Yeah, it's not really my style, but I wanted to try it at least once, especially since I don't know if I'll ever get to visit France.
However, my GF and I have agreed that if we're still hungry after dinner , we're heading to Gray's Papaya where we're going to buy their famous hot dogs. (Used to be 2 hot dogs for $1, but they increased the price recently)
i've been to 2 different french "cafe's"
horseshit
i'll never go back
i swear i wanted to stop at McDonalds immediately afterwards
it's like eating chinese without the 2 hour satisfaction
btw, both places i went to were 20+ per plate
horseshit
i'll never go back
i swear i wanted to stop at McDonalds immediately afterwards
it's like eating chinese without the 2 hour satisfaction
btw, both places i went to were 20+ per plate
French cuisine is one of the finest in the world. Believe me, if you were a billionaire, you'd hire a French cook. Kind of (just kind of) why eating sushi is expensive. French chefs OWN japanese sushi chefs though.
that's a matter of preference, I don't really care for the few french dishes I've tried. I don't really care for authentic italian that much either.
Fritzo
Lifer
- Jan 3, 2001
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French cooking is VERY labor intensive, complicated, and it uses expensive ingredients. For instance, a spice like saffron is used frequently and it's OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive (we're talking $100's per pound). Vanilla beans can run $7-$8 EACH and they'll use one per dessert. Some dishes can take up to an hour to prepare and have to be babied the whole way through. I'm not a big fan of French food- you're going to end up getting a pizza afterwards 
They're into small portiions of super fattening foods. Buttter, heavy cream, lard- all staples and found in nearly everything. The basis of their food is "each whatever you want in moderation." Trust me- it'll be moderated
They're into small portiions of super fattening foods. Buttter, heavy cream, lard- all staples and found in nearly everything. The basis of their food is "each whatever you want in moderation." Trust me- it'll be moderated Well, I went to the French restaurant last night. The food was excellent, and surprisingly, pretty filling. I did a 6 course tasting (4 meals, 2 desserts). I had quail, veal and venison for the first time and all three were pretty good. I think this is the first time I had halibut as well, although I preferred the bass my gf had. (There were 8 choices on the menu, and me and my girlfriend each chose 4 diff't ones, so we could sample all 8). Dinner plus wine, tax and gratuity came out to $250 though. :shocked: I did enjoy the experience, although I doubt I'll be going again any time soon.
Originally posted by: Fritzo
French cooking is VERY labor intensive, complicated, and it uses expensive ingredients. For instance, a spice like saffron is used frequently and it's OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive (we're talking $100's per pound). Vanilla beans can run $7-$8 EACH and they'll use one per dessert. Some dishes can take up to an hour to prepare and have to be babied the whole way through. I'm not a big fan of French food- you're going to end up getting a pizza afterwards
Maybe you're talking about French restaurants in the States, but French cuisine in general is not about small portions though they aren't prone to the massive portions which seem to be de rigueur for Fat America. French provincial food is often just as heavy and well-portioned as traditional German food, though it depends on the season (winter being heavier, obviously). Look up cassoulet for instance -- an awesome heavy stew from the SW region of France.
It does tend to be very labor intensive. I made a Provencal meat dish for a dinner party that took about four hours of non-stop work from beginning to end (including a couple side dishes and dessert, but still). It was absolutely fantastic but a royal pain in the butt to make. Fortunately, I enjoy cooking, and I had a nice bottle of wine open on the counter.
Do NOT judge French food by what you get in the States, except at particular, authentic restaurants which are uncommon. That's like saying that true Italian food is from The Olive Garden or Chinese from Manchu Wok. Paris is great for a variety of excellent restaurants (if anyone is going, I have a great recommendation on Ile-Ste-Louis), but you really need to venture into the countryside for the best experiences. Unfortunately, you need to speak French in most cases, but the crepes in Normandie, for example, are absolutely amazing even at the lowliest little restaurant.
My favorite cuisine from France is Provencal so I'll address it briefly. It's essentially Mediterranean -- olive oil, olives, garlic, broad-leaf parsley, herbs, onions, tomatoes, etc. There's plenty of resemblence to southern Italian, Greek, and Spanish cooking. It tends to be lighter than the rest of French cooking such as Burgundy (Bourgogne), reknowned for coq au vin and some heavy beef dishes, and the area itself is a little different from the rest of France -- they have a very particular accent and some unique habits (favorite liquor is pastis, which is strongly licorice flavored and mixed with water).
French cuisine is not considered among the world's best for nothing. Learn to make it yourself, and you'll start to appreciate why.
:roll:
Your post should be entitled, "Teenaged myopia". Grow up a little, date an actual woman or two, maybe even get married, get degree(s) and a job, travel, etc. Cooking and eating are part of living an adult life, but I don't expect you understand that yet.
I bet most of the people that bitch about French cooking have never had actual French-style cooking, only bastardized dishes. French cuisine is excellent, though as was mentionned earlier it is very rich. I should mention that the small portions are usually a staple of Nouvelle Cuisine, which tends to put a great emphasis on appearance over portion size. It's not uncommon to see an elaborately decorated plate with a very small portion of the dish on it.
I guess my perspective is different from many Americans since I live in Montreal where there are quite a few bistro's and other French restaurants, many of which consistently get great reviews. That being said, the style is very different from American cooking and the food generally is much more labour intensive and top-end cuisine uses expendive ingredieants, so it tends to be quite a spendy affair for someone who's not accustomed to it.
Also, IMHO French chefs make the best deserts in the world.
I guess my perspective is different from many Americans since I live in Montreal where there are quite a few bistro's and other French restaurants, many of which consistently get great reviews. That being said, the style is very different from American cooking and the food generally is much more labour intensive and top-end cuisine uses expendive ingredieants, so it tends to be quite a spendy affair for someone who's not accustomed to it.
Also, IMHO French chefs make the best deserts in the world.
How many French would cringe at the notion that Quebecois restaurants represent TRUE French cuisine?
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