Croissants - what is the point?

[*Bob*]

How does a bacon sandwich treat you with apparent kindness while betraying a feeling of superiority?

Are these the 'caff' bacon sarnies the ones that are usually a big slab of tasteless gammon with an undercooked fatty rind hanging limply off the side? Yum..

[numbers]

Lou - I agree with you, there's something about a doughnut that exudes....honesty unlike the ....pretentiousness of, say, a croissant. You know where you are with them ;-)

Please don't get me started on the abomination that is the cronut. Oh so last year, maybe, but still.

[numbers]

Patronising is talking down to you, you know. (this works better in person)

[Louisa]

Assumptions *Bob*, you're trying to make a delicious food option sound revolting my putting a spin on it. Even a crap bacon sarnie is still a bacon sarnie, so in this country anyhow it will always out shine a soggy pastry item 9/10 kept in a plastic box/container waiting around all day to be eaten. I am in no way going out to make this food item seem worse than it is, it does a good job of that all by itself.

Louisa.

[*Bob*]

Some of us have been around long enough to remember the days when a Boots meal deal (egg and cress, Walkers ready salted and a can of tango) was your only lunch du jour.

Of course that was before you fell under the spell of Pret?s middle class sandwich marketing machine.

[Louisa]

You can get a sandwich meal deal in any of the major supermarket chains now (including the new ED sacred cow of M&S).

Pret do not operate in this part of London for a good few miles around so I couldn't possibly comment *Bob*.

Louisa.

[*Bob*]

The Pret in Bromley is particularly magnificent.

I'm sure you know this already of course.

[Louisa]

If you must know, Pret A Manger in Bromley is one of the main reasons I initially spoke out in favour of them coming to LL to open up a shop. The staff are friendly and the food offering is fairly healthy and quite competitively priced. In all reality, they're more likely to open in somewhere like Brixton or Peckham than they are here, and I've not visited the Bromley branch for a good few years now.

Louisa.

[maxxi]

Louisa Wrote:

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> If you must know, Pret A Manger in Bromley is one

> of the main reasons I initially spoke out in

> favour of them coming to LL to open up a shop.

Yes but that bloody patronising French-muck name tho.. What does it mean?!

Pret - is that French for bread? Or does Pret-a mean Pretty Bread - and is that like Pitta Bread? And is it the same Manger that little baby Jesu was borne away in? So it would be like a bread basket you take away?

Oh, it's a minefield.

[Louisa]

Think it means 'ready to eat' - may be wrong though.

Also it's owned by a UK based company now (McDonalds not at all connected). Slightly patronising sounding name, but then as I said before, most things French related come across patronising and poncy. Even if they're not. This doesn't detract from the fact that to me anyway, Croissants are patronising and more. Shove them on top of some tinned mince in a pie tin and I might eat them. With gravy over the top.

Louisa.

[*Bob*]

Louisa Wrote:

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They're patronising

> primarily because they're French, you could spray

> a turd in Chanel no.5 and because it's French it

> would be superior to any other turd.

'Pret A Manger'

And there you have it.

[numbers]

Didn't someone work out that Pret sandwiches contained more calories than ten big macs or something? Hardly healthy.

They are also responsible for (patronising) rocket in everything.

I say bring back old skool sandwich shops where they cut the cheese/bread/ham in front of you and NO rocket in sight. Who's with me?!!!!!! I fancy a croissant.

[Louisa]

Pret A Manger isn't French you clown. Just as the anglicised sounding French companies 'Total' and 'Britanny Ferries' are not English. Oh *Bob* you are a card.

Louisa.

[*Bob*]

Louisa Wrote:

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> 'Britanny Ferries' are not English.

lol!

[Louisa]

numbers I'm with you on rocket. Stinging nettles in a sandwich, what's the bloody point? Do you never politely ask the server to whack a bit of iceburg in when the poncy store manager isn't watching? I too miss personalised sandwich shops. However, Ayres of Nunhead do a mean homemade sandwich and/or sub roll with a filling of your choice. Great if you get there early enough to miss the crowds. They also do a meal deal, not cheap though.

Louisa.

[numbers]

Louisa - the best places for sandwiches (to me) were Homemade and Jack's cafe in ED. Sadly both moved on.

Whilst we can happily agree on rocket, I am not with you on iceberg. It is tasteless and functions only once and that is when shredded in a burger bun. Even then it has to be crisp and shredded to a certain degree. Give me a plain old English butter lettuce any day.

Now let's be clear about this concept of "meal deals" you speak of. They are neither a deal nor a meal. A packet of crisps and a drink that you don't need, pointless upselling that can only be accompanied by an unsatisfactory excuse for a sandwich. Unless its to take the taste away?

[Louisa]

Ah but you see not everything in a meal deal comprises of a bog standard sandwich crisps and a drink these days. A mix and match deal can include sushi, a sausage roll, fruit and or diced vegetables with dip. The choices are endless and they all add up to ?3 (in most cases). Ayres do a meal deal where you can purchase a sub and a sausage roll/cake alongside a tea/coffee/hot soup/can for a set price. As I'm sure the likes of Greggs probably do too. Not a meal of course, but hits the spot for a period.

Louisa.

[maxxi]

Louisa Wrote:

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> Shove them on

> top of some tinned mince in a pie tin and I might

> eat them. With gravy over the top.

Somewhere outside an old shipping container in Shoreditch a young entrpeneur is frantically scribbling on a blackboard... "Today's Retro Fusion Spesh!"

[numbers]

You see, you've been sucked in. You've fallen into the trap of thinking that the expanded range of meal deal offerings is something you actually want/need. Sausage rolls? A bit sneery. What's wrong with a plain sausage or does it have to have pastry these days. Sigh. Diced vegetables? What's wrong with chopping them yourself? Sushi? No thanks, I'll have a packet of packet of Kettle Chips to go with my sandwich instead.

Ridiculous, the whole concept. I think you ought to rename this thread and direct your ire towards the 21st century meal deal con that is sweeping high streets everywhere.

[FJDGoose]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> numbers I'm with you on rocket. Stinging nettles

> in a sandwich, what's the bloody point? Do you

> never politely ask the server to whack a bit of

> iceburg in when the poncy store manager isn't

> watching? I too miss personalised sandwich shops.

> However, Ayres of Nunhead do a mean homemade

> sandwich and/or sub roll with a filling of your

> choice. Great if you get there early enough to

> miss the crowds. They also do a meal deal, not

> cheap though.

>

> Louisa.

Have you ever tried eating stinging nettles then ?

[Otta]

I am a big fan of Lidl, but their doughnuts are f*cking shit!

[Louisa]

FJD never tasted stinging nettles but they look the same as rocket and probably taste the same too. It's a patronising iceberg, both pointless additions to other things. Except iceberg is free and rocket is premium priced.

Otta I cannot disagree more strongly. Their doughnuts knock spots off of all the other major supermarket chain ones, and they stay fresher longer too.

Louisa.

[Seabag]

Rocket= stinging nettles ?

What planet are you on

[Otta]

I do think Rocket was WAY overdone in the last decade. A small amount can be nice, but it was bloody everywhere, and a large amount really isn't nice.

[*Bob*]

Seabag Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What planet are you on

Not sure - somewhere in Great Brittany I'd guess.