Hooters of Nottingham Dispatch (with pics!)

You'd figure Hooters would go over big in England. Though they may not admit it, the British have a fondness for Americana, the tackier the better. Even in this soul of pub culture, something called "Texas Embassy" on Embassy Row packs them in after hours with Budweiser beer, strangely cheesed nachos and bumper stickers advertising the Broken Spoke dance hall in Austin, TX.

Yet expansion of the franchise has been halting -- Hooters of Birmingham shut down a couple of years ago, leaving the Nottingham branch's to fly the orange-and-white alone. Entrepreneurial British take note!

The British probably fancy they're being ironic by patronizing Texas Embassy, but don't let them fool you -- for every Sunday Guardian reader there are two perusing the Sun or the Daily Mirror, one of those tabloids featuring a detailed photo essay of a balloon smuggler on page 3.

The girls of Hooters of Nottingham were friendly, but don't expect the same fawning and flattering attention you can expect at an American branch. Visiting the New York City Hooters by myself, I was double-teamed by two attentive young ladies and nabbed a free calendar. "Could I interest you in some pie?" gorgeous Jennie asked, perhaps a bit too sensually than was absolutely necessary. Nottingham was strictly business, with a smile.

Since my first visit I've tortured train schedules in order to disembark in Nottingham, which is actually an under-discovered youthful town with a nice mix of history and modernity (exemplified by the piano bar installed in a medieval cathedral).

And here's a tip: Americans by training may get an extra smile or two, given that tipping is ingrained in our culture, while the Hooters girls are trying to make a service-with-a-smile philosophy work in a service culture that doesn't typically reward such effort. (Bartenders typically aren't tipped in England, and the gradual upward drift of 15-20% tip for waitresses hasn't caught wind over there).

At the top are pics from my late September visit, with a surprise cameo from Sarah, now a part-time Hooters girl. I also had the novel experience of watching a Mississippi State football game on replay on the North American Football Network (trust me, the Mississippi State football Bulldogs hardly get TV time even in the States, for reasons well deserved).