Feasters, I went to the most magical place on earth over spring break: Paris, France! It wasn’t just the gorgeous architecture and fashion that made me fall in love, though.
The food in France is to die for. Seriously, anywhere you go, you can find a buttery croque monsieur, a light, flaky croissant, and pretty much any other French delicacy. In today’s column, I’m going to reveal my top three favorite meals in France.
3. Italian
On our first day in Paris, we arrived late in the afternoon. We had to check into our apartment, get cleaned up, etc., so we didn’t get to eat until dinner. My mom made reservations at this quaint, little Italian restaurant, and it was fabulous.
While the menu was small, the food offered was delicious. I started off with their U.S.A mocktail, despite being in France. This drink combined a multitude of fruit juices into a tropical, sweet concoction that knocked the jet lag out of my taste buds in an instant.
For my main course, I ordered the tagliatelle bolognese. I don’t typically enjoy bolognese, as the texture of the minced meat often grosses me out. However, my mother ate it the last time she visited Paris and swore by it. She wasn’t mistaken. The sauce somehow managed to produce a savory, yet sweet, taste, and the meat tasted just like my father’s homemade meatballs. Their texture didn’t bother me, surprisingly. Finally, the noodles were thick yet soft. You could tell they were freshly made. Unlike American noodles, they were actually wide enough to hold the sauce and meat.
Finally, I ordered an apple crumble for dessert. This pastry was decent but definitely put the crumble in apple crumble. It was hard to pick up with my spoon. Despite this setback, I actually really enjoyed this dessert. The apples were sweet and soaked in caramel; the gelato on top was amazing, per usual when you’re in France. As a whole, this entire meal was an 8/10.
2. Burger
Let me preface this by saying that I’m not a huge fan of burgers. I know, a hot take to start off. However, this restaurant made me rethink my opinion completely. It was a classy restaurant that only offered three meal options: steak, grilled chicken, or a smash burger. I don’t love steak, and plain grilled chicken sounded boring, so I went with the burger. Every meal comes with a salad and French fries.
The salad was brought out first. I also don’t love vegetables, but I devoured this first course. The lettuce was fresh, but what really hooked me was the house dressing they doused it in. I don’t know what the dressing is called or what it’s made of, but it tastes like Dijon mustard, vinegar, and a hint of lemon mixed together. That may sound like a gross combination of items, but you have to try it to understand how great it is. It became a big overpowering after a while, especially because some parts were soaked more than others, but, overall, it was great.
When the main course came out, I was stunned. I genuinely didn’t know that you could make a standard burger look fancy, but they managed to do just that. It came out on a silver platter and was lying face-down in some sort of green sauce. Home-made French fries covered the rest of the plate. One bite of this burger with green sauce, and I was in heaven. Once again, the green sauce is a mystery to me, but it tasted like pistachio and pesto put together. The sauce was magical. For once, I ate the entire burger, as well as almost all of the fries. The fries were salted perfectly and tasted great with some green sauce on top. This meal has to be a 10/10.
1. Croque Madame
What can I say? I’m a sucker for a croque madame. I love eggs, cheese, ham, and bread, so put them together, and I couldn’t love it more. I had many croque madames on this trip, and everyone had bechamel sauce that was creamy and delicious, and their eggs were cooked perfectly. The bread wasn’t over-toasted–which can be easy to do–and the ham topped it all off. I love croque madames, so I have to give this a 9/10.
Honestly, I haven’t met a food in France that I don’t like, other than seafood, of course. Their food is fresher and healthier than in America. If I could, I’d bring every single item to the U.S. Life would be a lot better if we incorporated a little bit of French culture into our daily lives, whether that be walking over driving or eating croissants every day. All I know for now is that I’m definitely going back again someday.
