Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam Wonderful Spam!

I’ve long been a fan of British comedy. As a kid, I would stay up late and watch Fractured Flickers and a couple of other oddball comedy shows. But the king of late, late night was Benny Hill. Maybe it was just the scantily clad women, chasing or being chased by Hill, but I found the skits really funny.

Later I became a fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I still chuckle at the fuzzy little rabbit that turns out to be a fearsome beast that rips men apart (if you haven’t seen it, here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnOdAT6H94s&t=3s).

Vikings enjoying a little Spam at breakfast

But one of the most lasting skits from the show involves Vikings, breakfast, and Spam (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxtsa-OvQLA).

Now, in my younger years, I vaguely remember having Spam for breakfast once. I became more familiar with the processed meat product when I was stationed in Hawaii in the 1980’s, but I didn’t eat a lot of it.

Intrigued, I began to look into the origins of this “mystery meat.”

It’s really not much of a mystery. Introduced in July 1937, the Hormel company found a way to use pork shoulder, which was not a popular cut of meat. They blended it with some ham and a few other ingredients (salt, water, modified potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrate), sealed it in a can and cooked it for about three hours to kill off any bacteria that would make the meat spoil.

During World War II, the US Military became the major purchaser of the luncheon meat. Spam was shipped to the Pacific and to the front lines in Europe. With fresh meat being quite scarce, it filled a need for an Army on the move.

Soldier’s and Marines shared their Spam with local populations, many who faced near starvation, and Spam became a part of the local diet. It’s still somewhat popular in the UK, but the pink loaf has found a real home in the Pacific.

Hawaii, Guam, Okinawa and the Philippines, all consume large amounts of spam each year.

But South Korea has taken their love of spam to another level.

In the US Mainland, you’ll find the blue cans of meat in almost every grocery store. Neatly stacked on store shelves, most American’s just walk past.

In South Korea, Spam has achieved a status of a luxury gift during the Lunar New Year and annual harvest festivals. Packaged in fancy gift boxes, many Koreans plop down as much as $75 for a package containing as many as 16 cans and some expensive cooking oils.

Here in the US, Hawaii is the state that consumes more Spam than any other.

So, I wasn’t too surprised when stopping into a McDonalds on the North Shore, I found Spam and rice on the breakfast menu.

I grabbed a couple of breakfast sandwiches for the family, and a plate with eggs, Spam, sausage, and rice for myself.

I must admit, it was a great breakfast.

A French Burger in England? It Could Happen

I have a rule while traveling, never eat at chain restaurants that you can go to at home.

Yep, no TGI Friday’s, no Chilies, and most of all, no fast food.

The Fox and Goat is the kind of local eatery that we look for while traveling

Now I do have a friend who takes the opposite approach. He searches out the nearest McDonald's in every country he visits. He likes to see what they do differently than in the US.

I don’t think he’s wrong, I hear the squid ink Quarter Pounder in Japan is at least interesting, but I’m not a fan of eating ink - or paste for that matter.

But every now and then, you must break your own rules.

We found ourselves on the M20 between Dover and London, mid-way thru a marathon 364-mile drive. (you can read about the trip on my other blog Trippin with Kenny – The White Cliffs of Dover - at kendrylieblog.com).

The Keep at Dover Castle

We had considered having dinner before we left Dover, but the few places we drove past had very little or no parking and a pretty big storm was coming in, so we felt like getting on the road.

There didn’t seem to be much that was open along our route.

It was getting late and the lack of food was starting to take its toll. We decided that rather than fight, we would exit at one of the convenience stops along the way.

The convenience stops are very similar to turn outs on some of the toll roads in the US. It’s just a turnout with a gas station, mini mart, fast food place and sometimes a motel.

We had passed one that had a KFC and I found myself really wanting some of the Colonel’s Secret Recipe.

We pulled off at the next stop, and much to my dismay, the food court had a McDonald's, a Chinese place and one other choice which didn’t look good.

I was going to try the Chinese, but after standing in line and looking at the food, it seemed a bit dodgy.

Rather than risk the intestinal distress that could come from sketchy Kung Pao, we opted for Mickey D’s.

Now, growing up McDonald's and Del Taco were the center of my culinary universe. Later my stepdad introduced me to the wonder that is In-n-Out. My tastes have changed, and other than In-n-Out, I avoid my old favs (ok, not the Barstow Del Taco’s, they are still owned by the founder’s family and are much better than the corporate stores).

I reluctantly approached the counter, expecting to order my normal Quarter pounder, I noticed that they had something called “Burgers of the World.” The current choice was the French Stack, a double patty, with garlic aioli and Bacon on a garlic roll.

The French Stack Burger at McDonald's

I have to admit, it wasn’t bad. Maybe I’ll have to rethink my eating rules. Anything with bacon can't be too bad.