french culture chapter 5

french café experience

going to this place is more than just to drink coffee, it is a social and sometime intellectual experience

• the french easily spend several hours there drinking espressos, waiting for friends, and people watching

34,000

there are around ________ cafés in France

1400

there are ______ cafés in Paris alone

90%

around ___ of cafés are run by independent owners but chains like Starbucks (205 coffee shops in France) are multiplying

café les deux magots and café de flore

in saint-germain-des-prés on the left bank in paris, two cafés have been the center of artistic and intellectual life since the end of the 19th century

café les deux magots

around the 1880s, you could meet the young poets Veriane and Rimbaud. in the 1930s, Picasso and Hemmingway passed here regularly

café de flore

at the beginning of the 20th century, Andrés Breton, champion of the surrealist movement, had long discussions with Louis Aragon and Paul Éluard and actually invented the word “surrealist”

literary prize

every year, these 2 cafés award a presitigious__________________

shopping possibilities in the city

• specialty stores: des magasins spécialisés

• open air markets: des marchés en plein air

• small neighborhood food stores: des épiceries

• discounted item stores

service at des épiceries

a grocer knows his customers well and the store atmosphere is family freidnly, but prices are often higher

leader and aldi

discounted item stores

stores on the outskirts of towns

large supermarkets like carrefour, giant casino, leclerc, and champion — which sell everythin

service in large supermarkets

not the same as des épiceries and it is up to the customer to pack their groceries

plastic bags

large supermarkets no longer give __________________ at checkout, customers bring reusable bags

typical french breakfast

simple; normally have bread or croissants spread with butter or jam and drink a latte or hot chocolate from a bowl

lunch

traditionally, this meal is the most important meal of the day

lunch practicies

• not uncommon to come home around noon to eat a hot meal (meat, potatoes, vegetables), and return to work around 2 pm

• you can always eat a sandwich or have lunch at a fast food restaurant if you don’t have time to go home

le goûteau

later in the afternoon, sometimes have this_________, something sweet, like a pastry

7 and 9 pm

dinner is served between ____________

what’s for dinner?

• depending on the region, it’s typically a less filling meal (soup, an omelet or pasta, with a green salad, cheese, yogurt, or fruit)

• there is very often water and bread during the meal and a small coffee

2 to 3 hours

a restaurant dinner can last ____________

aperitif

start off a restaurant dinner with an______ (a glass of alcohol or fruit juice for children)

meal progression of a restaurant dinner

1. starter

2. main course

3. green salad

4. a selection of cheeses

5. dessert

6. coffee

digestive

after the meal, a __________ is soemtimes served — a small glass of alcohol, such as cognac or a liquer

getting the bill

you have to ask for the bill, otherwise the waiter will not bring it

tipping at restaurants

not obligatory, taxes and service are included int he bill

dish of seneegal

le yassa

le yassa origin

originated in senegal from the casamance region (but appreciated everywhere in west africa)

le yassa

dish of red meat, poultry, or fish, marinated overnight in lemon, chili, and onion, then braised or pan-friend and served with rice

dish of the antilles (west indies)

le trempage créole

le trempage créole tradition

traditionally prepared by men and eaten with the fingers

le trempage créole

on a base of cod and hard bread, pieces of avocado and banana in a spicy sauce are added before cooking this dish on large banana leaves`

dish of louisiana

la crawfish étoufée

la crawfish étoufée

cook crawfish tails with onion, celery, and green pepper; this stew is poured over rice, accompaneid by a local spicy sauce like tobasco

crawfish

a crustacean found everywhere in the bayous of lousiana

onion, celery, and green pepper

the holy trinity of cajun cuisine

dish of quebec

la poutine

poutine origin

dish that dates back to the 1950s

poutine

made up of three elements: fries, cheddar cheese, and brown gravy

poutine and quebec

sometimes used as a caricature of quebec’s society

poutine popularity

quebec, the rest of canada, and the US