I was at the local supermarket last and guess what I found in the international foods section – Jammie Dodgers!  I don’t recall seeing any in British supermarkets since the 1970s but all the same they filled me with nostalgia (probably imaginary nostalgia as I also don’t recall ever eating them at home.)

In any case this made me curious – so rather than the usual cursory scan of the shelves looking for Marmite, I actually had a good old look at what “British” fare is  offered here. Apparently the local population consume vast quantities of Wilkin and Sons jam (which I’m pretty sure tastes almost exactly like American jam). Shepherd’s Pie mix, Bisto granules, fruit gums, barrys tea (never heard of it), Ribena, Yorkie bars and Birds Custard. What a peculiar selection. It got me wondering whether any local Asians come and have a snigger at what’s in their aisles. Almost certainly.

Still, this IS a rather posh supermarket (Wegmans), if you go to one of the local Giants all you’ll find under “International” is pasta and a few tacos.

Today is the fourth of July – Independence day. So far it has been GREAT. For a start it is a national holiday that gives you a three day weekend, also everyone seems to celebrate quietly at home so the roads are empty and there’s noone in the supermarket. The atmosphere is great though – everywhere is covered in flags and people are really happy to celebrate America’s birthday.

So what’s it all about? Essentially America’s liberation from British rule – or more specifically the rule of George III. A while back I visited the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania and saw the text of the Declaration. It seems that they weren’t happy campers over here at all. Some of the grievances raised included “For imposing taxes on us without our consent” which seems pretty normal for a goverment but later they get into their stride claiming “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.”Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

I watched my second ever ball game this week – NY Yankees v Seattle Mariners at the Yankee stadium in New York. It was quite an eye opener.

The first thing that struck me was the feeding frenzy that happens at the game. As soon as we got there we tucked into the (included) buffet where no one would have batted an eyelid if you returned again and again. There were piles of sweets you could take with you in little plastic baseball caps and in case you’d troughed them before leaving the building, you could help yourself to the enormous piles of pocorn, sweets and chocolate on the way out. Then at your seat, there were hot and cold running waiters to bring you more food and some who roamed the aisles distributing chocolate.

The really surprising thing about the food is that it was actually pretty damn good. I thought it was all about hot dogs but there was some beautifully cooked lamb and some rather good sushi in addition to the burgers and hotdogs (which I suspect actually had meat in them).

The game itself was surprising. Let’s face it – it is rounders only with overarm throwing. The bit that surprised me was that it is all about the throw. These guys can pitch at over 90mph and throw incredibly accurate. So even if the ball gets hit to the boundary it comes back so fast. With that in mind you’d think that the guys would actually get a move on when running from base to base but actually they sort of amble. And they are kind of chubby. Ok so the pajamas they wear aren’t exactly slimming but still…. If I was paid many millions to play once a week I think I’d make a bit more of an effort and work out in between games.

The fans are different too. British spectators are usually pretty intense – that’s because they are watching the game. A lot of the people at the game this week didn’t seem that bothered. There were a couple of girls in front of us who didn’t stop talking the WHOLE time. I swear they didn’t look round at the players. Even people who seemed to be more interested weren’t that engaged.  I guess they were more intent on stuffing their gaping maws.

…your hospital has free valet parking.

I’d only just finished reeling from the shock of finding great food in the US when I found something that confirms some of my worst fears about what lurks in the shelves of the supermarket: Baconnaise. Oh the horror. Wrong on many levels but particularly scary because, not only is there no bacon in there (surprise) but it is actually vegetarian.

In case you missed it – check out the strapline “everything should taste of bacon” . They have also introduced a bacon flavoured lipsalve “so you can taste like bacon too”. Quite. Revolting.

Finally a shining ray of hope! Just when I’d pretty much given up all hope of finding some great Italian food in America I find some exactly where I wouldn’t never have expected it – in Texas.

So I’ve had some rather good Italian small plates in Vegas – but as all of the actual ingredients came from Italy they couldn’t really have gone terribly wrong.  I’ve also had some rather good Italian food in Arizona, although some of the menu looked a little, erm non Italian. I have absolutely and tragically never found any good Italian food in Pennsylvania.

Anyway, think of Texas, you think of Dallas, oil, ten gallon hats, cowboy boots, everything BIGGER than anywhere else. So imagine my surprise when I was lucky enough to have lunch at this little gem.  OMG the food was great and the setting was stunning. The restaurant/ winery nestles between beautifully well kept vineyards and reminds me a bit of some of the amazing vineyards in South Africa.  We ate a plate of delicious mixed  antipasti, followed by a spectacular melanzane parmigiana. These can come out slimey and bitter or tasteless but this was perfect, served with skinny spaghetti in a wonderful tomato sauce. Bliss. That was followed by osso buco then an affogato.  And to top it all off – the wine was really rather good too. Who knew that you could get wine in Texas? I just about rolled out but it was completely worthwhile.