What I Ate In Europe

I realize that for most people the highlight of a trip to Europe is the cuisine.  Many travel blogs are heavy on the restaurant reviews, but I'm just not into that.  I want to do one post about food and be done with it because, with a few exceptions, cuisine just isn't a big deal to me.

You won't find me consulting the Michelin guide for the best restaurants.  Usually, my method of dining out was to wait until I was hungry and then just walk around and read the menus posted outside the restaurants until something sounded good (and pronounceable!)  This method could be hit or miss at times, as one might imagine.  In France, where I spent the most time, I'd often just duck in the nearest Carrefour and scrounge something up.  I ate way more meals à la bonne franquette than I did in nice restaurants.

France

Picnic on the coast of Brittany which I enjoyed better than any restaurant

But I did have a few favorite go-to restaurant meals which were simple, and suited my tastes (I'm not a picky eater at all, but I am happy with food that is simply prepared.)  I admit that I often defaulted to basics like poulet rôti in France because it is easy to order, and it's plain but good.

Poulet rôti.  Just about as simple as it gets, and suits me perfectly

Another go-to was Salade au chèvre chaud.  It's on almost every menu, and is simple but tasty.

(I borrowed this photo, but the rest are my own)

This was another type of meal I ate frequently.  These are variations of blanquette de dinde. With the haricots verts and salad this meal is healthy and satisfying.

If you look closely, you'll notice my beverage of choice, I drank a LOT of Perrier in France - way more than wine.  I'm not much of a wine connoisseur, and drink it only occasionally.  

Whenever possible, I liked making meals out of what looked good at a market.  I'm happy with something perfect but simple like the olives in this photo - I mean this is like DIED AND GONE TO OLIVE HEAVEN!  A handful of those with a baguette, a fruit or vegetable, and a hunk of cheese and I'm happy.

A Saturday market in Provence

This was some really gorgeous food! 

And while sweets are the least tempting foods for me, I did indulge in a few crêpes caramel au beurre salé, the very best being in Brittany.  They have some DAMNED good caramel au beurre salé there!

Crêpes caramel au beurre salé, for the occasional indulgence

 Italy

For some reason, I didn't get pictures of the best meals I had in Italy, although I couldn't resist taking a picture of this beautiful dish of fried anchovies served freshly caught from the Mediterranean.  

Fresh, fried anchovies in the Cinque Terre

Otherwise, we had some plain meat and vegetable meals that were good, but nothing special.  (I probably chose this because I could understand and pronounce what it was!)

My first meal in Florence.  This is the same kind of thing I eat at home, good but nothing special

This one looks awful but it was actually pretty tasty. Chicken Piccata and sautéed spinach

Second meal in Florence.  It tasted better than it looks.

England and Belgium

One meal I really enjoyed was - surprisingly - in London, and it was - even more surprisingly - BREAKFAST!  (I think the little place where I got this was actually some kind of chain restaurant.)

Breakfast in London.  And it was delicious!

And of course, you have to get Fish & Chips in London.  I was only there three days, but I had it twice.  It fits the bill for being simple, tasty, and filling.

An afternoon in Bruges, and I had this lunch, which was some kind of Flemish beef stew with applesauce, and the frites - always the frites.  (And after all the hype about the frites in Belgium, I didn't think they were any better than the fries anywhere else.)

Now For My Dirty Little Secret...

Here it is: I ate at McDonalds.  A lot.  Like a few times a week, even.  I never eat at McDonalds at home - no need to - but I tore it up in France. 

Let me explain:

1. It's cheap and quick
2. They're easy to find - there are hundreds, if not thousands, of McDonalds in France.
3. It's easy to order - McD's in France have kiosks where you can place your order without talking to anyone. And even though I can speak French well enough to order a meal, sometimes I just don't WANT to.
4. The "McChèvre Wrap."  And no, I'm not even kidding!  (You can't get that in the U.S.)
5. Free Wifi! (Not always easy to find in Europe)
6. Free restrooms!  (Ditto)
7. COFFEE!  You can get something a little more like American coffee and at a reasonable price. 

But again, the French do us one better.  I got this latte at a "McCafé" and they serve it in a real cup with the fancy barista touch.

Coffee à la française at McDonalds in Paris