A brief hiatus,
Well, that’s the general gist of this post. I normally seek
to excuse my tardy submissions by mentioning my overburdened schedule and my
swamping workload but this time it’s a bit different. Why you may ask? Because
not only am I working… I’ve been robbed of my kitchen! It’s rather hard to post
to a cooking blog when one is kitchen-less!
Well actually, that’s not totally apt, the kitchen is still
mine but it appears that in reality it has been robbed of me. By what, by whom?
Well the simple answer yet again is: by work. Now now, I’m sure this all sounds
horrid, Nick without a kitchen, that’s like a pug without folds or the queen
without corgies but in reality it’s not so bad so hold onto that sympathy. I’m
not infiltrating North Korea, or perhaps worse, on a trip to Northern Ontario, I’m
simply on a research trip…to France.
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| This part of France... |
More specifically, I’m in a region referred to as les Alpes
Maritimes in a sleepy village called Villeneuve-Loubet which for those of you
who may not have bothered with the French, is tellingly sandwiched between the
famed Côte d’Azur and the French Alps. Now now now, before the urge to wring my neck
like a gog-eyed turkey arises, let me remind you that I am, in all
technically, here to work. So sun, sand (or rather pebbles) and castles aren’t
the only thing on the agenda. This means that life is indeed slightly more
challenging than the usual morning dilemma of choosing if I want to eat a pain
au chocolat or croissant (the answer to that is inevitably an easy one, both).
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| Villeneuve-Loubet |
For those of you
interested in the historical aspect, I am here to work at the Auguste Escoffier
museum, studying the menus, recipes and work of the famed chef of the same
name. Using material sources I hope to study how Escoffier affected the diffusion
of French cuisine in Britain, among other places, and how this tied to
different aspects of society. For more information on the topic, please feel
free to consult my yet unwritten MA thesis.
However this is a food blog, so here’s the scoop so far for anyone
who might be inclined to dine in the area, as we’re on a student budget price
is key.
1)
Salade Niçoise is, predictably, really big here…like
it’s everywhere . Though the famed salad’s authenticity can be a touchy subject
(green beans or not? What about garlic? Vinegar? AHHHHH!!!!) most cheap
eateries seem to make it as a leafy tuna salad with hardboiled eggs.
Might not be authentic, but it does hit the
spot.
2)
Also, you can have something similar to a Niçoise
but in a sandwich called a “Pan Bagnat”, this make a great lunch or dinner, and
ours are available at our delightful bakery in town here!
3)
When it comes to eating out, it is important to
note that most restaurants seem more prone to serving lunch (déjeuner) over
supper (diner), actually in the wee villages out here sandwich boards sporting
menus tend to eclipse themselves around two in the afternoon and restaurants
then close their kitchens, generally only serving beverages such as coffee,
wine or the local pastis (an anis based beverage) from this point on.
4)
While
this is much less of a problem in Nice central, the issue of eating out there
is far more complicated due to the treacherous swamp of touristy joints willing
to swindle you out of your hard earned euros (certainly with this exchange
rate, eek!) in exchange for mediocre seafood or steaks, limp fries and frozen
veg. Prices here are quite steep for a travelling student and quality/ price
ratios on sit down meals can be heartbreaking. Though do keep in mind, that tax
and tip is included in the cost of the meal (yay! No mental math!).
5)
Never fear however! Nice, like apparently
everywhere in France, is loaded with cheap wine, cheese, bread, sausage and
pastry which is (mostly) absolutely delicious. The region is also laden with
delicious olives. So word of advice should you choose to venture down here? Opt
for the picnic.
6)
EXCEPT! When you feel inclined to sniff out a
relatively snazzier join and maybe splurging a tad, our splurge was the
delectable Michelin starred “L’Univers” of chef Christian Plumail who offers a
delicious lunch on weekdays for the equally tasty price of 23€…but that is a
story for the next post!
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| Mmmmm Pan Bagnat... |
Cheers!
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