Hey guys! This week we’re going to be talking about French food! And to start off with, we’re going to cover French restaurants. First, we’ll cover French etiquette since this is huge in France! Then I’ll talk about my experience at a French-inspired restaurant here in San Diego. Sorry, for anyone who thought I might talk about the French restaurants I went to in France. I was fifteen at the time, and it was ten years ago so my memory isn’t the greatest.
I’ve mentioned this multiple times but I’ll say it again, the French care about etiquette! They don’t eat a lot of snacks so every meal is a family-style sit down meal. According to French culture, it’s not okay to:
- Order just an appetizer
- Split a meal with someone else (that’s an insult to the chef who proportioned it for one person)
- Ask for a substitution/replacement (unless you have a food allergy, the chef will feel insulted)
- Ask for something that’s not on the table (if there’s no butter/salt/pepper/etc. then it’s because the dish, in the eyes of the chef, is so tasty that it doesn’t need it… you want to tell the chef otherwise?)
- Don’t expect bread to be served as an appetizer (often bread is served to absorb sauces served with your meal)
- Don’t ask the waiter to run separate tabs (French waiters aren’t like American waiters, from the U.S., they don’t have the saying “the customer is always right” and lean more towards the customer is always wrong)
- Don’t leave a tip (the tip is always included in the bill so if you leave more money, you just look like a snob)
- Don’t ask for leftovers (the French look down on “doggie bags”)
- Don’t place hands or elbows on the table
- Don’t Instagram your food
Things to do:
- Feel free to ask for tap water in a carafe (they’ll try to push bottle on you but don’t feel obliged to drink bottled water)
- Have wine with your meal (but don’t feel obliged to)
- To order coffee whenever you want (the French drink it with breakfast, lunch and dinner)
- Use your utensils more than your hands (there’s very few finger food)
- Dress up a bit (in general the French dress up more than us here in the U.S. – especially us here in CA)
- Pay attention to the time you eat (most French people believe lunch should be between 12-2pm and dinner is 8-10pm)
- If you’re a non-French speaker in France: don’t assume your waiter speaks English/Spanish/etc. (always ask)
- Accept the aperitif (pre-dinner drink) even if you want it to be non-alcoholic
- Feel free to make reservations (recommended for small or fancy establishments)
First of all, my husband and I are pescatarians so anything that we buy/eat are going to be vegetarian (or fish). However, if there is anything that I convert from a meat dish to a vegetarian dish, I’ll include both recipes. We went to this place in Mission Valley called Mimi’s Café which is a really cute French-inspired restaurant.
For lunch, I had coffee and split a shrimp pasta dish with my husband. It was AMAZING! And then we each had our own bowl of tomato basil soup. Once again, so good!!! And we got a basket of bread for the table (DELICIOUS!). I loved everything about that meal!
But then we had the birthday crêpe cake… and it was just wrong. Everything about it was wrong. It tasted like sugary toothpaste on sponge cake. And probably was more American (U.S.) than French but the dish we ordered wasn’t available so they brought us that instead. DO GO HERE, but for dessert, stick to the muffins. I didn’t have one cause this month’s is pineapple and I’m allergic to pineapple but they smelled good.
We loved Mimi’s so much that we went back for breakfast! This time my husband had the coffee while I sipped on a mimosa. Yummmmmmmm! And we both had the egg, spinach and cheese crêpes with potatoes. Two thumbs up!
Here are some recipes close to what we ate:
French bread: http://steamykitchen.com/75-baking-the-perfect-loaf-of-french-bread.html
Tomato basil soup: http://mimiscafeathome.blogspot.com/2013/03/tomato-basil-soup.html
Shrimp Pasta (for this recipe: replace the last three ingredients with fresh basil, broccoli and tomatoes): http://damndelicious.net/2015/03/13/garlic-butter-shrimp-pasta/
Birthday crêpe cake (for those of you who think you can do better): http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2017/01/birthday-crepe-cake.html
Egg, Spinach and cheese crêpes: http://mimiscafeathome.blogspot.com/2016/02/crepes-florentine.html
Mango mimosa: http://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/recipes/a3640/mango-mimosa-recipe-clv0511/
Bon appétit!
P.S. This might be weird but I’m really impressed whenever a restaurant has a decent bathroom, and the bathrooms at Mimi’s Café are really cool!
Hi i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anywhere, when i read this article i
thought i could also make comment due to this sensible post.
Good way of explaining, and good article to take information concerning my presentation topic,
which i am going to convey in college.
I am actually thankful to the holder of this website who has shared this impressive post at
here.
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up plus the rest of the site is really good.
First off I would like to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question which
I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to find out how you center yourself
and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had difficulty clearing my mind in getting my ideas out.
I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just
seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost just
trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints?
Thank you!
I used to be able to find good advice from your blog posts.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
In any case I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed
and I hope you write again very soon!
Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed!
Extremely useful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lot.
I was seeking this particular information for a long time.
Thank you and best of luck.
Hello, I would like to subscribe for this weblog to take most recent updates,
therefore where can i do it please help out.
Great post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic?
I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little
bit further. Appreciate it!
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well
written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back
to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post.
I’ll definitely comeback.
Hi I am so happy I found your website, I really found you
by mistake, while I was researching on Google for something else, Regardless I am
here now and would just like to say thank you for a tremendous post and a all round interesting blog (I also
love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I
will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the awesome
jo.
I believe what you posted was very reasonable.
However, think on this, what if you added a little content?
I am not suggesting your information is not solid,
however suppose you added a headline to possibly get people’s attention? I mean French Restaurants – Bryanna Vs The World is a little vanilla.
You could glance at Yahoo’s front page and see how they
create post headlines to get viewers to open the links.
You might add a video or a picture or two to grab people excited about everything’ve got to
say. In my opinion, it would bring your blog a little livelier.
Hi there would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using?
I’m going to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard
time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
hello!,I like your writing very a lot! proportion we keep up
a correspondence extra approximately your post on AOL?
I need a specialist in this area to unravel my problem.
Maybe that’s you! Looking ahead to see you.
Hello There. I found your weblog the use of msn. That is
a very smartly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and
return to read extra of your helpful info. Thanks for the post.
I will definitely return.
What’s up, yup this article is actually nice and I have learned
lot of things from it about blogging. thanks.
I’ve been browsing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers
made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post.
Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!
I’m not sure exactly why but this website is loading incredibly slow for me.
Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue on my end?
I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
I’m not sure exactly why but this site is loading incredibly slow for me.
Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
After exploring a handful of the blog posts on your website,
I seriously like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be
checking back soon. Please visit my web site too and tell me your opinion.
I am curious to find out what blog system you are using?
I’m having some small security problems with my latest site and I’d like to find something more safeguarded.
Do you have any recommendations?
Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
Thanks
It’s going to be ending of mine day, but before ending I am reading this fantastic article to increase my experience.
Your means of telling everything in this article is really pleasant,
every one can without difficulty understand it, Thanks a lot.
Hi there, I enjoy reading through your article post.
I like to write a little comment to support you.
I’m not sure where you are getting your info, but
good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more
or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent information I was looking for this info for my mission.
Magnificent beat ! I would like to apprentice even as you amend your web site,
how could i subscribe for a weblog website? The account helped me a appropriate deal.
I were a little bit familiar of this your broadcast
provided vibrant clear concept
hey there and thank you for your information – I’ve definitely picked up something new
from right here. I did however expertise several technical
points using this web site, since I experienced to reload the website many times previous
to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK?
Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances times will
sometimes affect your placement in google and can damage your high quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
Well I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for much more of your respective fascinating content.
Ensure that you update this again soon.
What’s up to all, how is all, I think every one is getting more from this site,
and your views are good for new visitors.
It’s an amazing post in favor of all the online users; they will take advantage from it I am sure.
You have made some good points there. I checked on the internet for more information about the issue and found most people will go
along with your views on this site.
obviously like your web site however you have to test the spelling on quite a
few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth nevertheless I
will certainly come back again.
Right here is the right webpage for everyone who wants to find out about this topic.
You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue
with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa).
You certainly put a brand new spin on a topic that has been discussed for a long time.
Wonderful stuff, just excellent!
I will right away grab your rss as I can not find your e-mail
subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Please let
me recognize in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.
Really no matter if someone doesn’t understand afterward
its up to other viewers that they will help, so here it happens.
It’s truly very difficult in this active life to listen news on TV,
thus I only use world wide web for that purpose, and obtain the most up-to-date news.
Great info. Lucky me I recently found your website by accident (stumbleupon).
I have book-marked it for later!
Wonderful article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site.
Keep up the great writing.
I was recommended this web site by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is
written by him as no one else know such detailed about my problem.
You are amazing! Thanks!
Right now it looks like BlogEngine is the best blogging platform out there right now.
(from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Spot on with this write-up, I truly feel this web site needs a
great deal more attention. I’ll probably be back again to
read through more, thanks for the info!
The examination is extremely interesting. If you wish that may be enjoyed bandar slot online, To obtain the playing
regarding respected bandar slot niche websites.
As possible obtain big positive aspects and get selected pay-out odds.
If you wish to see, you may instantly take a look through in this article.
The web link may be a slot machine game game web site this is frequently
employed between Indonesia the gamers.
Touche. Great arguments. Keep up the amazing spirit.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this
website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to know where u got this from.
thank you
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate
to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle
for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about
this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
Hi there every one, here every one is sharing these knowledge, so it’s nice to read this web site, and I used to pay a quick visit
this website everyday.
Excellent way of describing, and good article to obtain facts about my presentation subject matter, which i am going
to present in school.
Thank you for some other wonderful article. Where else may anyone get that kind of info in such a perfect means
of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am on the look for such info.