They make a great pizza in this part of France. It has an ultra-thin crust with all sorts of tasty bits and cheese judiciously spread over the entire top (and sometimes some salad ingredients as well). I am also a big fan of the Chicago deep-dish and the NYC thicker crust that you can fold and eat like a sandwich, but my top honor goes to the Côte d’Azur. My favorite bistro here offers a seafood (fruit de mer) pie that has so much protein on it that Jann and I have to share one. Clams, mussels, parts of a small octopus, and some other sea creature that I can’t identify. Truly delicious.
Now there are folks who will poke a little fun at the European style of eating a pizza with a knife and fork. I admit that it takes practice, and practice it I do. The French teach their kids very young that only a fork should touch their food before it enters the mouth. They make exceptions for bread products and sandwiches, but in general even cute little toddlers eat their French fries ever so carefully with a fork. Fresh fruit and hamburgers too, but that is another story. I was watching a toddler today, maybe eighteen months of age, carefully picking up a frite with his hand, setting it on the table, and then spearing it with a fork to eat (at least the first bite of each one). The funny thing about Americans is that, even if we intend to go the knife and fork route, we will first slice the pie into neat little wedges. I do this too. I don’t know why. I was watching a woman carefully section her pizza the other day before chopping it up and eating it with knife and fork, pointy end first. Conditioning, I guess. If we plan to cut it all up into bite-sized pieces, why not just start at one end and eat our way across it like a steak?
Speaking of steak, the Italians and the French like their grilled meat really, really rare. The French term for very rare is bleu which is also the word for the color blue. I don’t quite understand the derivation of the word, but if you ask for it, your steak will barely touch the grill and will arrive, still quivering, on a plate. Rare is saignant which means bloody. That makes more sense. If you order a steak cooked medium you might get a frown from your waiter. If you ask for bien cuit (well done) he might suggest you try something else on the menu, like the tourist lasagna.
