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!
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Excellent pieces. Keep posting such kind of information on your site. Im really impressed by your blog.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say superb blog!
At this time it seems like Expression Engine is the preferred blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Right now it looks like WordPress is the best blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
Can I simply say what a relief to find a person that actually understands what they’re discussing online. You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people have to read this and understand this side of the story. It’s surprising you aren’t more popular because you surely have the gift.
Hello there, You have performed an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and individually suggest to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this site.
Aw, this was a really good post. Spending some time and actual effort to create a good article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and don’t manage to get anything done.
Hello there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and in my view suggest to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited from this website.
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Right now it looks like BlogEngine is the preferred blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Greate pieces. Keep writing such kind of info on your site. Im really impressed by it.
Greate pieces. Keep posting such kind of info on your blog. Im really impressed by your blog.
May I just say what a relief to discover somebody that really knows what they’re discussing online. You certainly realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people really need to look at this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you aren’t more popular since you certainly have the gift.
Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to create a really good article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and never manage to get anything done.
Aw, this was an extremely nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to produce a superb article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and don’t seem to get anything done.
Excellent article. Keep writing such kind of info on your blog. Im really impressed by it.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say great blog!
Aw, this was a really nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to make a superb article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and never seem to get anything done.
Excellent post. Keep writing such kind of information on your blog. Im really impressed by your site.
At this time it appears like Movable Type is the preferred blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Can I simply say what a comfort to discover an individual who truly knows what they are discussing on the net. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people must read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you’re not more popular because you certainly have the gift.
Right now it appears like Movable Type is the preferred blogging platform available right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Greate article. Keep posting such kind of information on your site. Im really impressed by your blog.
At this time it seems like BlogEngine is the preferred blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
Excellent article. Keep posting such kind of info on your blog. Im really impressed by your site.
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Aw, this was a really good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to produce a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.
Hey there, You have performed an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.
It’s awesome in favor of me to have a web site, which is beneficial designed for my experience. thanks admin
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
Can I simply just say what a comfort to find a person that truly understands what they’re talking about on the internet. You certainly understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people should read this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you are not more popular given that you certainly have the gift.
Currently it looks like Movable Type is the best blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
May I simply just say what a relief to find a person that genuinely understands what they’re discussing online. You definitely realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. A lot more people ought to read this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you aren’t more popular since you definitely possess the gift.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I will definitely digg it and for my part recommend to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this web site.
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Hey there, You have performed a fantastic job. I’ll definitely digg it and in my opinion suggest to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this site.
Greate post. Keep writing such kind of info on your blog. Im really impressed by it.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this site.
Hey there, You have done an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this website.
Aw, this was an incredibly nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to produce a good article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.
At this time it appears like Drupal is the preferred blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Spending some time and actual effort to generate a superb article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and don’t manage to get anything done.
I got this web page from my friend who shared with me concerning this web page and at the moment this time I am browsing this website and reading very informative articles or reviews at this place.
Excellent post. Keep writing such kind of info on your blog. Im really impressed by your site.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I will certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this website.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say great blog!
Hi there, You’ve performed an excellent job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am sure they will be benefited from this website.
Greate pieces. Keep posting such kind of info on your site. Im really impressed by it.