After spending a week in France, almost any aspect of Madison is bound to seem pale and uninteresting by comparison. A dull Lake Mendota cannot possibly compete with the romantic Mediterranean coast; sensible, flat Midwestern shoes replace Parisian women's sky-high stiletto heels; even the Capitol dome seems a shoddy piece of architecture compared to the glittering spectacle of the Eiffel Tower. Worst of all, the return to dorm food after seven days of French cuisine is downright depressing. This week, your Cardinal food editor describes some savory morsels from her week in Montpellier, in hopes of inspiring a Toppers-weary student body to seek out its own culinary excitement right here in Madtown.
Day 1
1:00 P.M.
We arrive in Paris Saturday afternoon (\we"" being myself and a friend) to meet up with our former roommate, who is studying in Montpellier for the semester with another mutual friend.?? Our first meal in France will prove representative of most of our meals there: a baguette sandwich and Orangina, which, at 5.50 ??, is the most affordable lunch for your average poor traveling college student. Our sandwiches, chicken, tuna salad and ham, leave much to be desired; the baguettes are stale and crispy, the meat is rubbery and condiments are apparently an afterthought, but after 30 straight hours of being awake, anything tastes good. And the Orangina, which seems to consist of a mixture of orange juice and orange soda, somehow manages to be tasty rather than disturbing.
3:00 P.M.
We stop at a caf?? near the University of Paris-Sorbonne and order cups of hot chocolate for ??3. It's impossibly rich and sweet, yet it still comes with three sugar cubes. I decide I've been living in entirely the wrong country.
9:00 P.M.
Following our tour of the Eiffel Tower, we spring for an expensive dinner at a nearby restaurant, impressively titled L'Ancien Trocadero. Almost every restaurant we encounter here and in Montpellier will have several formules, which are menus with variable elements for a set price. This one includes an appetizer, entr??e and dessert, and you're free to order a bottle of wine, which we do. Elizabeth samples a light but appetizing salad topped with goat cheese and tomato, while Kelly and I try terrine de campagne, a meat pie. It tastes suspiciously like pimento loaf. Our roast chicken entr??es are much more appealing, though lukewarm, and Elizabeth's tagliatelles a la bolognaise-a pasta and meat sauce dish-wins her praise. The dessert is the best part, however: traditional mousse au chocolat and cr??me caramel top off our dinners, making them nearly worth the hefty ??23 price tag.
Day 2
9:00 A.M.
To our delight, our Paris hotel offers the standard French breakfast to its patrons. We polish off a baguette and croissant each, slathering them with creamy butter and preserves, which come in tiny tins and currant, strawberry and raspberry flavors. The beverage selection is hot chocolate or tea. Not a tough decision.
9:00 P.M.
After a four-hour train ride south to Montpellier, Kelly and I are treated to the real diet of an American student living in a French apartment: Nutella. Nothing but Nutella. On bread, on strawberries, on bananas, on rice cakes, on crepes, with peanut butter-the chocolate hazelnut spread is Elizabeth and Andrea's primary food group and will constitute the majority of our snacks and meals for the remainder of the week.
Day 3
8:00 P.M.
Our second-most memorable meal of the week occurs tonight, when Elizabeth whips up a real Provence feast for us after a quick shopping trip to Monoprix, a combination drug-and-grocery store. She makes pasta with pesto sauce and olive oil, and we slice up mozzarella cheese and tomatoes to make a scrumptious salad topped with basil. Cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette and a basket of baguette slices complete the meal. We eat voraciously and drink a bottle of extra dry white wine, loudly acclaiming her cooking prowess. Cheap chocolate mousse in plastic cups is a perfect end to an inexpensive but authentic dinner.
Day 4
11:00 P.M.
Happy St. Patty's Day! Ignoring our distaste for beer at a raucous Irish pub, Kelly and I share a pint of Kilkenny's with Elizabeth, who is a diehard Guinness lover but kindly tolerates an imitation for one night. The best part of getting sloshed in France: When you're home sobering up, you get to eat Nutella by the spoonful.
Day 5
7:30 P.M.
On our last day in Montpellier, Elizabeth and Andrea decide we need an authentic Provencal restaurant meal to cap off our stay. We stumble upon a gem of a place called Le Feu Follet, which has formulas from only ??12 to ??24. It is tiny, the atmosphere is lovely and we're early for dinner. For appetizers, Andrea and I have our first encounter with escargot-delicious. The six snails swimming in hot garlic butter sauce are neither chewy nor rubbery, and the leftover sauce is perfect for dipping bread. My meal consists of a mixed grill of juicy lamb, beef and sausage (andouillette), as well as seasoned green beans and mixed vegetables. We talk only to exclaim in amazement at the food. For dessert, I reluctantly order nougat glac??s rather than anything chocolate or coconut flavored, but the risk pays off when the ice cream comes studded with fruit chunks and covered a tooth-tinglingly sweet raspberry sauce. Elizabeth and Andrea order profiteroles, chilled creampuff-like pastries w
ith a heavy chocolate syrup. We leave in awe and grateful for a perfect last meal.
Crepes
1 1/4 C flour
pinch of salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 milk
2 Tbsp butter, melted
Mix well, preferrably with a mixer.?? Additional flour or milk may need to be
added depending on consistency.?? Let batter stand for an hour for better
crepes.?? If you have a crepe pan, preheat it and dip in batter, then cook
until top is no longer wet looking.?? If not, just pour a thin skim of batter
in a fry pan until done.??
Fillings:
Nutella and banana
Coat top of crepe with nutella, put in 1/4 banana in 1/2 of the crepe.?? Fold
over twice to form a pocket.?? Optionally, add coconut.
