Cafe Rouge

chillidoggy

mike_l said:

chillidoggy said:

I mention this because the missus used to work in a reasonably posh motel,

In Margate? Posh?

Don't be daft, it was in in Dover.

mike_l

chillidoggy said:

mike_l said:

chillidoggy said:

I mention this because the missus used to work in a reasonably posh motel,

In Margate? Posh?

Don't be daft, it was in in Dover.

Dover? Posh? Next you'll be saying Peterborough is upmarket

chillidoggy

Well, it's posher than Margate, and so is Peterborough.

hungrymark

Richardj said:

^ There has been a lot of scandal over here when it was discovered that a lot of expensive 'chef' restaurants were found to be using bought in pre prepared food.  Main dishes, not just veggies etc. French food is definitely overrated and really not worth the bother.

Nah, French food is the best in the world when it's done right, i.e. by some old, fat French woman. The fact that you live in Gascony of all places and you still hold that opinion suggests to me that you just don't like the food, rather than that it's badly cooked or conceived. Like living in Italy and not liking starch - it's never going to turn out well.

chillidoggy

Italian food is all tomato, cheese and pasta. Totally over rated in my view. And over priced.

randomhandclaps

I haven't been near a Café Rouge since watching The Killing Fields.  What they did to the people of Cambodia is unforgivable, then they've got the cheek to try and flog me crap coffee with a grin of their evil faces.  Bastarwerds.

hungrymark

chillidoggy said:

Italian food is all tomato, cheese and pasta. Totally over rated in my view. And over priced.

I've not been overly impressed by the Italian food that I've tried, even in Italy. It's nice enough, just doesn't excite me.

holnrew

Not enough cuisines use enough garlic.

Richardj

hungrymark said:

Richardj said:

^ There has been a lot of scandal over here when it was discovered that a lot of expensive 'chef' restaurants were found to be using bought in pre prepared food.  Main dishes, not just veggies etc. French food is definitely overrated and really not worth the bother.

Nah, French food is the best in the world when it's done right, i.e. by some old, fat French woman. The fact that you live in Gascony of all places and you still hold that opinion suggests to me that you just don't like the food, rather than that it's badly cooked or conceived. Like living in Italy and not liking starch - it's never going to turn out well.

Sorry, the romantic notion is that it's excellent, but it is really based on poverty and subsistence.  Beyond confit, cassoulet and potato dauphinois the rest just isn't special.  I do like the experience of dining here, the food just doesn't live up to the hype.  

Evilmags

Some pretty bizzare views on French food. During the several years I worked at a French bank and ate expensed food in Paris at least twice a month, it was all utterly excellent, as is the stuff I eat most years in the Alps. Must be going to the wrong restaurants.

Drew_TNBD

I didn't think much of the French take on Japanese food. We went to one cafe, and I had a Katsu curry. Very difficult to fuck up, but somehow they managed it. Was utterly terrible. Like chip pan oil with McDonalds chicken nuggets in it, covered in some Kwik Save mustard.

Blergh.

hungrymark

Richardj said:

hungrymark said:

Richardj said:

^ There has been a lot of scandal over here when it was discovered that a lot of expensive 'chef' restaurants were found to be using bought in pre prepared food.  Main dishes, not just veggies etc. French food is definitely overrated and really not worth the bother.

Nah, French food is the best in the world when it's done right, i.e. by some old, fat French woman. The fact that you live in Gascony of all places and you still hold that opinion suggests to me that you just don't like the food, rather than that it's badly cooked or conceived. Like living in Italy and not liking starch - it's never going to turn out well.

Sorry, the romantic notion is that it's excellent, but it is really based on poverty and subsistence.  Beyond confit, cassoulet and potato dauphinois the rest just isn't special.  I do like the experience of dining here, the food just doesn't live up to the hype.  

No, my own personal experience is that it is often excellent. What always impresses me about a lot of cooking in France is precisely that a lot of it is based on poverty and subsistence, yet is still delicious. To use the label 'French cooking' isn't particularly useful either, given that it's really a series of very different regional styles. Norman cookery is so different to Provencal, for example, that to lump them in together as 'the rest' just seems absurd. What they all seem to do though, when they're done well, is to make a small number of ingredients taste like so much more. If I were you I'd do some serious culinary exploring (and I don't mean that patronisingly; that's literally just what I would do if I lived in Gascony).

hungrymark

Drew_fx said:

I didn't think much of the French take on Japanese food. We went to one cafe, and I had a Katsu curry. Very difficult to fuck up, but somehow they managed it. Was utterly terrible. Like chip pan oil with McDonalds chicken nuggets in it, covered in some Kwik Save mustard.

Blergh.

Yeah, I've never had a good curry in France either. I don't think they tend to do too well when they cook other people's food. I suspect that they probably just can't be bothered.

chillidoggy

If I had to pick my favourite cuisine, it would be French.

And there's just something about French omelettes made by French barmen, in French bars. 

Richardj

hungrymark said:

Richardj said:

hungrymark said:

Richardj said:

^ There has been a lot of scandal over here when it was discovered that a lot of expensive 'chef' restaurants were found to be using bought in pre prepared food.  Main dishes, not just veggies etc. French food is definitely overrated and really not worth the bother.

Nah, French food is the best in the world when it's done right, i.e. by some old, fat French woman. The fact that you live in Gascony of all places and you still hold that opinion suggests to me that you just don't like the food, rather than that it's badly cooked or conceived. Like living in Italy and not liking starch - it's never going to turn out well.

Sorry, the romantic notion is that it's excellent, but it is really based on poverty and subsistence.  Beyond confit, cassoulet and potato dauphinois the rest just isn't special.  I do like the experience of dining here, the food just doesn't live up to the hype.  

No, my own personal experience is that it is often excellent. What always impresses me about a lot of cooking in France is precisely that a lot of it is based on poverty and subsistence, yet is still delicious. To use the label 'French cooking' isn't particularly useful either, given that it's really a series of very different regional styles. Norman cookery is so different to Provencal, for example, that to lump them in together as 'the rest' just seems absurd. What they all seem to do though, when they're done well, is to make a small number of ingredients taste like so much more. If I were you I'd do some serious culinary exploring (and I don't mean that patronisingly; that's literally just what I would do if I lived in Gascony).

I fully appreciate what you say, and if you go out for fine dining (and want to pay the price!) it it truly a joy.  The point I was getting at was the 'normal' food you find in thousands of everyday restaurants is OK.  The French government actually subsidizes restaurants at lunchtimes to ensure that everyone can get a decent meal at least once a day. Maybe why lunchtime here is at least two hours!   Having been visiting for over twenty five years and lived here for four, as well as my partner being half French, I have experienced a fair amount of food and dining.  If you wanted to promote British food would you go to a Michelin starred restaurant or a pub/restaurant?  My point is that there is a difference in everyday and special and most of what you find is everyday.

hungrymark

Well OK, but that's a different point than the one you appeared to be making before, which seemed to be about specific dishes (cassoulet, confit and dauphinoise, compared to 'the rest') rather than establishments.

Anyhow, given the change of tack, I'd still say that the quality of the 'everyday' is generally higher than you'd expect from an equivalently-priced UK venue. Whether it's subsidised or not is immaterial to me - it's just nice that you can get good food at a reasonable price. I love getting a simple but well-cooked three-course meal for twelve euros or whatever and have never found it particularly hard to find. Then again, maybe I have lower expectations than you or have just been repeatedly very lucky over the years!

The breadth and variety of tasty food that the French have invented in the different regions is what French cooking is about to me and why I love it. There's so much to enjoy.

holnrew

Yeah, but it's all a bit pretentious isn't it?

*evil laugh*

hungrymark

The provincial cooking isn't.

I know you're being facetious but I'll defend French cuisine to the death. TO THE DEATH!

guitarfishbay

Drew_fx said:

I didn't think much of the French take on Japanese food. We went to one cafe, and I had a Katsu curry. Very difficult to fuck up, but somehow they managed it. Was utterly terrible. Like chip pan oil with McDonalds chicken nuggets in it, covered in some Kwik Save mustard.

Blergh.

I went to Tampopo in the Trafford centre a few weeks ago and my Katsu curry tasted like chip shop curry sauce and soggy KFC.

Mind you I can't find a good chippy near me either which is a far bigger crime.

Jalapeno

French cooking is good, if a tad fussy.

French motorway food on the other hand is dire, as bad as the UK was 30yrs ago. 

Still shudder at the burger I had served up - still frozen.