French Cuisine

Twenty-eight years ago I took a trip, as a gift from my late and wonderful Grandma Sadie, to Paris as part of the French Club from high school. It was an impressionable trip, and one that I still remember. There were 5 of us, two boys, two girls, and our chaperon Karen O'Malia. By this point in my life I had 2 years of French language in high school, and felt confident I could manage in the country. The first two days was a real shock because language immersion is very different than learning the language. The most difficult use of the language I had to master was ordering food or I was going to starve. I was a lot smaller then, and starving was a very real possibility.

I also remember our teacher/chaperon telling us that the Parisians do not eat beef the way we do in the states. In fact, in the states, beef is not the same thing as in France. In France, the French eat beef either tar-tar (raw with plenty of spices), or at most rare. When we were told this as teenagers, I was rather disgusted. My mother makes an awesome brisket, my grandmother made awesome roast beef. And in many cases we typically ate beef medium at the minimum and even well done. So our teacher told us to order the beef we requested "bein qui" or well done. We were warned that the French would look at us as if we had just produced a loud fart in public. To order beef in France well done was considered outrageous. So we were cautious and did do this once or twice. I do remember the meal being somewhat almost edible; that surprised me.

French cuisine is probably considered some of the best in the world. Their pastries, such as the one pictured above, are considered the absolute best, and generally speaking, chefs in America attempt to reproduce this cuisine. Fortunately our chefs I think are better than the French, because they also include cooking styles from all over the world; consistent with the melding pot of American culture, so too is the food in America. That means you can find some really disgusting stuff as we did in Lurray, where even the flies wouldn't touch the food, to the food available in some of the finest restaurants in America such as the Trellis in Williamsburg (now owned by the Blue Talon). French food is not just food, it's art. So when you ask for well done, you are basically telling the chefs they suck at cooking.

This time, after having lived another 28 years from the last visit, I finally understand why "well done" in Paris is offensive. The beef and meats in general in France, have no marble content. That means that the fat content of the beef is nil; almost non-existent. My grandma Sadie used to tell me that the best cut of beef, aside from filet mignon, is one that has a significant content of fat included with the beef. As the beef cooks, the fat drains into the meat and the holes left behind tend to make the meat tender, or so I was told. It seems to make sense and a reason why I prefer rib-eye steaks over strip steaks; rib-eye has a higher fat content. But in France, there is no fat. So if you cook the beef the same way, you end up with something that cannot be cut by a knife or chewed by the mouth. It's worse than chewing leather, and if your not careful, you could lose teeth in the process.

Which brings me to the conclusion. French cuisine is considered the best food unless you apply your styles of preparing it. When in France, follow some of the rules about their foods, and you'll eat very well. I have stayed away from beef here and will continue to do so; I'd rather not purchase something that belongs on a football field instead of a plate. Instead, I've been eating very little pork, some chicken and lots of fish. My brother asked if I was growing gills yet. Nope, not yet. But I can say that the meals prepared at my brothers place both by him and especially my sister-in-law. We have dined on Bar (most likely bass according to my siblings) darod, tuna, and sole. The fish is most fresh because it is purchased from a local market, pictured here, that is open on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Since fresh fish is only fresh for a few days, we ate chicken on Tuesday. Accompanied by pasta dishes, olives and tomato plates, a salad here and there, and some of the sweetest fruits you can imagine. The French cuisine is more than likely the best because they use the freshest ingredients and they work with what is available.