Healthy food options!
In addition to being the densest agglomeration of ostensibly human beings I’ve ever seen on the surface of the Earth, one of the expectation-confounding things about London was the prevalence of healthy, quick-service food options. One of the stereotypes of British food is that it’s terrible; the others being that it is awful, unhealthy, and brown. None of those turned out to be accurate at all. Yes, you can go - and we did - to a traditional British pub and get yourself some bangers and mash, but in general, London was both extremely cosmopolitan and also very health conscious - at least about what they eat. Intriguingly, Londoners appear to be much less concerned about exercise and fitness than San Franciscans - but they have us beat hands down in the nutrition department. Quick - think of the big chains in the U.S.: McDonalds, of course, then maybe Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell. If you dig a bit you might come up with Chipotle and Starbucks. Now, let’s compare to the chains that blanketed London: EAT, itsu, Pret a Manger. In each of these, options for eating healthy were plentiful - and all for less than 10 dollars, and in less than 5 minutes. Pret a Manger is full of delicious healthy sandwiches and soups, most of them for 4-6 dollars. itsu was even cheaper, an asian-themed eatery with sushi, delicious hot soups, etc - all for 3-5 dollars. I’m in a Health and Wellness class right now where we’re discussing the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in America. Of course this is a fairly obvious observation, but I can’t help but wonder how much of it is due to how poor our “easily accessible” food options are. Even here in Bend - which is a very active and outdoorsy city - it’s easier to get a cheeseburger or a burrito then to get a bowl of soup. And that’s odd, really. I wonder how long it will take before our food catches up with our athletic ambitions. I see real change in our physical activity - the ski slopes are full and so are the yoga studios - but motion on the nutrition front seems slower. If you could combine the enthusiasm for the outdoors of San Francisco with the nutrition and food awareness of London, I think you’d really have something!