Much has been written about French food, from the classic “French women don’t get fat” mystery to haute cuisine drool-worthy cookbooks.
Indeed, French cuisine has a long and rich history, and French certainly love eating, drinking, shopping for food and talking about it. But tourists may be shocked to see locals don’t always eat fancy stuff.
Markets. French actually go to the market, not just to buy meat, fruits and veggies but also to buy deli food, including world cuisine specialties. Even Saint Michel’s tiny weekly market around the church features “Asian food”, i.e. a third-generation Vietnamese selling spring rolls and riz cantonais (fried rice). I noticed that Indian food is getting popular, as well as delicacies from the French Islands, such as accras de morue (breaded cod).
French seem to be discovering a few American staple treats, such as bagels, donuts and muffins, now available in many bakeries (and invariably more expensive than your basic butter croissant). This is fairly new in Nantes—when I was a kid, the only “American” treats we had were brownies. There are also many burger joints, all claiming to be “100% French” and fancier than McDonalds. They are certainly more expensive!
Sandwiches, panini (toasted sandwiches), kebabs and “américains” (half a baguette filled with burger patties, fries and mayonnaise) and always popular. Sorry, no one has foie gras for lunch.
French supermarkets are also interesting: they invariably feature a huge “wine and alcohol” section, and one or two aisles are dedicated to dairy products such as yogurts and crèmes and cheese. Oh, and the milk is not refrigerated.
Finally, you’d be surprised by the numbers of bars in Nantes. I think there is one in every block, at least!
You can see the complete set of pictures taken in France on Flickr.
Great to see inside a French supermarkets in a vey housewife making comparisons kind of way! French women don’t get fat do they?!
Yes, they do. Oh they do… I would know, I’m French! 😆
Beurk UHT milk! I can’t believe most French families drink that, fresh milk tastes much better!
I don’t drink milk, so I really can tell. But I find UHT milk more convenient, for sure!
I love these food posts. Can’t say putting a burger patty on a baguette makes it American, ha ha.
Arghhhh Yogourts… ! When I go to Metro or Loblaws, I miss the numerous flavors, styles and tastes that we can find in France. And Danette… I never found something like this in Canada 😉 I tried Jello but wasn’t really convinced ! Anyway, thanks for sharing your supermarket adventures ! 🙂
You should try “Snack Pack”, I find it tastes like Mont Blanc. It’s better than nothing! Believe it or not, there are more kinds of yogourt than when I first came here, ten years ago.