As I ordered a second coffee and croissant before work the other day, the man behind the bar chuckled and said "You are a gourmand." I nodded and then added. "Yes. I'm an American."
Gluttony is still a sin in France, which still has enough traces of its Catholic background to feel SLIGHTLY bad for excess. But while excess is sinful, pleasure is not. The idea of food as pleasurable is the predominant façon de penser even today. Back home, I've discovered that we have a love/hate relationship with food. As Americans, we don't take time to eat one good meal, but frequently gorge and snack all day. The quality of food is questionable and it's just easier to stop at McDonald's (Don't get me wrong, they have "McDo" in France, but it's a rare treat.) We think we need to eat less (which we do) but at the same time we don't always change the things we eat. We're just eating less of the same bad stuff. This is not me being preachy. Trust me. I stopped for French Fries yesterday and am currently drinking a regular coke with a lemon wedge. I will probably eat more bread, veggies and cheese than any normal person should. But if it's one thing I appreciate, it's GOOD food and the French seem to say "That's perfectly fine. Just do it within certain parameters."
We usually get an hour and a half for lunch here. Time enough to enjoy your meal and to let it settle. There are various coffee breaks through the day. And dinners can go for hours. You eat, you rest, you get up and walk back to your apartment. It's all very ritualistic. Enjoy your three meals. But enjoy them at a certain time and a certain pace. It does seem to curb hunger and combined with all the walking and hiking I have lost about 9 pounds since I got here.
Food is one of the few pleasures you can partake of as a mere mortal. I wake in the morning and usually my first excited thought is "What am I going to eat today?" Genetically, I have been fortunate that I have remained under 120 pounds most of my life, so food, to me, wasn't a cause for concern or worry. Before I got to college, I remained very bland in my food choices and while some people experiment sexually or with illegal psychotropic substances, I started dabbling in food. Food from different ethnicities, food with different ingredients, foods I have never thought about trying. Coming to France was the culmination of years of dabbling with gastronomy. And oh God, am I addicted..
What I love most about dinner time in France is that eating alone is NOT the societal taboo it is in the US. I suppose that is because in France eating is like having an orgasm, equally pleasurable in a group, in a pair, or by yourself. Everyone has to eat and just because you aren't with someone doesn't mean you should be deprived of the pleasure. I frequently find that most restaurants here are affordable and accommodating. Dinner is late, usually most restaurants don't open until at least 7 and that's because they are preparing the dishes for the evening. Everything is fresh and cooked that day. Creams and merangues are whipped, usually in the morning. Meat is marinated on site.
If you aren't feeling the resident snails and beef dishes (But you should try them, at LEAST once), you can rest assured that France is close enough to other countries to have a RICH immigrant resource. You can get Korean, Asian, Spanish, Indian, German, North African, Greek, Italian, and other types of food at reasonable prices. I'm a big fan of traiteus Asiatiques, little restaurants run by Asian families that sort of serve as a carry out. You can get small dishes of the Chinese/Japanese/Korean variety for take-out OR for dine in. It's perfect if you want to take your chinese home for leftovers, as most are served cold and then are either reheated at home or on site. And if you can't afford the train fare to Spain for Paella, nine times out of ten you can find FRESHLY made Paella at a small specialty store that will scratch the itch.
So if you find yourself wondering aimlessly around France, try your best to avoid McDonalds. I know. I know. It's familiar. And YES. I am very guilty about this. (Especially in Marseille, because I was SO broke). But Enjoy your one (or three) glasses of wine and savor every sweet bite, because, let's face it...you're not going to be eating like this at home.
Santé!
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