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January 07, 2006

"French cuisine is quite overrated" -- Thomas Jefferson

I can't seem to find that quote in my dogeared copy of Stuff Jefferson Said, but a new world poll says French food isn't all it's cracked up to be. And even the French agree.

Egon Ronay, former restaurateur and food critic, suggested the conclusions were more about the international view of France than the standard of its food. "I have a suspicion that this survey is influenced by the general downward trend in France's popularity since the war. Why else would people feel so strongly?"

Good question.

Basically, France is a very large amusement park that takes the form of a nation. Like Six Flags, it relies upon the public's good will to keep its customers visiting as well as buying its merchandise (food, wine, romantic comedies in which Gerard Depardieu serves as the improbable love interest). They've squandered much of that good will and now find there's a lot more competition from Busch Gardens and Dorney Park.

When you're in the service sector, as just about all of France is, you just can't afford to be such supercillious douchebags to all of your customers. I have no idea how they got away with it this long.

A-Man, of course.

posted by Ace at 11:08 AM

Comments

I love French food. Mmmm, hummous, couscous, tabouleh...

Posted by: caspera on January 7, 2006 11:18 AM

Snails?!? WTF?

-- Thomas Jefferson, to the Marquis de Lafayette, 1789

Posted by: Dave in Texas on January 7, 2006 11:28 AM

Sorry Venkman, French food has terrified me beyond the capacity for rational thought.

Posted by: Egon on January 7, 2006 12:23 PM

I love French food. Mmmm, hummous, couscous, tabouleh...

Oh, caspera: a sly attempt to remind the oh-so-moral Frenchies of their oh-so-recent colonial past?

Posted by: Ralphie on January 7, 2006 12:38 PM

Of course the difference is, at Six Flags the parking lot attendent won't set your Ford Festiva on fire while the waiter at the overpriced cafe ignores you because you didn't pretend to be Canadian.

Posted by: Asher on January 7, 2006 01:00 PM

I love their toast!

Posted by: BrewFan on January 7, 2006 01:06 PM

... and their fries.

Posted by: Jenny on January 7, 2006 01:15 PM

"I love French food. Mmmm, hummous, couscous, tabouleh...

Oh, caspera: a sly attempt to remind the oh-so-moral Frenchies of their oh-so-recent colonial past?"

I would think it's more a reminder of what their future (within 10 years) will be.

Posted by: max on January 7, 2006 01:21 PM

Wait a second...

David Corn said that Frenchies love Americans now, and we're the haterzzz.

See!

Posted by: chip (not that waiter) on January 7, 2006 02:31 PM

Politics be damned, french food and wine is delicious.

Posted by: SJKevin on January 7, 2006 03:16 PM

I always thought of France as our Epcot

Posted by: Village Idiot on January 7, 2006 03:35 PM

I've been there. Many times.

I've eaten there. ... not quite so many times.

French food is not delicious. For the most part, it's barely edible. Day to day I tended to get by on a diet of tasty pan au chocolat (they can do that bread thing, yeah) and dry salami because the local cuisine is ass. Stopping at a cafe on the Champs d'Elysse my kid brother asked for a hot dog off of the menu. He got a boiled weiner sitting on two flat pieces of crispy bread. The rest of us got drinks.

The price for this fine dining amounted to about $100.

To be fair, the stuff we got at restaurants tended to be quite good, just not any more so than anywhere else. I remember some wild boar stew at a little inn that was hella tasty, but, again the eateries I remember most fondly served, uh, Italian food. Or Mexican.

Posted by: Sortelli on January 7, 2006 06:50 PM

I remember my one trip to France 20 years ago, and I remember absolutely everything being very well prepared and delicious, even a sandwich at bus station! Don't know what's happened since.

But rudeness and the French used to go hand in hand. You expected it. It was even part of the mystique. But now that they've decided to become an enemy nation, screw 'em.

Posted by: Paizuri san on January 7, 2006 07:06 PM

As an 18 yo, I went on a tour of Europe with some highschool classmates. I ordered something from the Parisian menu because I didn't recognize it; it turned out to be a $8 (about 70 francs) plate of crappy franks (no pun, but it would've been cheaper and tastier) and beans. That was a lot of money in 1984 on a kid's travel budget, even considering the great exhange rate. To put the price in perspective, it was equivalent to 5.33% of my rent back then.

Maybe they just looked at me and saw a stupid American kid and smelled my money (and, I wouldn't blame them-- I'm still pretty stupid at times, but at least I hate the no-tipping, stanky French). Needless to say, we starved until we got to Switzerland, of all places.

Posted by: ArmChair in sin on January 7, 2006 07:59 PM

America and France are a lot more alike than either care to admit.

Posted by: ProJecKt2501 on January 8, 2006 01:20 AM

Dont forget the french eat snails they call is ESCARGO

Posted by: spurwing plover on January 8, 2006 02:48 PM

America and France are a lot more alike than either care to admit.

Only in the sense that neither country has a use for John F'n Kerry.
---Thomas Jefferson, 1789 Letter to Marquis de Lafayette

Posted by: Jack M. on January 8, 2006 02:49 PM