Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The local beer, which costs about €5 at a restaurant, is cheaper on tap (
une pression;
oon pres-yohn) than in the bottle (
bouteille;
boo-teh-ee). France's best beer is Alsatian;
try Kronenbourg or the heavier Pelfort (one of your author's favorites).
Une panaché
(oon
pah-nah-shay) is a tasty French shandy (beer and lemon soda).
Un Monaco
is a red drink
made with beer, grenadine, and lemonade.
Regional Specialty Drinks:
For a refreshing before-dinner drink, order a
kir
(pro-
nounced “keer”)—a thumb's level of
crème de cassis
(black currant liqueur) topped with
white wine. If you like brandy, try a
marc
(regional brandy, e.g.,
marc de Bourgogne
) or
an Armagnac, cognac's cheaper twin brother (which I prefer).
Pastis,
the standard south-
ern France aperitif, is a sweet anise (licorice) drink that comes on the rocks with a glass of
water. Cut it to taste with lots of water.
Soft Drinks:
For a fun, bright, nonalcoholic drink of 7-Up with mint syrup, order
un
diabolo menthe
(uhn dee-ah-boh-loh mahnt). For 7-Up with fruit syrup, order
un diabolo
grenadine
(think Shirley Temple). Kids love the local orange drink,
Orangina,
a carbon-
ated orange juice with pulp and without caffeine. They also like the flavored syrups mixed
with bottled water (
sirops à l'eau;
see-roh ah loh). In France
limonade
(lee-moh-nahd) is
Sprite or 7-Up.
Ordering Beverages:
Be clear when ordering drinks—you can easily pay €8 for an
oversized Coke and€12forasupersized beeratsome cafés. Whenyouorderadrink,state
the size in centiliters (don't say “small,” “medium,” or “large,” because the waiter might
bring a bigger drink than you want). For something small, ask for 25
centilitres
(vant-sank
sahn-tee-lee-truh
;
about 8 ounces); for a medium drink, order 33 cl (trahnte-twah; about
12 ounces—a normal can of soda); a large is 50 cl (san-kahnt; about 16 ounces); and a
super-size is one liter (lee-truh; about a quart—which is more than I would ever order in
France). The ice cubes melted after the last Yankee tour group left.
General styles of French cooking include
haute cuisine
(classic, elaborately prepared,
multi-course meals);
cuisine bourgeoise
(the finest-quality home cooking);
cuisine des
provinces
(traditional dishes ofspecific regions); and
nouvelle cuisine
(afocusonsmaller
portions and closer attention to the texture and color of the ingredients). Sauces are
a huge part of French cooking. In the early 20th century, the legendary French chef
Auguste Escoffier identified five French “mother sauces” from which all others are de-
rived:
béchamel
(milk-based white sauce),
espagnole
(veal-based brown sauce),
velouté
(stock-based white sauce),
hollandaise
(egg yolk-based white sauce), and
tomate
(tomato-
based red sauce).
