but it is a problem that seems to be increasing.

McDonalds is usually packed with people pretty much everywhere in the FSU, but so many people go there just for wi-fi. Might be difference in that between Moscow and my city though, but Moscow is pretty much like a different country compared to the rest of Russia.

Go to Arbat now... Dunkin Donuts, Wendy's, Starbucks, all that #######. I hate that street; talk about ruining a historic place with crappy American fastfood; I miss American food sometimes but it's not so good when fastfoods plague nearly every street of nearly every capital on the planet. Random note, I nearly died when my SO told me he was taking me to a restaurant with "real Mexican food", and it was Chilli's.

You should totally come to my city. We have a place that serves American and Mexican food and is called "BARak O'Mama" My fiance loved it

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

In Quito, Ecuador (the capital city, which does NOT mean that a very, very vocal rooster is NOT downtown somewhere, crowing like a ####### from 3 a.m. onward), I walked to the Burger King and managed to communicate, in perfect pidgin Spanish, that I wanted 6 hamburgers (my usual in the U.S.). Upon hearing me, the first clerk looked extremely alarmed and pointed me toward the bathroom. The second clerk understood, it seemed. I stressed "Sin lechuga, sin tomate" (without lettuce, without tomato) at least 3 times. "Comprende, amigo?" (Do you understand, buddy?) "Si, man," he said.

I ended up with 6 hamburgers (far thicker than in the U.S.) loaded with lettuce and tomato. I had intended to eat 5 for dinner and to save one for breakfast before catching the taxi to the airport. I was able to eat exactly 3 for dinner, and half of one for breakfast. What a waste, man.

Otherwise: In Guayaquil (the largest city), I first went to the Taco Bell in the food court in the big mall. They were out of tacos, si man. I went to the adjacent KFC (known in Ecuadorian longhand as Kentucky Pollo Frito) and ordered 3 pollo sandwiches (my usual in the U.S.), "sin lechuga." I was given 3 huge pollo sandwiches, thicker than in the U.S., loaded with lettuce, and 3 Pepsis, and 3 orders of French fries (thick ones). Mrs. T-B. was socializing with some of her hyskool girlfriends elsewhere in the food court, so this kept me out of trouble (and away from the hen-party) for a good long time. When I finished and went over to meet them, I believe that I must have spontaneously belched, because the girlfriends giggled and Mrs. T-B. looked mortified. ("My work here is done," I mused at the time.)

Addendum: In Cuenca (the third-largest city), I, Mrs. T-B., Mama-Mrs.-T-B., and youngest-sister-of-Mrs.-T-B. went to the food court in the large mall there. We went to the Kentucky Pollo Frito. They were out of pollo, but told us to wait 40 minutes. (There, fast food wasn't fast; I imagined that they were out catching and plucking the pollos.)

There, as in any restaurant in Ecuador, no matter what one eats (slimy tacos, greasy pollo frito, or whatever), one is given one teeny-tiny inadequate napkin, which apparently is considered to be adequate, because the natives expect to wash their hands in the restrooms that have no soap, no towels, and sometimes no running water. Having learned this the hard way on my very first visit, I would subsequently always take and use up a copious supply of U.S. fast-food napkins, and also generously hand them out to needy relatives, si man.

Oh -- and on a trip before the above, I ordered 6 tacos at the Guayaquil Taco Bell (in Mrs. T-B.'s presence), and she said that the clerk was floored that anyone, even a gringo, could eat as many as 6 tacos, si man. I proudly carry the flag so that America remains #1, si man.

I once spent a few weeks in Europe. Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine, Romania and France were all on that trip. I had exactly -0- trouble ordering food anywhere between speaking English, French and very poor (at the time) Russian. On my way back I had a layover in Chicago at OHare airport. I went to a hot dog stand and ordered a dog with mustard, relish and onion. The senorita there gave me one with everything! When I tried to explain "No, just mustard relish and onion..." she gave me ANOTHER one with everything! I gave up! Chicago Illinois, USA is still the only place that a language barrier caused me problems in ordering food.

Sounds like you could handle even a village in Ukraine.

[eekee 182]

Eh, I like fast food, can't help it. It's the way I was raised. I DO notice more fat young women than the first time I came here, five years ago--before I would see maybe one a month or so.

I also think there is less awareness about the proper way to diet and people often go the unhealthy root. I had to EXPLAIN to my friend why the fact that his girlfriend crash-dieting with amphetamine-loaded cough syrup was a very bad and dangerous idea.

[SMR 368]

I once spent a few weeks in Europe. Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine, Romania and France were all on that trip. I had exactly -0- trouble ordering food anywhere between speaking English, French and very poor (at the time) Russian. On my way back I had a layover in Chicago at OHare airport. I went to a hot dog stand and ordered a dog with mustard, relish and onion. The senorita there gave me one with everything! When I tried to explain "No, just mustard relish and onion..." she gave me ANOTHER one with everything! I gave up! Chicago Illinois, USA is still the only place that a language barrier caused me problems in ordering food.

Sounds like you could handle even a village in Ukraine.

This is so true. English is much more useful in Europe than in the average American metropolis. I remember riding a bus through Newark, NJ and realizing that more people spoke English in Helsinki, Finland.

[Ban Hammer 13,469]

2 posts removed, 1 for tos violation and the other quoting it.

do not suggest, recommend or anything of the sort how to "get around" a customs issue please.

[slim 1,530]

I've never had issues with ordering the food I want because my policy is always order extra and "rebuild" it the way I want. I don't mess with trying to get it a certain way. I simply order two and combine the parts I want, trash the parts I dont. (Or since I'm with skinny women, they always eat my unwanted veggies.)

Sometimes the reason portion sizes are different is because in some places the "hamburger" is the regular hamburger. Here, the hamburger is almost always relegated to the dollar menu or value menu or whatever it's called because it's a "small" sandwich. Time was when the hamburger was the big guy and what these places were known for. In other countries, it's kind of complicated to have a flagship burger, a junior burger, a super big burger and for folks to know the difference between all of them, in English, so they can order the proper one. Sometimes a hamburger is the hamburger. Period.

On a semi-related note I was pretty fond of the Russian "fast food" place called Moo Moo. (Or, My My, in Russian.) I could always get cutlets and mashed taters with a big ol' beer for a pretty decent price. Not bad at all. I loved the kiosks too. Rotisserie chickens and a big beer for a few bucks is a wonderful way to end the night. It's also a great way to wake up! Same with meat pies, chinese food, and with all the cheap beer that's readily available (and you can drink while walking down the public street) it's hard to beat.

[TBoneTX 45,849]

Oh -- another thing about Ecuadorian fast food: they eat guinea pigs, aarrgh man.

The sit-down/takeout restaurants will have a menu board advertising the chicken dishes, and the guinea-pig dishes (called "cuy"). One can order a medium-sized or large-sized cuy.

At outdoor festivals, people will roast critters on spits: puercos (pigs), pollos (chickens), and cuy.

When I first heard of this, I told Mrs. T-B.-to-be, "In the U.S., we don't eat our PETS!" She replied matter-of-factly, "Some people will eat cats, too." She then told me of when she and her #2 sister were something like 11 & 10 years old, and their pet rooster disappeared, and they found out that it was in the soup pot. The rooster had bitten their mother, who then decided that there should be rooster soup for dinner. The ultimate revenge, si man.

ETA: Here is just one informative piece about cuy recipes, si man:

http://www.foodmall.org/entry/serving-guinea-pigs-on-spit/

Edited June 28, 2011 by TBoneTX

[eekee 182]

Wait, why the hell is there a Taco Bell is Ecuador???

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Wait, why the hell is there a Taco Bell is Ecuador???

I was thinking the same thing when I read that post.

[slim 1,530]

Wait, why the hell is there a Taco Bell is Ecuador???

Because even they like "Mexican" food.

[TBoneTX 45,849]

Wait, why the hell is there a Taco Bell is Ecuador???

Well, perhaps Yum Brands (parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, & others) is that ambitious, si man. There are Pizza Huts in Ecuador, too, but they're not as good as they are in the U.S. -- which isn't saying much. The mall food courts also have Chinese-food places and Ecuadorian-food places (minus the cuy, thankfully).

Interestingly, on the other side of the same food court in the big Guayaquil mall is a place called "Texas Burger." I've never tried one. Pinguino (penguin) Ice Cream is very good, however.

The Ecu natives tend to like anything American. Their whacko socialist president Correa (AKA Hugo Chavez Wanna-Be Jr.) has raised the import taxes so high on foreign products that no one can afford to buy much of anything, sadly. Food prices (in grocery stores) are dirt-cheap -- Mrs. T-B. fed 5 people a full dinner for $21 in food components. Sit-down restaurants (not U.S. chains or in malls) are similar -- I fed 11 adults & 1 child a full lunch for $41, and later 12 adults & 3 children for $49 at two such places. A 42" HDTV, conversely, can cost over $2,000.

When Mrs. T-B.'s hyskool-girlfriend hen-party continued at an outdoor pub, I amused myself by seeing how many Inca Kolas I could drink. Inca Kola (which can be found in the U.S.) is approximately the color of Mello Yello, and it's a rather smooth, lightly carbonated soft drink of a flavor that I can't exactly describe, but it's pretty good. If I recall, I had something like 9 bottles. Lucky that it apparently isn't heavily caffeinated. It would've been more Inca Kolas, but I was trying to keep from laughing (and having it come out my nose) while hearing Mrs. T-B. describe how easy it was to have a Gringo husband and watching her girlfriends' expressions of shock -- a couple of them uttered "O Dios mio" (oh, my God) during the soliloquy. Chicks are treated like slaves there, si man, and there's a complete double standard for marital/relationshippial behavior vis-a-vis men and women, sigh man.

Edited June 29, 2011 by TBoneTX

[ONA 133]

Well, perhaps Yum Brands (parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, & others) is that ambitious, si man. There are Pizza Huts in Ecuador, too, but they're not as good as they are in the U.S. -- which isn't saying much. The mall food courts also have Chinese-food places and Ecuadorian-food places (minus the cuy, thankfully).

Chinese food is what I miss in Russia. Me and my friend (she's been to the States a couple of times too) were at the mall the other day and when we went to the food court there was Subway, there was Sbarro, there was a bunch of Russian and Caucasian food chains... It took us pretty long time to decide what we want and I figured it happened cause there was no Chinese food... so we ended up buying food drom a blini fast food place.

But what I miss a little bit more than Chinese food, but a little bit less than my fiance is crabcakes. We're going to Baltimore G&M as soon as I arrive.

[eekee 182]

We have Chinese food in our food court... it doesn't have the American Chinese food classics like moo goo gai pan, but it's not like American Chinese food is any closer to real Chinese food than Taco Bell is to Mexican.

[Krikit 1,165]

Are you being serious about all your food quantities, TBone?

Chicago Illinois, USA is still the only place that a language barrier caused me problems in ordering food.

I have a problem with language barriers and service workers in the US. I can't speak Spanish and they don't understand whatever it is I'm asking for. So frustrating.

Sometimes the reason portion sizes are different is because in some places the "hamburger" is the regular hamburger. Here, the hamburger is almost always relegated to the dollar menu or value menu or whatever it's called because it's a "small" sandwich.

I was really confused, at first, when I saw that hamburgers were listed under "Sandwiches" in the US. I had to ask my husband "Do they mean that they put the burger on sandwich bread?"

[slim 1,530]

I was really confused, at first, when I saw that hamburgers were listed under "Sandwiches" in the US. I had to ask my husband "Do they mean that they put the burger on sandwich bread?"

When she first got here, my wife would make a ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, balogna, etc., and say, "I eat today boorger for lunch." I tried to explain to her that boorgers are only greasy, nasty, delicious pieces of ground beef fried to perfection and then topped with cheese and she said, "Yes, but in America booorger it's means sandwich."