Totally Frenched Out

From the blogger formerly known as Samdebretagne

Saturday, April 25, 2009

This ain't your average Frenchie BBQ

I am coming out of my food-induced coma for a few minutes in order to share some of the fantastic food we ate chez Juliet last night. There were hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, steak, various sausages, shrimp kebabs, grilled veggies and texas toast:Homemade guacamole, potato salad, BBQ sauce and baked beans:Finished off by an absolutely fantastic 100% home-made banana pudding (minus the spritz cookies) and fresh strawberries and peaches.I have never been that full in my life - thank God Aimee & Julien gave me a ride home, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would've fallen asleep on the RER and ended up who knows where. But you know how it is when everything is just so good, you can't stop eating (contrary to the majority of French BBQ's I've been to, with their over-cooked chicken and burnt saucisses). The Americans really are the masters of the grill.

America: 1
France: 0

19 Comments:

Blogger L said...

And that's a real barbecue as well, not one of those rinky-dinky electric grills the French call barbecues (which is what we have...).

April 25, 2009 at 12:21 PM  
Blogger Ksam said...

Yep, it's straight from Sears!

April 25, 2009 at 12:29 PM  
Blogger J said...

OMG that looks so good even though I don't eat meat anymore (well, not often anyway). We're going to a stupid French BBQ next weekend, and I'm dreading what they're going to make. I'm seriously going to just bring my own soja burgers and sit as far away from the "grill" as possible.

April 25, 2009 at 1:16 PM  
Blogger MilkJam said...

yeah French bbqs don't hold a candle to american ones! if i have to eat one more burnt merguez in a baguette ... gah!

is it corn season in the US yet? i want me a bbq when i go home!!!!

April 25, 2009 at 2:08 PM  
Blogger Evolutionary Revolutionary said...

SERIOUSLY. I was SO happy to have everyone. I think we all overdid it, really - but as was stated above how often do you get REAL BBQing in franceland? They try but...

Hooray for Saturdays to recover!

April 25, 2009 at 2:23 PM  
Blogger Ken Broadhurst said...

Jeez you guys are so chauvinistic.

April 25, 2009 at 3:57 PM  
Blogger Marie said...

She's'SO right !!

April 25, 2009 at 8:41 PM  
Blogger wcs said...

It all looks tasty-good, and I enjoy the French version, too.

But, Texas toast? Puh-leeese.

April 26, 2009 at 8:38 AM  
Blogger au soleil levant said...

I have to clean my keyboard now because I just drooled all over it. Looks like you guys had a great time!

I'm so tired of Frenchies telling me they have "real" BBQs! Since when did a wimpy little sausage and some weird pasta salads with tuna and vinegar count as BBQ? Don't they watch enough American movies and TV to know that isn't true?

April 26, 2009 at 8:56 AM  
Blogger Ken Broadhurst said...

You all should get off your high horses and stop egging each other on.

April 26, 2009 at 9:08 AM  
Blogger MilkJam said...

@ken it's not a high horse (at least not my comment!) it's pure experience, in the years I've been here I've never been invited to a bbq where they had anything other than burnt merguez in a baguette, no side dishes, no other meats, no veggies, nothing! now if i were invited to a good bbq then i would eat my words - no problem!
maybe its just the normans who don't know how to bbq but based on other people's comments i doubt it..!

April 26, 2009 at 9:11 AM  
Blogger wcs said...

You all (or should I say y'all?) need to come to some Loire Valley bbq's. Every one I've been to (at the homes of French people) has been an amazing food fest.

At one, they roasted a whole lamb on a spit over a pit fire. At others there have been more meat varieties than you could eat; making choices is hard!

And salads and side dishes galore, not to mention passed (passed!) appetizers in the garden (and not catered, but home-made, passed by the grandchildren of the hosts; very cool).

And the one thing that makes French bbq's French: abundant local wine!

I occurs to me that maybe it's something about being in wine country vs. not?

April 26, 2009 at 9:19 AM  
Blogger Ksam said...

I don't see what the big deal is Ken - the French do a lot of food better than the Americans, but they don't do ALL foods better, so I don't see why it's such a big deal that we're all saying Americans do great BBQ's. Maybe Sarah's potato salad would've changed your mind. :)

I have to agree with Karina though, I've been to a lot of BBQ's over the years and it's been a lot of burnt merguez and no side dishes. But sounds like you guys have a lot of people who really enjoy cooking around you!

April 26, 2009 at 10:46 AM  
Blogger BlackTravels.com said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

April 26, 2009 at 3:03 PM  
Blogger Madame K said...

*rolling eyes*
Folks, this is how a French BBQ is done in Lorraine:

http://tiny.cc/realfrenchbbq

Sorry you've all been missing out!

p.s. I heart burnt merguez in a baguette.

April 26, 2009 at 3:05 PM  
Blogger Jennifer said...

That all looks delicious. And when I read baked beans I think I drooled a little...

April 26, 2009 at 9:18 PM  
Blogger parlez-vous-kiwi said...

You've convinced me to go and make guacamole. Mmmmm.

April 27, 2009 at 12:46 AM  
Blogger Our Juicy Life said...

WOW, what a BBQ, texas toast too. yummy. we haven't busted out our bbq yet, need it to stop raining here in the aveyron.

April 27, 2009 at 9:07 AM  
Blogger Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

it isn't so much the lauding of the American bbq (which is superb) but the snarky comments about the french versions which I imagine inspired Ken's retort.

Why is it that recognizing something good in one culture is invariably coupled with disparaging another?

April 29, 2009 at 7:58 PM  

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