Holy freaking cow. Having lived around different places in Europe, and visited many others, I have an impression that London has the best food of just any city in the EU. I can only compare places like Berkeley and SF, and some in Turkey and Cyprus for the quality of meat, veggies and fruits you can get.
I have an impression that London has the best food of just any city in the EU
IMO Barcelona, which consistently had some of the worst prepared food of anywhere I've been[1], still had better pre-made train station sandwiches than anything I've seen in London. I distinctly remember being shocked at how expensive (and heavy and otherwise lackluster) the food was at Paddington station, for example. IMO Germany (Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin) has the best mix of affordable and quality convenience foods of any place I've been in Europe so far[2]. Pret was pretty decent (but I've only been at the airport one), and wasn't terribly expensive by airport standards but it was a far cry from a sandwich for a couple quid.
In general I've found that the further south you go in continental Europe, the better the produce is (and in general it's better than what I'd see domestically outside of California/NY). Sure, you can find excellent produce in the Bay Area, but you'll often pay dearly for it.
East Asia is on a whole other level though.
1: Tapas 24 in BCN deserves a shout out for being one of the worst restaurant experiences I've had (food and service-wise) so far this millennium. How Abellan got a Michelin star I'll never know.
Barcelona has some of the best cheap fine dining options, on the other hand. And the quality of meats and things you'd put in a sandwich available in the supermarket is much better for my tastes; I say this as a weekend tripper to Barcelona, I live in London.
I don't eat sandwiches from stores, last time I did that was 12 years ago. A sandwich is a last, desperate choice. I get my lunch from one of the stalls at a street food market, between £6 and £7.50 every day.
London is good for Asian food; some of my co-workers who have Asian wives don't think much of the food in Paris for this reason. I, on the other hand, don't care much for Asian food apart from occasional Korean fried chicken as a fast food snack.
When comparing things like sandwiches, I think it's important to normalise for sandwich eating as part of the culture.
Barcelona has some of the best cheap fine dining options, on the other hand. And the quality of meats and things you'd put in a sandwich available in the supermarket is much better for my tastes; I say this as a weekend tripper to Barcelona, I live in London.
That makes some sense as most of the population in Barcelona seemed to me to be British expats. By and large I had a tough time finding anything much better than okay (and certainly anything Catalan is well hidden). In contrast I found Madrid to be particularly easy to find good food (and generally less expensive than anything in BCN).
I don't eat sandwiches from stores, last time I did that was 12 years ago. A sandwich is a last, desperate choice. I get my lunch from one of the stalls at a street food market, between £6 and £7.50 every day.
At that price point you've got plenty of options, even in San Francisco or New York. The Yank Sing to-go location downtown is definitely one of the better value propositions.
London is good for Asian food; some of my co-workers who have Asian wives don't think much of the food in Paris for this reason.
The last time I tried Asian food in London was well over a decade ago, but nothing really stood out. Sure, it was better than the chicken and cheese shu mai I had in Spain (let's face it that sounded like a bad idea as soon as those words left my drunken mouth), but that's a low bar.
When comparing things like sandwiches, I think it's important to normalise for sandwich eating as part of the culture.
Sure. San Francisco trends more towards co-opting burritos than sandwiches, but there's still a definite sandwich culture. What we don't have out here at least is any sort of culture around ready-to-go low effort lunch food. In fact I'd say that whole "slow food" movement hit San Francisco particularly hard. At near/under $10 you can find plenty of things for lunch, but you'll probably have to wait for it to be assembled/cooked.
"Le Crobag" to me seems to be a standard backery + a lot of sugar coating (like actual sugar). Which is probably a well received offering considering they target near exclusively travelers, so people under stress, in need of a quick refresh of their sugar reserves.
If you are looking for really good backery stuff (in Germany), you won't find them at the airport/train station at all, as these are nearly universally only served by large chains, none of them especially known for being above the standard.
Oh I've not tried anything sweet at Le Crobag, just the ready to go sandwiches. The sandwiches were along the lines of a bocadillo/flauto with some veg, cheese, and a bit of meat like you might find in Spain. I much prefer the mini baguette to the pillowy white bread you might find at a train station sandwich in London.
If you are looking for really good backery stuff (in Germany), you won't find them at the airport/train station at all, as these are nearly universally only served by large chains, none of them especially known for being above the standard.
Sure, that's true nearly anywhere though. Relative to train stations in other countries I found Le Crobag sandwiches to be consistently fairly light compared to what I've found in London stations (e.g. really starchy pasties, hamburgers, and other sorts of things that just looked like gut bombs). Pret must have some presence at tube stations, but I haven't see any.
If you’ve eaten at one Pret you’ve eaten at them all, which honestly is big part of why I’ll typically go to one if I need food somewhere I don’t know quickly. As chain coffee shops go they’ve got the best food, even if it is a bit uninspiring.
Coming back to the UK I’ve found their sandwiches (and the similar pre-packaged ones you get in most shops) to be a bit too heavy, especially on the carbs, and I felt I was eating much healthier when I was out in europe (and enjoying much more flavour). Mind, at least with Pret you have some alternatives that are no more expensive, and there’ll almost always be an Itsu near by for a much lighter sushi lunch.
The supermarkets in UK are very poor for good food, and it seems with Brexit approaching, selection is declining by the week. To find good meat, you need to go to a butcher (Ginger Pig is my closest); good cheese, a cheesemonger (La Fromagerie). For good cold meat, a deli. Etc. It's quite labour intensive to get a decent spread of tasty stuff.
I can’t tell you how jealous I am that Ginger Pig are your closest butcher. In a previous life I worked for a company that delivered from them, which meant I got a 20% discount, and it resulted in almost all bacon I eat now coming with a tinge of disappointment. Likewise for Fromagerie, although even with a discount their prices were just a bit too high for everyday purchases.
