I asked for one — a "doggie bag" — day before yesterday, in that little restaurant in Vailly-sur-Sauldre, near Sancerre. No problem... The woman who was waiting on us didn't flinch. I just asked her for « un petit morceau de papier d'aluminium dans lequel je pourrais emballer nos restes de viande, que mon chien trouvera délicieux. »
She brought me back the meat trimmings we had left on our plates, neatly wrapped up in foil and ready to make the trip home. Callie really enjoyed eating some of them this morning. Doggie bags seem to be a big thing in Paris these days, but they are not the French restaurant custom. Most of the time, it's not the dog that profits from what's in the doggie bag, but in this case it certainly was.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the steaks that we ate for lunch. The faux filet (sirloin) steaks were served with lightly sauteed potatoes and some mixed vegetables (green beans, flageolet beans, cubed turnips and carrots, etc.), which seemed to me to be made with fresh produce, not frozen or canned. The steaks were tender but there was some gristle and fat on one edge of each. We cut that off for the dog. By the time I thought about taking a picture, I had already eaten most of what was on the plate.
I did get a photo of the first course, which was a pâté de canard en croûte — a duck pâté cooked in a pastry shell, above. It was served with some lettuce leaves dressed with vinaigrette, and it was tasty.
Dessert was either cheese or one of a list of six or seven sweets that the server recited for us. We didn't choose cheese, because we were planning to have cheese for dinner. CHM ordered a sort of cake made with pears and caramel, and I had an île flottante, or floating island, which is sweet meringue (beaten egg whites) floating on a dish of egg custard (crème anglaise) flavored with caramel, both shown in the photo above. I thought my eggy dessert was excellent.
Can you read French backwards? I spent a minute figuring out what was written on this little sign in the window, as we waited for our food to come out. Some of the words are cut off by a vertical blind slat in the photo.
Nous ne servons de repas (?) is the backwards French I think. The Îles flottantes look wonderful as does the pate.
ReplyDeleteI guess there is no name for doggie bag, like "sac de chien?"
The word "pas" is hidden behind a blind slat, so it says "nous ne servons pas de repas..." but where. No, there's no French expression for doggie bag yet, as far as I know.
Delete...en terrasse ?
ReplyDeletequel " vrai " restaurant !
merci de l'avoir magnifié.
I'd say, Bingo, Janet!
DeleteBravo !
DeleteThanks, Janet. I guess the smokers would like a terrasse. I love the presentation of the paté. I wish American restaurants would use a bit of dressed salad instead of nothing or parsley.
ReplyDeleteMe too, E. The woman at the restaurant, however, asked us pointedly if we wanted the salad with our pâté, which made me think that a lot of people don't eat it and it gets wasted. CHM and I both ate all of it, of course.
DeleteI'm glad to hear the doggy bag concept is catching on in France. We have been too timid to ask for one, but now maybe we will. Looks like you had a splendid lunch... I'm sure Callie did too.
ReplyDeleteThe other day was not the first time I've asked for a doggie bag in France. Ten years ago, my mother came to visit from North Carolina. We went to a local restaurant that had one of those salad/hors-d'oeuvre bars where you could serve yourself as much as you wanted. We both ate several salads, and my mother wasn't really hungry any more. I asked the server if she could wrap up the duck leg my mother had ordered and take it home for later. No problem.
DeleteWell who could deny a sweet mother from NC?
Deleteto eat in a restaurant is a pleasure. Where is the pleasure to eat the food at home ? Un sac de chien s'il vous plait !
ReplyDeleteI take great pleasure in eating many kinds of food at home!
DeleteOh oh oh oh oh! Lovely meal!
ReplyDeleteI wish I hadn't forgotten to take a photo of the main course... Yesterday we went to a restaurant in Loches for lunch and I forgot to take a picture of the first course. It's hard to remember the camera when you are involved in interesting conversation.
Delete