Forest

When I’m eating a meal with friends here (French or expat) I always say ‘bon app’ or bon appétit because I personally think it’s nice to acknowledge we’re all here to enjoy a nice meal together instead of just immediately chomping away at our food. No one has ever said it was inappropriate or looked at me funny. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m all about doing your best to observe the culture & customs of new places you want to experience. But, I wonder, sometimes, if visitors to France get too worried about archaic/obscure social etiquette that they should be following that they might forget to relax and have a nice meal. I think, if you’re not dining in an extremely formal setting with diplomats or I don’t know what, common sense and a normal level of politeness would apply. But, then again, maybe I’m completely uncouth because I also don’t see anything wrong with simply asking a fellow diner discretely what the appropriate thing might be in a situation I’m uncertain about. My personal feeling is that if someone thinks it’s impolite to have a sincere curiosity to learn more about and adapt to a culture I wasn’t born into and raised on, well, then that’s not very classy on their part. (this is not to say that I’m not finding this discussion interesting or pertinent – just that I think it’s a small part of a wide range of enjoying dining in France) As for the bathroom thing – I had actually read this post a while ago and not thought much about it until I went to dinner at a French friend’s a few nights ago. There were nine of us and after about three hours of drinking and eating I noticed that not one person had gotten up to go to the toilettes. I don’t know if it was coincidence or they were intentionally doing it. But, I myself did because I can’t think of a worse way to spoil a nice meal eating and drinking with friends than sitting there holding it for hours. I also can’t understand how peeing in someone’s driveway could be more polite than using someone’s toilet. [Edited to fix wording error, kindly caught by Ptipois!]

This is one of those questions that you think you know and then when someone asks, you start wondering (now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing cordon bleu things in restaurants, so hmmmm) But, yes, I think the term cordon bleu is used to refer to ham & cheese things in France. I see chicken cordon blues in the freezer section at the grocery store here. And, doing a quick google search for recipes with "cordon bleu" in the title in French comes up with various recipes for things filled with cheese and ham. So, I'd say yes...but hopefully someone else will come along and confirm.

which I guess, now that I think about it is more of a chicken noodle soup, than stew...but anyway there's probably a whole thread on that somewhere here!

Wow...so many good ideas! (Feedbag: I'm sure there are probably just as many variations on the chicken stew, but again with chicken, I go pretty basic - cut up whole chicken, boil it, remove meat and add to homemade chicken stock with vegies and seasonings and noodles at the end! And, with chicken stew, I do find it makes a world of difference using homemade vs. store bought stock!) Happy stewing!

Hi Wendy! Yep, my market is on rue Levis and was open last year on the 25th, which was a Sunday...sunday is its fixed day to be open, so I imagine it will be this year on the 24th. for more detailed info on markets, see the list on the Mairie de Paris site at: http://www.v1.paris.fr/en/Living/markets/default.ASP Enjoy your Christmas in Paris!

bgut1 - thanks for the info! I'll just be there a few days, and over Christmas (so obviously eating in mostly), but just looking for ideas if I want to get out and about for a bit! I'll keep an eye out for Tiffany's Basil T's, Bistro44 or Slowly!

I will be in Toms River next week for a couple of days visiting my brother and looking for more of the same - looking for more in the cheap and cheerful catagory than haute cuisine. Any recommendations? Thanks!

tsquare - I'm not sure it would ruin the experience at all - but I don't think it would be as good. I haven't gone several times like lots of others on this post, so they could probably have more input (and I think it's not always easy to judge a restaurant by one visit). But.... I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, but to be honost, I've had better food. I started with crab cakes, followed with venison and then cheese plate. crab cakes were WOW, venison good and the cheese plate good but not great. I tasted my friends' plates and they were yummy. But for me the fun part was definitely just going with the flow on whatever wines and drinks phred was bringing. Also, I just really liked the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that I didn't feel rushed or pressed. We went for the 5pm arrival, an hour of cocktails and then dinner. Two out of three of my courses came with 2 different glasses of wine. And, for the one that didn't, I ended up asking phred a question about the wine he had served with it and he brought me a different one to try with it as well. He did bring an entirely unasked for 2nd course for one of my friends (indicating that he thought it would be a better 2nd course and then he brought out her other one later). So, needless to say, after cocktails, dinner and after-dinner drinks, I stumbled out of there in a bit of a hazy blur. Phred was a bit difficult to read, but I had been warned before going, so it didn't bother me and he was fine when I started asking a few questions. although I do agree with previous posters, that I think it's kind of nuts to be so masochistic as to enjoy rude service...I didn't find him rude, just not overly warm and fuzzy, so I was okay with it. Have fun if you go! (and let us know us if you took your friend and how they felt about it from the perspective of a non-drinker)

Again, thanks to all for the great tips! Ann_T: that photo makes my mouth water! highchef: thanks for the info on the tomatoes - I think you've hit the nail on the head. Irish stew is a great choice, too. A friend's mother was over from Ireland last month and made a nice big Irish stew for lunch - she used both beef and lamb (don't know if that's typical or not, but it was good!) Shalmanese: I got a good laugh out of your asterisked admission! Another question - anyone have a preference on the size of the meat chunks for the stew? I think I make my smaller than the norm: 3/4" or so - I have the idea that smaller chunks mean there's more seperate pieces of meat to get a little in every biteful. But, that's just me! Any thoughts?

Hi Della! All good here...nice to see you! Will definitely throw in some wine. On the sugar - I feel a bit stupid because I'm adding it because that what it said to do in some recipe I read a long time ago, but I really don't know. I always kind of had some thought in the back of my mind that it had something to do with either the meat or the tomatoes in there. Hopefully some nice EGer will educate me a bit more on that so I'm not putting something in my stew without knowing why! Jackel10 - thanks for the thread and all the tips!! I forgot to mention that I do put carrots in, too! Maison Rustique: sounds good...but since Sunday is the only time I cook a meal for both of us, I'm afraid the roomie would have the same reaction as he did to the cinnamon & ginger in the chicken stew, so I'll save that one when I'm making it for just me. Today was the last Sunday stew for a few weeks because I'm off on vacation Thursday, but I'll try the suggestions and report back with the results in the new year!

Well, I guess I'd say, in general, yes, because I know what's going into and on the burger - more control over the quality of the ingrediants. But, I'm sure you could load one up with enough cheese and mayo and other goodies that it would be even less healthy than a fastfood one.

Every Sunday I make a stew for the roomie and myself. Kev likes his stew basic (like wasn’t crazy about it when I added cinnamon and ginger to the chicken stew). I almost always make a very basic beef stew. So, after making beef stew about 50 times, it’s kind of losing its excitement. (cooking-wise, not eating-wise) So, now I’m becoming obsessed with perfecting it. Here are some of the things I’m doing to achieve a better stew (it’s meat, potatoes, carrots, peas, onion): To make it tender, I’m sautéing the meat cubes over high heat to sear the outside but not cook the inside. I don’t bring it to a boil, but let it simmer for a long time and throw a spoonful of vinegar in. To thicken it I’m dredging the meat in flour before sautéing. To flavor it, I’m adding thyme, sugar, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. I used to sauté the veggies in butter before adding them, but I stopped doing this because I couldn’t taste enough of a difference for the extra work. (anyone disagree? I could add the step back if anyone thinks it’s worth it) I read somewhere about deglazing the pot after cooking the meat – but not sure why I would do that. I’m cooking the meat in the same pot I’m making the stew in, so the good stuff on the bottom of the pan ends up in the stew. Any reason I should deglaze? I’m using boxed tomatoe puree. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that as I imagine the collective sigh of EGers around the world shaking their heads and wondering why I’m not making my own! Maybe that’s a step worth adding? If anyone has any good tips for making better beef stew, please let me know – thanks!

Wendy is right. Save your money! LEdlund is right too about the “memories of your youth” Dicks is an institution, but for me, it’s way more about the nostalgia (the Broadway one brings back memories, but I was a lower queen anne dicks girl). But, seriously, as many good memories as it might bring back, I would never eat there. For some reason, nearly twenty years ago, I decided the burgers there were gross and I never ate there again. (but I still do think fondly of Dicks – but I think everyone that does spent a good part of their teenage years there when we were too young to know better)

Felice - thanks for the input. I just did a quick search and a review that looks like it's newer on lefooding.com says the lunch menu is now 14 Euro, for soup, plat du jour, glass of wine & coffee...so doesn't look like it's gone up much. I'll definitely give it a try!

Here's something I just stumbled across on Chezpim.com: (in her post on Paris pas cher) L’Avant Gout 26 rue Bobilot 75013 M:Place d'Italie (Auguste Blanqui exit) (01 53 80 24 00) My friend Mr.Naughton is in love with the incredible 12.50€ lunch menu here. You get an entree, plat, a glass of wine, and coffee, all included for the price, the bargain of Paris in my opinion. And a response from another poster: -L'avant Gout - I went for the lunch special. Without a doubt it's the best lunch special I've had in Paris. I started with a chestnut soup, followed with a pot au feu, had my glass of wine and finished with my coffee. The levels of service and the freshness of the ingredients were a pleasure had for low price of 12.50 euros. I have to admit, I haven't tried L'avant Gout. But, going by some of the other places I have tried in this same post, I assume the l'avant gout has the same price/quality ratio. (input anyone that has tried it?) John - maybe I'm supposed to put this in the thread or compendium? I left it here for the time being since it was specifically about lunch. And, tjdnewyork - I just reread your post and it looks like you actually left the lovely city of Paris, yesterday, so i'm a bit late on this post. Hopefully you'll be back and can try or someone else can let me know their opinion on L'avant gout and I'll try it for lunch!

Okay, for anyone interested in where to find the benoit serres in Paris, I called Benoit Serres and the only place they sell the liqueur de violette is Fauchon. But, I'm still curious about the Elie Arnaud Denoix if anyone knows anything about it (quality? taste? etc?) Thanks!

Hi all, I've been having a really hard time finding Benoit Serres in Paris. I have, however, found one bottle of Elie Arnaud Denoix - anyone know how that stacks up against the Benoit Serres? thanks!

thanks for the info beccaboo! I was doing searches specifically on garbanzo/chick peas and toxins, so I was probably getting more limited results. I'll stay away from the raw kidney bean sprouts!

Thanks for the info! scott123: I'm not trying to remove all sugar from my diet - just trying to eat less refined sugar & when i looked at the recipes for pickled beets it seemed like they called for a lot of sugar. Maybe I'll try the splenda thing. kellycolorado: good tip. Coincidentally, I happen to be making some kimchi right now! (first time, so hopefully it turns out okay!) If successful, maybe I'll try my beets with it.

Thanks for the info & suggestions, everyone! lperry - I'm thinking I would prefer them raw, too. I was thinking they would be a nice big sprout that could add some good crunch to a salad. I did some more looking online and the only things I can come up with re: the health concerns of uncooked sprouts is a few references to the FDA suggesting sprouts as a source of EColi and a few references to "toxins" in uncooked sprouts. However, none of the toxin references seemed to come from really reliable sites. So, I'm just going to give it a go and make sure I wash them well and rinse them often before eating cacao: let me know how the bread turns out. I remember quite some time ago, my dad telling me he had been making bread from his fresh sprouts and it was really tasty. I'm not much of a bread maker, so I didn't note the recipe at the time. But, I do like sprouts, so it might be worth a try, if it's good!

Have to agree with Dan Ryan - I think the dark 'n' stormy is better than a moscow mule. The rum over the vodka really makes a difference!

Anyone have any good information on sprouting chickpeas? I've looked online and got some different advice. I'm assuming that you just soak for awhile, put in a sprouter and then rinse from time to time. If anyone knows any other instructions please let me know. I seem to remember reading somewhere that you should not eat raw chickpea sprouts - that they should be cooked first. (but I can't remember/find where I saw that). Anyone know if it's true? Finally, if anyone has any good recipes that called for chickpea sprouts, I'd love to see them. Thanks!

Good point! Thanks for the info. I've been making a lot of stock lately and your Thanksgiving one sounds great!

in answer the boiling question, it will kill the germs before you refreeze it. The only problem you might have with that, is it's nice to simmer rather than boil stock. (although i remember reading somewhere recently that you don't have to actually bring something to a full boil to make it hot enough to kill the little bad things - that's something you'd probably want to doublecheck) To concentrate the flavor, you could always just boil it down so it's more concentrated and make a new batch of stock with your other chicken. (of course you would have less stock then) I'm sure there's an entire stock thread on here somewhere, which probably has lots of info. happy stock-making!

Hi All, Is it possible to pickle beets without sugar or fake sugar substitutes? If so, any suggestions/recipes? Can you use some kind of fruit juice as a substitute? Thanks!