The main thing that inspired me over there was the street food.
Excellent cooked chickens for only 5 Euros,(the smell in the streets was so welcoming that I miss it already) but what I was most surprised to find on the streets was something I had only read about but not eaten.
Fried Ravioli.
These come in various varieties with various textures.
Amazingly enough, the only one to avoid is any of the Asian style vegetarian ones if you have a European palette.
The strong flavours to substitute the meat are way too strong. I unfortunately bought a few of them along with others , assuming they would be a bit of a tongue cleanser...wrong!!!
I found them nearly inedible, much like red braised tofu for me, which I think was actually the overwhelming flavour.


I soooo miss the bread in the mornings too. English bread making has a long way to go, we make a loaf last as long as possible. The French think nothing of going to the bakers twice a day.
One could enthuse forever.....fresh girroles for sale on the streets, oysters, artichokes, these items are reserved for Fortnums or the best Waitrose`s over here at a high price.

Looked at a lot of properties, we may well move, my ancestors call me!!

I know what you mean about morning fresh baked croissants and brioches Mart - the smell alone every morning is a joy.

France, Italy, Germany all provided excellent food experiences for me - so, actually, did both Morocco and Tunisia though still it's foreign cuisines - I simply don't like North African cuisine (tagine, couscous, etc).

Tremendous Japanese food in Rabat, great Chinese in Carthage, lovely Thai in Marrakech and Casablanca and fabulous fresh French crispy bread and coffee in Tunisia at La Marsa.

Interesting you mention Chinese food there.
Paris is fantastic for it, very unexpected indeed.
My only German experience of it was so bad, I declined it again every time after.

There was one place Mrs Mart took me too, near Notredame which was excellent and they really appreciated my knowledge of their food and I gave the respect back to it , gratefully.
They hammered out a whole 8 oz sirloin for me and served it raw on a plate with a little dressing.(wafer thin) Amazing bravado, and not on the menu.
I`m not that good at French, but as one does, you soon get to know what will make you understood and what will not.
All the waiters and the chef seemed to sweat and watched me eat it, which was rather intimidating, I think for us all!

Notredame is another subject. Beautiful as it is, whoever gave permission for a ghastly branch of "Subway" to be in view of it surely needs putting in the Bastille.
Too many Mcdonalds in the whole area also. Grrrr.

(`scuse me if I`ve posted some of this before, so much to talk about..Moi???surely not..!)

I went to a book shop and the owner was playing a mournful tune and looking sad.
I said "Ah ! Jaques Brel! "Amsterdam!"

He said.

"Yes, sometimes it is neccesary....!"

Loving it, but not Mcdonalds or Subway....

Do check out my pics of the views of Notre Dame from La Tour D'Argent (where I was planning to take you and Mrs Mart).

McDonalds - I remember when they built a branch near my friends in Reims years ago and I lectured the teenagers for 20 mins about NOT patronising it.
I think they thought I was mad.

I Hate Coca Cola...

Last time I was in London was in Summer 2001. I went for a lengthy walk and ended up crossing Tower Bridge and along to the Tower of London. Words fail to express my anger and disgust then to discover right across the street from the entrance to the Tower was a Mac f***ing Donalds. It genuinely ruined my day. That should NEVER had been allowed to happen. Worse it seemed no matter where I was in London, a MacDonalds was always to be found within 5 minutes. It destroys all sense of history... you see or visit something historical and next thing you see is the evil yellow M... Grrrr...

The way those Subways have been multiplying is disturbing. Are they in partnership with MacDonalds and Tesco? Sure feels like it. Very depressing. They're all in my district and the amount of businesses that have shut down since is alarming. They get "planning permission", all of us get together and petition against it but of course money talks and residents views mean nothing so we get these hateful corporates dumped upon us whether we want it or not.

I hate Coca Cola too.

Can`t find La tour Argent photo! Help!!

Meanwhile,a further Subways, tale, I was forced to use the one in Camden, desperate for a coffee. All the "meat balls" etc were still there, probably from the morning, but the coffee machine was off, so I could not get one.
The second I left, the shutter went down and they closed. (only about 10 pm)

Now, I don`t know, but the British obsession with throwing away perfectly decent food,(ok, perfectly not gone off food in this case) kind of tells me that it was all thrown away by the morning and restocked.

The French get so many things right with food, (some wrong of course like all), but when you see a roti chicken on the menu over there, the first thing you do is check the street for the vendor who obviously supplies them. These hard working guys, start roasting them on a Tuesday and seem to still be roasting them on a Saturday , by which time instead of reducing the price, they put it up!
The more food chainstores that appear the less choice we will have in food and local eating anywhere in the world will simply not happen.
We plan to go to Tuscany next year, purely a food discovery trip which I have always wanted to do, I shall scream if the dreaded Mc D`s or Subways are there.

Another thing about Coca Cola in France notably. How the heck have I got a restuarant bill, as I go through my expenses, listing a Coca Cola bill of 14 .20 eur from one lunch by Sacre Cour?(not me, I might add that drank it) Ridiculous.


Fentimans make the best cola , believe me, it really is good. Just don`t touch their Dandelion and Burdock, that stuff is horrible.

Here you go Mart - and the one before...

www.kingofhits.co.uk/component/option,co...id,54/?g2_itemId=226

Ouch! that looks a bit wow!

It did amuse me also that in the smaller eateries in Paris, a side salad seems to me "puh, chuck a whole lettuce on the side" to fill the plate up, much as the English have to fill a plate with horrid chips.(I flatter them by calling them "chips" of course)

I miss it awfully, I have a few bookings then I`m going straight back over.

Today, I am cooking entirely from a French recipe book.
By English standards of cookery books, it`s pretty basic in it`s wording, but does have a lot of ideas that I have not thought of in it.(besides which, it improves my language skills of course)
I`m doing flambed chicken with creme freche with rather a lot of vinegar in the flambe marination. We shall see.
I neglected buying the cognac to put in the recipe as for a start it`s too expensive and with the tall and spotties in the house, the last thing you want to leave lying around is spirits in the kitchen.

What would Jimmy Buffin say? ...(funny you should ask that Mart..)