I may be French, I don't remember having ever eaten escargots... And I still haven't, even if I had dinner last night with someone who had some! It was near the Invalides, in a restaurant called Café de l'Esplanade, where they serve them in a very nice way I must say (notice the "mouillettes", these little slices of bread, that you normally dunk into soft boiled eggs, but that can also be useful to absorb the garlic sauce that comes with escargots - and that make them tasty, I'm told...). Bon appétit (pronounced the Julia Childs' way...).
WOW!!! That is a beautiful picture. The colors are superb!
ReplyDeleteMammie
Oh my god. Or in the argot of today OMIGOD! When we were in France, we wanted to have them every time we sat down to eat. We never found them on the menu. But we had some great ones in Monte Carlo. You must, simply must, try them.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo. Had the best escargot (well...so far) in Paris. Great little place just off of Rue Mouffetard. Great times, even better memories. Eric, why haven't you had any? I can't wait to go back just for the food. I miss Paris.
ReplyDeleteMy message will be brief: Escargots ET mouillettes? Miam-miam! -- Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog, what great photos!
ReplyDeleteI won't eat escargots either, no matter how nicely they are served!
J'aime bien les escargots ! Je les trouve vraiment délicieux, mais c'est peut-être la sauce que j'aime si beaucoup...rempli d'ail...miam !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour of your beautiful city!
ReplyDeleteEeeeew, now there is a delicacy I can't say I like much. I have had them a handful of time in my life, but only once when I was in France.
ReplyDeleteBe prepared, this is a "heavy" dish, so it'll sit on the stomach a little. I'd rather have moules marinieres any day!
I've eaten two, with a ten year gap in between. The last one was about ten years ago. I'm getting worried. Like the 100 year cyclical flood, with the last major one in 1910 I'm feeling a snail coming on... yikes!
ReplyDeleteWhat a soft and alive light when you have candles on a table. So sweat.
ReplyDeleteEating soft boiled eggs with mouillettes would be just fine with me(I'll leave the Escargots to true amators).
That's a beautiful photo Eric, I must try them next time I visit!
ReplyDeleteBernadette
I'm surprised you never tried, Eric!!! You should ;-)
ReplyDelete@Seb: LOL !
Been to France twice... and could never get myself to try it !
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, as Julia Child often said, "Everything is better with butter!" I've never had escargots, but Megan loves them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous, festive photo. A pastel study in linearity - the stripes whirled around the shells, the upright pieces of bread surrounding the piece of silverware, the stems on the wine glasses, the ridges on the candle holder . . .
ReplyDeleteLOVE the lighting, pink/purple glow in this photo. Eric, you are crushing our stereotypes -- a Frenchman who has never eaten snails. And next you'll say you don't wear a beret:)hehehe
ReplyDelete@Trishia LOL! But I do eat baguette!
ReplyDeleteEric in a beret.... :)
ReplyDeleteI have never tried them, mainly because I've never had the opportunity, but I have tried many other "delicacies" that have turned out either ridiculous or delicious. My rule: try it once. Then you can say you don't care for them OR you can find your new favorite food!
I've had them several times, and also frogs' legs and I enjoyed them both.
ReplyDeleteI remember a meal at Le Pied du Cochon in Paris. One of the specialities on the menu was 'La Tentation de Sainte Antoine'. Finding it hard to resist la tentation, what I got was an assembly of pig parts tastefully laid out on the plate consisting of pig ears, snout, tail and trotters. (thankfully no reproachful little piggy eyes) served with bernaise sauce.
As one might expect from an establishment with that name, the trotters were good.
The snout didn't smell, well not anymore, but didn't taste of much either, the nose hairs being slightly off-putting.
Having avoided la tentation to put the ears on my head, I tried to eat them, but gave up as they were, well ... chewy.
I did my best, but had to admit defeat were the best part.
Au Pied de Cochon!
ReplyDeleteGo to the bottom of the class.
Miam. And nicely photographed. Had them when I was there last time, at Brasserie Balzar. We sopped up every bit of that delicious rich garlic sauce (and paid the price later!). Still worth it—you really should try them sometime, Eric.
ReplyDeleteWe call the mouillettes 'soldier's ' where I come from. And for any one of you who have never tried 'snails', pan fry a couple of mushrooms in butter and lots of garlic and I can tell you the taste of them is indistinguishable from 'Les Escargots' and Monica to answer your question, like most things we find less than appetising, it was a 'very hungry person' who first popped a snail into their mouth and savoured the delights of France's national dish! One good thing about them if you accidently leave their cage open and they escape, they're easily caught
ReplyDeleteDermo
@Drummond. See what happens to people who cannot resist temptation?! This reminds me of a story that took place a looooooong time ago of this woman who had this thing for apples and did not resist picking one... We still paying it today ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaving aid that; a pied a cochon remains one of my favorite dishes (OK I'm not too big on ears and tails...)
According to Wikipedia: "Snail shells have been found in archaeological excavations, an indication that snails have been eaten since prehistoric times. A number of archaeological sites around the Mediterranean have been excavated yielding physical evidence of culinary use of several species of snails utilized as escargot. The Romans, in particular, are known to have considered escargot to be an elite food, as noted in the writings of Pliny. The edible species Otala lactea has been recovered from Volubilis in present day Morocco. This archaeological recovery is from an era of Roman Empire occupation of this provincial capital, which site was known to embody a very highly developed ancient civilization since its days as a Phoenician and Carthaginian colony."
ReplyDeleteLove the photo Eric!
Oh Eric, how disappointing to hear that you've never eaten escargots. And yes, the sauce is really what makes them worth it. I think they even sell them at Picard!
ReplyDeleteI love escargots. They are proof that French culture and cuisine are exquisitely the best in the world. Luckily for me, there are several French restaurants here in Los Angeles that prepare them perfectly.
ReplyDelete