PASTRIES
It was my mission to taste as many French pastries as possible to see if they really have a leg up on Germany. The first morning we had chocolate croissants from two different bakeries. They were smaller than German croissants, overly flaky, and they left a fatty film in my mouth like after you eat a bowl of homemade ice cream. We had some great bear-claw shaped pastries filled with applesauce, raisin swirls, and various other pastry creations. Despite my love of the applesauce filled pastries, I have to give this category to the Germans. The French pastries are too buttery for my taste and they make a huge greasy mess in your lap. I much prefer a pastry with more dough, a higher carb to fat ratio.
Germany: 1 France: 0
BREAD
We must have tasted over a dozen different baguettes since they are served with virtually every meal. They are used to make sandwiches including an inventive hot dog creation where they poke a hole in the baguette, fill it with ketchup, and stuff in a hot dog. Gianna ate 3 or 4 of these during the trip (see photo). A no-mess hot dog, great invention! Quality of the baguettes ranged from fresh, "this is awesome", artisan bread to "this tastes like it came from the bakery at Stop-and-Shop back in Jersey". The French are really in love with their baguettes, but they lose points for variety. I can only eat baguettes so many times before I'm longing for something in a whole wheat or ciabatta. Germany: 2 France: 0
COFFEE
French coffee was outstanding. It was full-flavored, strong, served with just the right portion of milk and sugar cubes. The cappuccinos had a generous amount of "sludge" on top (so called by my father-in-law that has spent his whole career in the sewer business). They were expensive, around €5 per cup, but delicious.
Germany: 2 France: 1
CRÊPES
The crêpes in France were close to the crêpes we have in Germany, but not the same. German crêpes, like their pastry counterparts, have more of a risen flour texture like a super-thin but dense American pancake. French crêpes are perhaps a bit thinner and have an egg texture close to that of a thin omelette. We tried caramel, chocolate with banana, and nutella. This is a toss-up, but I think the point goes to France. They invented the crêpe, so I have to assume the egg texture is more preferred and more traditional than what we get in Frankfurt. Still, I would not turn down any of them!Germany: 2 France: 2
OTHER DESSERTS
French desserts were pretty awesome. This crème de caramel (above left) was outstanding. French chocolate is bitter and rich, which is just to my liking. I had a so-so tiramisu served in a tall cup and Dan had an apple tart that was above average (above right). Overall, the point goes to the French. They make fancy looking desserts that taste great!Germany: 2 France: 3
AND THE REST
We tried a variety of foods in France including muscles with linguini, paper-thin pizza, french bread pizza, steak, omelette with salad, many different sandwiches, Asian noodles, and more. Really, there was nothing special about any of these foods worth writing home about. Don't get me wrong, it was all very tasty, just not extraordinary. But here, France loses 2 points for being wildly overpriced. A hamburger would run you €12, an omelette, €9, a can of soda €3. Insanity. Where are the stands where you can get a brat for €1.50 and not be hungry the rest of the afternoon? Even the wine and beer, which you can buy for around €3 a glass in Germany, was over €5. Then tack on a 19% service charge to every meal and you have really blown your vacation budget on food. No wonder we didn't see many Porsches or Ferraris on our trip, the French must spend half their paycheck on food.Final score Germany: 2 France: 1
Germany wins. Their food is just as tasty and not so overpriced.
You know the three secret ingredients to french cooking....butter, butter and butter.
ReplyDeleteAlex and I found a fourth one. HAM! We would ask for a baguette and the waiter would immediately ask "avec du jambon?" Mais oui, we replied. We wanted eggs and they asked...avec du jambon? At the grocery store, they had a WHOLE aisle of ham & ham products.