(Yesterday's "Once You Go Blank..." was funny. Amy sneaks those through a lot.)

w...hich is a thing the British think of as food.

Experience has taught me to be wary of things the British define as food ... and cars.

Oh, some British food I kind of liked. A nice, big pub lunch of shepherd's pie, chips, and mushie peas? Sign me up! But I don't think I ever had spotted dick.

But I'm with you on the cars, Conan. When I was stationed in the UK, I had a Talbot Alpine (European Chrysler) for a while, and it spent an awful lot of time in the garage. By the time I finally got rid of it, people joked that it was pretty much a whole new car!

To be fair, British engineering is da bomb when it comes to race cars.

Oh, by the way, here's the street where I lived, in a small city called Ely, in Cambridgeshire, rendered in Streetview. On your right, you will see the half-timbered Oliver Cromwell house. As you continue up the street, turning right at the end, you'll come face-to-face with the magnificent Ely Cathedral.

It was an enjoyable place to live.

spotted dick, which is a thing the British think of as food.
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Do you disapprove of any dessert that comes in a can, or does it just bother you that the Brits love their carbs?

From the HuffPost:

"Spotted dick is a traditional British pudding made from suet, or mutton fat. The suet is mixed with other ingredients, such as baking soda, flour, molasses, corn syrup, or nutmeg. This creates a pastry dough, to which raisins or dry fruit are added, hence the dessert's 'spots.' The dough is traditionally either steamed or boiled, and is often served with a custard sauce."

Sounds a bit like Christmas plum pudding - though I admit people don't necessarily drool over that either.

BTW, the dish has its own Wikipedia entry as well as a Straight Dope column.

Spotted dick sounds awful. I don't like anything with raisins cooked into it.

The wife just got a can of Heinz "Spotted Dick" at a Christmas Party the other night as a white elephant gift. We boiled it in the can as per the directions the next day and it was quite tasty. We both agreed that this looks like the start of a new Christmas tradition in our house.

Spotted dick = soggy british fruit cake with sheep fat frosting?

It came out much like a pound cake with raisins. Sheep fat frosting was not provided but, hey, you add what you like, Luj.

Map.

Hate yer neighbors.