Not so Glorious French Cuisine

The Not so Glorious French Cuisine The French are fond of foods most Americans would freak out on, and they’re not bargains. Let’s start with the least freakish: rabbit (lapin) – farm raised and bathed in a Dijon mustard sauce – like chicken say those who’ve tried it. Quail and pigeon (caille and pigeon) wont kill your appetite though it may your budget if you’re tight. Both are often roasted to a golden brown and served with fruit like grapes or figs. A young pigeon by-the-way is squab and it’s often roasted or wrapped in a crusty pie dough. – Warning: the price will be quite high, so be prepared to gasp or faint. Next is smoked beef tongue (Langue de Boeuf). Apart from it’s name, it’s delicious and worth a first try, though squeamish American diners will grimace. Then prized and touted is ris de veau, a favorite of French gourmands but purposely translated in English as “sweetbreads” – to prevent shock or vomiting, and far removed from anything you’d find in a patisserie, but to a French gastronome it’s nothing less than sautéed calf’s thymus gland or pancreas. Another French specialty is pig’s blood sausage (boudin noir), black as soot, and daringly served uncamoflaged by any deceptive artistry, what any normal diner would identify as freshly discharged pig’s turd. (And by that description alone you should be rushing to the nearest restroom with your hand over your mouth holding back a mouthful of vomit and praying no stalls are occupied!) And now for our final entree, la piece de resistance – at least to hardcore gastronomes: a whole calf’s head (tête de veau) garnished with various baby veggies (petites legumes) but nonetheless ghoulishly nightmarish and more likely read in a Stephen King novel. Bon appétit!