7 ms·

In Chile, eating this kind of sandwich is also very common. Not so much for lunch but for dinner. Sometimes even just bread and butter. I feel in the US people

In Chile, eating this kind of sandwich is also very common. Not so much for lunch but for dinner. Sometimes even just bread and butter. I feel in the US people are obsessed with eating "nice and flavorful" stuff instead of eating something because you actually need to eat.

cerberusss 7y ago
This is just like Dutch lunch. Indeed, I'm not sure what's special about it. Definitely not limited to Norway. My previous girlfriend was also Dutch and used to this kind of lunch. Her employer sent her to London for a month, and she got used to expensive lunches. Spending a couple of pounds everyday on lunch, hoo boy, that adds up.
- rhnmhdv 7y ago
  This is a common evening snack thing in India as well. I grew up on this.
- mstade 7y ago
  My experience living in London was that most of my colleagues were perfectly content picking up a sandwich from the nearest EAT or Waitrose or whatever. Every day a tired, boring sandwich for lunch. I just couldn't understand it. Some stores were just aisle after aisle of sandwiches, I'd never seen anything like it.
  - zabzonk 7y ago
    What couldn't you understand? Relatively affordable, and lots of variety (that's why there are "aisle after aisle" of them). And the same places sell salads, noodles and much other stuff.
    - Vrondi 7y ago
      If you're going to eat a plain, sliced-bread sandwich every day, why not make your own to bring from home? Not exactly hard, expensive, or time consuming. Always tastes better fresher. Why pay more for a shop bought cold sandwich that isn't fresh, hot, or luxurious?
  - signal11 7y ago
    There was some previous discussion about sandwiches on HN (!): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895267 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895267 A lot of people clearly like eating their lunch at their desk. I suspect it’s a cultural thing — while I enjoy the occasional meal away, most of the time I like eating at my desk.
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    Prepared, packaged food in Britain, especially London, is much better than most of Europe. In Germany or France, a sandwich from a supermarket isn't fresh, isn't good, and isn't interesting. In Britain, it's at least some of these things. In France or Germany, you can go to a bakery and buy a sandwich, but that's slower and dearer.
    - ajdlinux 7y ago
      As an Australian I was very confused the first time I flew British Airways while I was on my way back home from the Netherlands to find that they proudly advertise their buy-on-board menu as the "Marks & Spencer on-board menu". Having never been to M&S but having a vague awareness that they exist, I didn't know what to expect, other than to think that if I saw Qantas advertising a new menu "co-created with David Jones" I'd be rather suspicious. I've since been to a M&S and discovered their rather extensive food section which is rather better than the average Australian department store. (Of course, BA, like all other European airlines I've experienced, is distinctly average at best, and having to pay for M&S prepacked sandwiches is definitely part of that.)
    - enz 7y ago
      When I lived and worked in France, I was pretty happy with Monoprix’s high-end fresh sandwiches. It was around €5-6 if I remember correctly.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- zabzonk 7y ago
  I worked in the Netherlands on and off for several years, and the thing I never got used to was how appalling the lunches were. I did a presentation at KLM corporate headquarters, and at lunch asked the people I was presenting to - "How do you put up with this, day after day?" They all looked glum, and said "There is no alternative". And don't get me started on what passes as Chinese food in the Netherlands.
  - jvagner 7y ago
    I lived in suburban Amsterdam and the food truck that came at lunch specialized in those puffy-bread and single slice meat/cheese sandwiches. I usually bought two and combined the ingredients and tossed the second bread. Might've been more palatable with better bread, but these were typical bad lunch sandwich bread buns. That said, I can live on PB&J, especially with fresh PB and a good bit of toast.
  - AndyMcConachie 7y ago
    Most Dutch people just eat sandwiches for lunch. Typically just bread and something on it. Some offices have cantines and many of them are terrible. I was a Dutch office worker for 10 years in different offices and ate all kinds of different things. Now I work from home and continue to eat sandwiches almost every day. I just like them. As for the Chinese food. You need to go into a big city and eat it. Don't eat Dutch Chinese food in small villages or suburban areas. Both Rotterdam and Amsterdam have amazing Chinese food. And I bet you never even tried Surinamese food before..
    - zabzonk 7y ago
      > Most Dutch people just eat sandwiches for lunch. And so did I when I worked there, but I made my own. If I forgot to do so, I nicked one of my Dutch colleagues sandwiches - they couldn't stand the cafeteria ones either. Chinese food was in Utrecht and Amsterdam - it bore no resemblance to the food you get in London, and you never saw ethnic Chinese eating there, unlike in London. I'm not trying to be racist about the Dutch people - I enjoyed working in the Netherlands very much. Except for the food.
Ididntdothis 7y ago
Totally agree. People in the US spend a lot of time thinking about eating but then most of what they eat is either plain crap or super high calorie. A slice of (good) bread with some butter or cheese can be very satisfying if it’s good quality.
hnaccy 7y ago
>I feel in the US people are obsessed with eating "nice and flavorful" stuff instead of eating something because you actually need to eat. It can be both...
notJim 7y ago
In Germany, the typical dinner seemed to be bread with butter and cheeses and cured meats like ham or sausages. It was "simple" of course, but also delicious because of the quality of all of the ingredients. However, they did eat a larger cooked meal in the early afternoon.
ip26 7y ago
I often spend an hour or two cooking in the evening for my family. It's tough to find things which are cheap, healthy, and convenient to prepare. Sandwiches are fine but not as a large percentage of our diet.
i_don_t_know 7y ago
Same in Germany. We have (at least) two words for dinner: Abendbrot (evening bread) and Abendessen (evening meal). They are used interchangeably regardless of what you actually eat. Traditionally, breakfast is also just slices of bread or bread roll? (Brötchen, Semmel, etc) topped with butter and a slice of cheese or meat, or jam or honey.
j7ake 7y ago
Preferring flavorful food is definitely not a US thing, it's probably a human thing. Humans in general prefer more flavorful food to less flavorful food. If the economics were such that a slice of bread with cheese cost the exact same as a quick Michelin-star meal at a restaurant, I think you would see a shift of people changing their bread and cheese diet.
asdff 7y ago
Butter is riddled with controversy in the American mind. However, I think many people whip up PBJ on the fly pretty frequently. Lots of protein, carbs for brain fuel, and a hit of sugar to perk you up and tide you over. Throw in a banana sliced longwise and it can become a meal.
collyw 7y ago
Chilean cuisine is strange. They have high quality ingredients available, but don't do much with them.
Vrondi 7y ago
In America, it depends what part of the country you are in, whether your largest meal of the day will be the mid-day meal of lunch (called dinner in some regions) or supper (the evening meal, also called dinner in some regions). Even if you eat a small sandwich for lunch, it will be rare for it to have butter on it (unless it is fried, like grilled cheese). It will likely also have various spreads, sauces, or vegetables on it. A very basic/classic American sandwich has a slice or two of ham, slice of cheese, pickles, and mustard, for example, which is much more complex and flavorful than what this article talks about. The only meal where Americans might commonly eat only bread and butter is breakfast, and then it very likely to be toasted.

cerberusss 7y ago

This is just like Dutch lunch. Indeed, I'm not sure what's special about it. Definitely not limited to Norway. My previous girlfriend was also Dutch and used to this kind of lunch. Her employer sent her to London for a month, and she got used to expensive lunches. Spending a couple of pounds everyday on lunch, hoo boy, that adds up.

rhnmhdv 7y ago
This is a common evening snack thing in India as well. I grew up on this.
mstade 7y ago
My experience living in London was that most of my colleagues were perfectly content picking up a sandwich from the nearest EAT or Waitrose or whatever. Every day a tired, boring sandwich for lunch. I just couldn't understand it. Some stores were just aisle after aisle of sandwiches, I'd never seen anything like it.
- zabzonk 7y ago
  What couldn't you understand? Relatively affordable, and lots of variety (that's why there are "aisle after aisle" of them). And the same places sell salads, noodles and much other stuff.
  - Vrondi 7y ago
    If you're going to eat a plain, sliced-bread sandwich every day, why not make your own to bring from home? Not exactly hard, expensive, or time consuming. Always tastes better fresher. Why pay more for a shop bought cold sandwich that isn't fresh, hot, or luxurious?
- signal11 7y ago
  There was some previous discussion about sandwiches on HN (!): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895267 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20895267 A lot of people clearly like eating their lunch at their desk. I suspect it’s a cultural thing — while I enjoy the occasional meal away, most of the time I like eating at my desk.
- Symbiote 7y ago
  Prepared, packaged food in Britain, especially London, is much better than most of Europe. In Germany or France, a sandwich from a supermarket isn't fresh, isn't good, and isn't interesting. In Britain, it's at least some of these things. In France or Germany, you can go to a bakery and buy a sandwich, but that's slower and dearer.
  - ajdlinux 7y ago
    As an Australian I was very confused the first time I flew British Airways while I was on my way back home from the Netherlands to find that they proudly advertise their buy-on-board menu as the "Marks & Spencer on-board menu". Having never been to M&S but having a vague awareness that they exist, I didn't know what to expect, other than to think that if I saw Qantas advertising a new menu "co-created with David Jones" I'd be rather suspicious. I've since been to a M&S and discovered their rather extensive food section which is rather better than the average Australian department store. (Of course, BA, like all other European airlines I've experienced, is distinctly average at best, and having to pay for M&S prepacked sandwiches is definitely part of that.)
  - enz 7y ago
    When I lived and worked in France, I was pretty happy with Monoprix’s high-end fresh sandwiches. It was around €5-6 if I remember correctly.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
zabzonk 7y ago
I worked in the Netherlands on and off for several years, and the thing I never got used to was how appalling the lunches were. I did a presentation at KLM corporate headquarters, and at lunch asked the people I was presenting to - "How do you put up with this, day after day?" They all looked glum, and said "There is no alternative". And don't get me started on what passes as Chinese food in the Netherlands.
- jvagner 7y ago
  I lived in suburban Amsterdam and the food truck that came at lunch specialized in those puffy-bread and single slice meat/cheese sandwiches. I usually bought two and combined the ingredients and tossed the second bread. Might've been more palatable with better bread, but these were typical bad lunch sandwich bread buns. That said, I can live on PB&J, especially with fresh PB and a good bit of toast.
- AndyMcConachie 7y ago
  Most Dutch people just eat sandwiches for lunch. Typically just bread and something on it. Some offices have cantines and many of them are terrible. I was a Dutch office worker for 10 years in different offices and ate all kinds of different things. Now I work from home and continue to eat sandwiches almost every day. I just like them. As for the Chinese food. You need to go into a big city and eat it. Don't eat Dutch Chinese food in small villages or suburban areas. Both Rotterdam and Amsterdam have amazing Chinese food. And I bet you never even tried Surinamese food before..
  - zabzonk 7y ago
    > Most Dutch people just eat sandwiches for lunch. And so did I when I worked there, but I made my own. If I forgot to do so, I nicked one of my Dutch colleagues sandwiches - they couldn't stand the cafeteria ones either. Chinese food was in Utrecht and Amsterdam - it bore no resemblance to the food you get in London, and you never saw ethnic Chinese eating there, unlike in London. I'm not trying to be racist about the Dutch people - I enjoyed working in the Netherlands very much. Except for the food.

Ididntdothis 7y ago

Totally agree. People in the US spend a lot of time thinking about eating but then most of what they eat is either plain crap or super high calorie. A slice of (good) bread with some butter or cheese can be very satisfying if it’s good quality.

hnaccy 7y ago

>I feel in the US people are obsessed with eating "nice and flavorful" stuff instead of eating something because you actually need to eat. It can be both...

notJim 7y ago

In Germany, the typical dinner seemed to be bread with butter and cheeses and cured meats like ham or sausages. It was "simple" of course, but also delicious because of the quality of all of the ingredients. However, they did eat a larger cooked meal in the early afternoon.

ip26 7y ago

I often spend an hour or two cooking in the evening for my family. It's tough to find things which are cheap, healthy, and convenient to prepare. Sandwiches are fine but not as a large percentage of our diet.

i_don_t_know 7y ago

Same in Germany. We have (at least) two words for dinner: Abendbrot (evening bread) and Abendessen (evening meal). They are used interchangeably regardless of what you actually eat. Traditionally, breakfast is also just slices of bread or bread roll? (Brötchen, Semmel, etc) topped with butter and a slice of cheese or meat, or jam or honey.

j7ake 7y ago

Preferring flavorful food is definitely not a US thing, it's probably a human thing. Humans in general prefer more flavorful food to less flavorful food. If the economics were such that a slice of bread with cheese cost the exact same as a quick Michelin-star meal at a restaurant, I think you would see a shift of people changing their bread and cheese diet.

asdff 7y ago

Butter is riddled with controversy in the American mind. However, I think many people whip up PBJ on the fly pretty frequently. Lots of protein, carbs for brain fuel, and a hit of sugar to perk you up and tide you over. Throw in a banana sliced longwise and it can become a meal.

collyw 7y ago

Chilean cuisine is strange. They have high quality ingredients available, but don't do much with them.

Vrondi 7y ago

In America, it depends what part of the country you are in, whether your largest meal of the day will be the mid-day meal of lunch (called dinner in some regions) or supper (the evening meal, also called dinner in some regions). Even if you eat a small sandwich for lunch, it will be rare for it to have butter on it (unless it is fried, like grilled cheese). It will likely also have various spreads, sauces, or vegetables on it. A very basic/classic American sandwich has a slice or two of ham, slice of cheese, pickles, and mustard, for example, which is much more complex and flavorful than what this article talks about. The only meal where Americans might commonly eat only bread and butter is breakfast, and then it very likely to be toasted.