I watched a show on the travel channel a few nights ago and watched the host who was in Paris praise dishes including brains, boar, wild game and blood sausage.
I want desperately to experience Parisian food but are there some starter dishes anyone could reccomend and where is the best palce to experience them?
Thanks so much for your help. I%26#39;ll try to be brave be gentle!
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I am glad that the host on the TV show was praising dishes like brains, blood sausages etc... Many people I know don%26#39;t like to eat those things but those kinds of things can actually be really delicious, especially tripe and pigs feet. I love it. I know a girl from South America and to her, those things are normal and it%26#39;s no big deal to eat them because in South America, they are delicious and it%26#39;s a part of the culture just like in France.
That said, if you want to start out by eating French food for beginners, try the roasted chicken with French fries. Many Americans I know don%26#39;t drink wine so you can order bottled or regular tap water which is available with your meal.
If you want to become more advanced in eating French food, try the onion soup. It doesn%26#39;t really taste like onions but it tastes like a beef soup and it%26#39;s good. I have a friend who hates onions but I think he would like onion soup. Do you like beans? Try cassoulet. Cassoulet is the best bean dish in the world. I love it. Bon Appetit!
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Maybe it%26#39;s the type of places that I go to but out of what you%26#39;ve listed, blood sausage is the only one that I%26#39;ve sen on menues. Brains, boar and wild game may only be available in the more expensive places, I honestly don%26#39;t know!
You see them all (usually) available in food markets though...
If you want to try new food then everything suggested by the poster before me (can%26#39;t remember who!) is worth a try :)
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I always thought blackpudding was Irish. Does bloodsausage originate in Ireland or France then? Tegan you are always the fountain of knowledge....?
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No one really knows where it comes from actually !
A quote from Homer%26#39;s Odyssey - %26quot;As when a man besides a great fire has filled a sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that and is very eager to get it quickly roasted...%26quot; which is exactly what a blood sausage is :)
You find them all over Europe though and normall each country has a different twist to it. In England an English breakfast wouldn%26#39;t be %26#39;proper%26#39; without black pudding, while you get white in Ireland and red pudding in Scotland.
In France we cann it %26#39;boudin noir%26#39; and is either a first or second course (never in a breakfast!). Blutwurst in Germany, kishka in Poland and ti-hoeh-koé in Taiwan. It%26#39;s easier to say that a LOT of countries have their own form of pig blood in a sausage rather than to continue to list them all :-)
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I knew you d know Tegan! I wondered where you and IrishR were. Thought maybe you were dancing with the green fairy! Hope you have many happy years of married life- could tell you were in a good mood today!
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Outside most restaurants are boards advertising the specialty of the day-most of these are wonderful. I didn%26#39;t think I would like fois gros because I don%26#39;t like liver, but I love the stuff. Snails don%26#39;ts do it for me or brain. My French husband loves them, rabbit too, which I just can%26#39;t eat. There are many dishes that the French are famous for and when you taste them you will understand why. Beef burgundy, crepes, simples baquets with a thin slice of ham, chicken in cream sauce, coq au vin-chicken in wine sauce, onion soup and just steak with frites. I always like all of their vegetables as well.All of these are wonderful in France. I personally don%26#39;t see much boar or wild game on menus. Be sure and have a little menu translator-in the back of most guide books- when you go to make sure you aren%26#39;t ordering something that you won%26#39;t like and I am sure you will enjoy most of what you eat. You can order wine by the glass or a carafe of the house wine to go with your meal. A fun aperitif-kir, which is white wine with a little cassis in it to make it pink, or a kir royale which is made with champagne.
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Some easy French food for beginners, from a recovering vegetarian and a terribly picky eater...
Magret de canard, which is duck breast. Like chicken, only delicious
I%26#39;ll second the previously mentioned cassoulet, beef bourgignon and coq au vin.
Try an omelette, it is not like the ones you get at home and tastes divine.
Salad au chevre chaud, a salad with warmed goats milk cheese on toasts, even kids love this one!
Sole Meunier is sole fried in egg batter, yum and they eat lots of cod (cabillaud) here that is almost always excellent.
These are all cafe/bistro dishes that you will find at neighborhood joints throughout the city.
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there are wonderful composed salads at all the bistros and brasseries- I love %26quot;chevre chaud%26quot; which is warm goat cheese on toast with yummy greens- steak frites is a staple- also roast chicken and frites- try the duck confit- you wil like that- usually comes with mashed potatoes- creme brulee, chocolate mousse, apple tart- crepes crepes crepes- if you are an oyster eater they are very good- sole meuniere- try the soupe de poisson- it%26#39;s a fabulous rich fish and tomato broth served with grated cheese and toasts- along with a wonderful sauce called rouille that you stir in yourself- yum. Give fois gras a try. All those baguette sandwiches you see everywhere are very fresh and yummy. %26quot;jambon%26quot; is ham, %26quot;saucisson%26quot; is salami, sometimes you will see %26quot;poulet%26quot; which is chicken. Pain au chocolate is a croissant with chocolate inside. If you get a sausage or cheese pastry at the patissierie, they will probably ask if you want it %26quot;chaud%26quot;- warmed up- say oui, merci! You do not want andouillette. You do not want pied du cochon. You probably don%26#39;t want tete du veau, either. Boudin Noir is actually quite tasty- but you don%26#39;t have to go there. There is plenty of stuff- you will not starve, mon ami! Bon Vacance!
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My husband goes mad on the fish soup in France he cant get enough of it! And for me its the creme brulee!
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Oh thank you! What a relief, brains and bunnies are not the only dishes found on the menu! I%26#39;ve had many of the dishes you suggest and look forward to trying them again in Paris.
Now if I could just remember how someone told me to ask for no mushrooms in my food. Does anyone know? I am so allergic.
I am so excited we leave in about 6 weeks. Thanks for putting up with my questions.
