You know what I am having a hell of a time finding here in Lyon? A good hot sauce. Really!
I mean, is it too much to ask to have a little heat in your food? Sure, I know that the French have refined palates, and that they prefer their food to be on the creamy, fatty side with gentle overtones of soothing flavor. But this is supposed to be the gastronomical capital of France. WHERE'S MY HOT SAUCE!?!
Don't get me wrong. Just about every grocery store has red Tabasco (some even have the milder green blend), so at least there is that. But here is the thing about Tabasco: It is like a light beer, Miller Lite for example. It's passable and good for when you got nothing better around, but you can have as much of it as you want and it still won't screw you up. Tabasco is safe. Tabasco is for the masses.
Thus far, I have only been able to find two (2!!!) other hot sauces. The first that I found (even before I found Tabasco, which is usually in a completely different section), is Louisiana Hot Sauce, and that's only the Original flavor. This one is OK. It has mild heat, but little to no flavor.
Next I found Grace Hot Pepper Sauce, a Product of Jamaica. This one is a bit hotter (the label lies and says "very hot/tres piquant") but, still, no flavor.
Of course, their are also Asian pepper sauces you can find at any Asian store, but they are different, you know? Their favor doesn't really lend itself to meals like tacos and other southern foods as much as they work well with eastern cuisines.
I don't know if there is no market for hot sauces here, or if they only import hot, yet unflavored hot sauces because the French only want "Hot" sauces.
Verily, woe is me...
Oh, and I got a call from my new employer, and they moved up my start date from February 11th to next Tuesday. Woohoo!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I never tried that, but I know I don't like it.
Really, most of you would be surprised to learn that, at one time in my life, I was one of the pickiest eaters. Now look at me, I eat stuff many of you have never heard of! I'm not sure when my love of food fully blossomed, but I think I do have to credit my old room mate Garen Gaston, and my friend Ian Miller, for introducing me to new cuisines that began my love affair with food.
So what is the food like in France? Well, in some ways it is not much different. They still have McDonalds, and it is about the same. To be honest, we haven't eaten much "French" food since we have been here. Being more situated to the center of the known world, France (and Europe) seem to have a lot more international cuisines all over the place. So what have we eaten...
Asian cuisines
There is a lot of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian restaurants. Since France tried to 'colonize' a lot of Southeast Asia, immigrants from that region have also relocated to France, and have brought their cuisines along as well. Interestingly, many of our friends have also remarked that most Chinese restaurants are actually run by Vietnamese. Hmmm...
We are lucky to have two such restaurants nearby, each only about a block or two away. One is Vietnamese and is pretty good, the other is Cambodian (with some Thai influences) and that is also very good.
Kebabs
Kebab shops are all over the place here. basically, kebab = gyro, but this is the Turkish version and is spiced a bit differently. They are still damn good, if not healthy. There is one right down the street that I have partaken of a couple of times. Since Erika doesn't regularly eat lamb (or whatever the meat actually is), she usually goes for a chicken sandwich, although some restaurants spice their chicken with something that gives her an allergic reaction. =(
Raclette
Raclette is kind of like fondue, in that you spend more time socializing rather than eating. Basically, you have a bowl of boiled potatoes. then there is the machine where you have a cute little dish that you put cheese and deli meats on, and stick it under a heater to melt the cheese and warm the meats. Then, when it is ready, you pull the dish out and pour it on your potato. Very tasty, but very, very, filling.
Mussels
Although we have made mussels at home a couple of times, we have also had them at restaurants. The first time was at Leffe, a bar/restaurant run by the makers of Leffe beer. This was in a bit of a touristy area and, while the mussels weren't great, they were just average.
However, last night we went to a place called Palais de la Biere (basically, Palace of Beer). This place serves a plate of either mussels or sausage, and has a lot of excellent beers. The mussels were spectacular, and beer was awesome! Erika had the Saison Dupont, and I had La Trappe Quadruple. Awesome!
Bouchon
We haven't had this yet, but this is known as the traditional Lyonnais cuisine/restaurant. Technically, 'bouchon' means 'cork' as in wine bottle cork. Although this type of cuisine has nothing to with corks (or, at least, not anymore than anything else). From what I understand, it is very meat-centric, and most of the meals comprise of the parts that normally don't get used. It is also supposed to be very fatty.
Aside from these, we have also had some tasty meals for dinner at friends' houses. Some of these meals are regional, and I couldn't tell you what they are to save my life. But one thing is for certain, food is definitely very important here. Looks like I have come to the right place!
So what is the food like in France? Well, in some ways it is not much different. They still have McDonalds, and it is about the same. To be honest, we haven't eaten much "French" food since we have been here. Being more situated to the center of the known world, France (and Europe) seem to have a lot more international cuisines all over the place. So what have we eaten...
Asian cuisines
There is a lot of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian restaurants. Since France tried to 'colonize' a lot of Southeast Asia, immigrants from that region have also relocated to France, and have brought their cuisines along as well. Interestingly, many of our friends have also remarked that most Chinese restaurants are actually run by Vietnamese. Hmmm...
We are lucky to have two such restaurants nearby, each only about a block or two away. One is Vietnamese and is pretty good, the other is Cambodian (with some Thai influences) and that is also very good.
Kebabs
Kebab shops are all over the place here. basically, kebab = gyro, but this is the Turkish version and is spiced a bit differently. They are still damn good, if not healthy. There is one right down the street that I have partaken of a couple of times. Since Erika doesn't regularly eat lamb (or whatever the meat actually is), she usually goes for a chicken sandwich, although some restaurants spice their chicken with something that gives her an allergic reaction. =(
Raclette
Raclette is kind of like fondue, in that you spend more time socializing rather than eating. Basically, you have a bowl of boiled potatoes. then there is the machine where you have a cute little dish that you put cheese and deli meats on, and stick it under a heater to melt the cheese and warm the meats. Then, when it is ready, you pull the dish out and pour it on your potato. Very tasty, but very, very, filling.
Mussels
Although we have made mussels at home a couple of times, we have also had them at restaurants. The first time was at Leffe, a bar/restaurant run by the makers of Leffe beer. This was in a bit of a touristy area and, while the mussels weren't great, they were just average.
However, last night we went to a place called Palais de la Biere (basically, Palace of Beer). This place serves a plate of either mussels or sausage, and has a lot of excellent beers. The mussels were spectacular, and beer was awesome! Erika had the Saison Dupont, and I had La Trappe Quadruple. Awesome!
Bouchon
We haven't had this yet, but this is known as the traditional Lyonnais cuisine/restaurant. Technically, 'bouchon' means 'cork' as in wine bottle cork. Although this type of cuisine has nothing to with corks (or, at least, not anymore than anything else). From what I understand, it is very meat-centric, and most of the meals comprise of the parts that normally don't get used. It is also supposed to be very fatty.
Aside from these, we have also had some tasty meals for dinner at friends' houses. Some of these meals are regional, and I couldn't tell you what they are to save my life. But one thing is for certain, food is definitely very important here. Looks like I have come to the right place!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
This is the worst blog ever.
Holy cow! It has been a month since my last update. Boy, am I lazy!
Not surprisingly, I do have quite a bit to talk about so, in the interest of brevity, I will split them up over the next couple of days.
WORK
When I last left you, I found out that I got the job teaching conversational English to business people. On the 6th of January I went in to sign the work contract... and that is it. It turns out I don't start my training until February 11th. I was supposed to go in on the 12th of January for a meet-and-greet with the employees of the company, but that was postponed because the other new employee doesn't have her Carte de Sejour (residence card) yet, so she couldn't sign her contract. So, now I am waiting on that as well.
HOME
We are still working on getting settled in. There is still some furniture and light fixtures we need to pick up, as well as a washing machine, and some more kitchen cookware. Other than that, its pretty nice. We are getting a new (used) entertainment center from a friend and, once that arrives, the current wire-shelving entertainment center will move into the sejour (living room) to be used as a pantry and other storage. Wall decorations will go up once that is settled.
HOLIDAYS
The holidays were blessedly relaxed for us. We talked the talk about going somewhere for or after Christmas but, once it came down to it, we stayed home and relaxed. On Christmas day we went and saw Avatar in 3D. It is a fun movie, and visually stunning, but the plot is so cliche and generic, I can't understand how James Cameron actually thinks he has created a story for the ages. Oh well... Erika had problems with the 3D glasses fitting over her regular glasses, so it wasn't as cool for her. =(
For New Year's Eve we were invited by our friend Patricia to a small house party. We ate raclette and drank lots of wine. People danced. One guy drank so much that he passed out at around 1am, only to wake up refreshed and ready to go again at 3am, when everyone else was winding down. We got home around 4-4:30am, and the kids upstairs still had the music blaring for their party. We kindly asked them to turn it down, but when it was still going at 6:30am, I went up there, knocked on the door and, when one of the guys answered it, I walked right in and turned the sound off of his stereo. Ha!
On New Year's Day, we watched a downloaded copy of the Champs Sports Bowl (go BUCKY!) and Erika and I made a meal of fried scallops, sausages, and escargot. Oh, and we drank lots of mimosas.
Tomorrow's subject: FOOD!!!
Not surprisingly, I do have quite a bit to talk about so, in the interest of brevity, I will split them up over the next couple of days.
WORK
When I last left you, I found out that I got the job teaching conversational English to business people. On the 6th of January I went in to sign the work contract... and that is it. It turns out I don't start my training until February 11th. I was supposed to go in on the 12th of January for a meet-and-greet with the employees of the company, but that was postponed because the other new employee doesn't have her Carte de Sejour (residence card) yet, so she couldn't sign her contract. So, now I am waiting on that as well.
HOME
We are still working on getting settled in. There is still some furniture and light fixtures we need to pick up, as well as a washing machine, and some more kitchen cookware. Other than that, its pretty nice. We are getting a new (used) entertainment center from a friend and, once that arrives, the current wire-shelving entertainment center will move into the sejour (living room) to be used as a pantry and other storage. Wall decorations will go up once that is settled.
HOLIDAYS
The holidays were blessedly relaxed for us. We talked the talk about going somewhere for or after Christmas but, once it came down to it, we stayed home and relaxed. On Christmas day we went and saw Avatar in 3D. It is a fun movie, and visually stunning, but the plot is so cliche and generic, I can't understand how James Cameron actually thinks he has created a story for the ages. Oh well... Erika had problems with the 3D glasses fitting over her regular glasses, so it wasn't as cool for her. =(
For New Year's Eve we were invited by our friend Patricia to a small house party. We ate raclette and drank lots of wine. People danced. One guy drank so much that he passed out at around 1am, only to wake up refreshed and ready to go again at 3am, when everyone else was winding down. We got home around 4-4:30am, and the kids upstairs still had the music blaring for their party. We kindly asked them to turn it down, but when it was still going at 6:30am, I went up there, knocked on the door and, when one of the guys answered it, I walked right in and turned the sound off of his stereo. Ha!
On New Year's Day, we watched a downloaded copy of the Champs Sports Bowl (go BUCKY!) and Erika and I made a meal of fried scallops, sausages, and escargot. Oh, and we drank lots of mimosas.
Tomorrow's subject: FOOD!!!
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