French cuisine: the good, the bad, and the baguette

North Bend, WA -- Race track food, even in France, is still race track food. That means it is overpriced (though truth to tell the beef brochette and green beans at American Power Boat Association Nationals in Kankakee, Il is to pretty tasty and at $10 or so, is priced right), under portioned, and cholesterol high.

At the race track in Le Mans, it was pretty much standard race fare -- though the names change with the geography. You can find a pretty wide variety but the pricing hits the top of the scale and in all honesty I did not have the time nor the Euros to try many of the meals at the various food courts around the track.

But you could get your share of American food in France, with offers of Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and as you can see here, Barbecue Ribs. And from a pricing perspective it is probably high because the race track will get its cut too. Of course there are typical French meals available too, including the all-purpose French Dip. Then again for some crew members there was no meal at all, just a cigarette in the wee hours of the morning to tide them over til they could take time and have a real sit-down meal.

Meals at our bed and breakfast were interesting too; They too focused on the ubiquitous baguette, on which we spread butter and a variety of jams and jellies. For Joe and I the surprise was coffee -- on the table were large bowls that looked like cereal bowls, but in which they served the morning coffee. As they say, "When if France, do like the French." So we did.

During the race we ate predominately ham and cheese (Swiss Cheese of course) sandwiches in which the bread was -- but what else -- baguette. We got these from a little stand on the fourth floor of the press building and usually washed them down with a Coke. Joe thought that formula for Coke in France was different but I really could not taste any difference -- though my heavy Coke-drinking days are for the most part behind me.

Of course the race at Le Mans is where champagne was first squirted over media and fans from the victory podium, thus creating a tradition that is seen regularly from podiums around the world. And at the food stand on the fourth floor, there was an option for champagne.

I think during the 2-4 am period, Joe tried to mainline Espresso from the machine in the press room but even that did not help him to stay awake between jet lag and an early arrival to the press box.

One of the interesting things to me, having been to events at all levels, is the fact that there was no "free lunch" for the media at the race. Normally at Daytona for example, or at a major league ball game of any variety in the states, there is some sort of a buffet for folks to snack on. At Le Mans you are "seul (sans compagnie)" -- on your own.

It was very nice of our hosts at the B&B to feed us a little supper Sunday evening when we got back to their place after the race.

A couple of other notes on the French food. Monday morning at the train station, we ordered waffles -- that is something that you expect to be French-delicious -- but these were really not what we expected. These were cold and filled with something that tasted like whipped creme. We were of course expecting hot waffles with maple syrup. Probably one of the worst meals on the trip. You can tell by Joe's expression that this is not a meal that he is excited about. In fact he just had a couple of bites and said "Forget this." I scarfed mine down (something about millions of Chinese children starving that would not allow me to not clean my plate.) But it was not very good.

Joe and I had a most excellent meal at Paris -- Chateaubriand which capped off a nice walk from the Arc 'd Triumph to the Eiffel Tower to our restaurant. So it was not a total loss.

However, the worst meal of the trip was one that I did not eat, but which I witnessed. It was raw hamburger with a raw egg yoke on top (at right.) The person eating this meal then poured catsup over the top and mixed it all together. He scarfed it down like it was filet mignon.

As they say "C'est la vie" -- that's life (in France.)

But if you don't mind, let's hold the baguette for the near future!