Listen Frenchy, only we locals can bitch about how our bus system is inefficient and any sort of trains below ground or above never get made. Stop hating Seattle!
If you want the best French pastries in Seattle, go to Boulangerie Nantaise on 4th Ave in Belltown. Here's a clue: it's French-owned. The Notre Dame sandwich makes me want to slap my mama it's so good. Same with the palmier and pain au chocolat and pain aux raisins. But my first true love is the plain croissant...so lovely and delicious.
The only part of this review I disagree with is about the smell: The (many) times I’ve been, there’s always been a warm, yeasty, buttery smell — it doesn’t reach far onto the sidewalk, but it always hits when you open the door.
Or maybe I’ve been ruined by American bakeries such that the faintest whiff is enough for me, but I’ll gladly take that.
While I appreciate you acknowledging your own cultural biases in this piece (though you seem to be reveling in your short-sightedness rather than gaining any actual introspection), I just don't understand the cross-cultural value to either the author or the reader in having you report back to the denizens of Seattle that "french" things here aren't the same as in France.
If you are homesick and looking for familiarity, that is one thing--but I would rather read about that journey than your encounter with peasant bread--amazingly, in all your bitching, you never actually described the difference between parisian v country bread, only that the one in which you have more familiarity is perceived to be superior, by you.
De Toqueville and more recently Bernard Henri Levy wrote brilliant and engaging examinations of the American culture, legal and political systems through the eyes of a Frenchman. They did so, however, not by hanging out Au Bon Pain and complaining that it's not Paris, but by actually diving into and experiencing American culture, politics and jury trials.
Your first two pieces read like a bad standup act complaining about airline food. This piece is entirely meaningless to the audience and horribly self-indulgent.
Your readers are here--be a troll or try to craft yourself as an antihero if you so desire, but please step it up a bit.
Try to experience something American, or at least Seattleite, instead of going to French-inspired American businesses and bitching that they aren't French enough or that the French would have travelled there differently.
Either experience America and give us a thoughtful outsider's perspective or go back to France and enjoy French things without constantly whining. You sound like an underbred, overweight tourist: "Oh, they don't do this as good as home. Back home this is much better. They just don't do things right here, do they?"
What the hell is the point of any of your puerile, superficial, homesick ramblings?
Your railway history is wrong, and you'll get some argument from Brits that Enad and Wales aren't in Europe at all. But whatever your position on that absurdity your date of 1804 is wrong. Passenger railway, yes, but it was horse-drawn.
The first railway that meets all of the modern conditions demanded by the term "train" (running on tracks, steam power, pulled by a locomotive instead of a stationary engine with cables, scheduled service rather than whenever the mine cars filled, carrying both passengers and freight) started running between Liverpool and Manchester in 1830.
As for why we don't have better in-city train service, it's a bit unfair to compare Paris to Seattle. Paris is France's New York. Seattle is perhaps closer to the Montpellier or Toulouse of America, and while those cities have tram networks that surpass ours, I'll wager that their overall bus network is less comprehensive than ours, and in markedly less difficult circumstances.
@6 give poor Julien a break. He's an INTERN and you expect De Toqueville?
And Julien, all those you cars you see everywhere? Each American is required to own three or four of them. That's why the mass transit system seems so behind the times.
I love how every post about French food leads to one new suggestion in comments sending Julien all across town. This will end up with someone sending him to Tacoma for the best French food in Seattle.
Are you kidding me? Every time I bite into one of Le Fournil's croissants I am only greeted with sadness. As of the writing of this older article (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Conte…) their croissants were great- flaky and delicious. Since then, the croissants have grown in size, but have come to be the consistency of something I'd buy from safeway's day old bakery- doughy and the consistency of a fruit roll-up. My only guess is that Fournil's been sold a time or two or management's changed since their heyday. I'm just sad that I have to travel from my u district hood all the way to ballard (you know where I'm talking-- don't repeat the name here, the line's too long already) just to get a good pastry.
I'm sure Le Fournil is a fine lunch place and the desserts look good, but they killed the good croissants and are dead to me.
@6 Actually, once we shuffle Julien through all the Americanized French stuff, the Stranger should really take him out to the guts of American cuisine.
Big Mario's Pizza
American BBQ
Seattle Mariners, but hurry, season is almost done (what's more American? Hot dog + shitty beer: go)
Ivars
Saltys on Alki
Puyallap Fair
Dicks (seriously, have you guys taken him yet? Dick's Deluxe, Fries, chocolate shake)
Are you kidding me? Every time I bite into one of Le Fournil's croissants I am only greeted with sadness. As of the writing of this older article (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Conte…) their croissants were great- flaky and delicious. Since then, the croissants have grown in size, but have come to be the consistency of something I'd buy from safeway's day old bakery- doughy and the consistency of a fruit roll-up. My only guess is that Fournil's been sold a time or two or management's changed since their heyday. I'm just sad that I have to travel from my u district hood all the way to ballard (you know where I'm talking-- don't repeat the name here, the line's too long already) just to get a good pastry.
I'm sure Le Fournil is a fine lunch place and the desserts look good, but they killed the good croissants and are dead to me.
As an HVAC engineer, I'm coming to suspect a difference in our ventilation codes. ASHRAE 62.1 tells us that bakeries are required to have 0.12 CFM/SF of exhaust. Add that's just a minimum - add the required hoods over heat-generating equipment (like ovens), and you're talking about serious airflow. France's standards? I'm not sure, but knowing how leinent other European codes generally are with regard to ventilation I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't any.
Are French bakeries generally quite warm? If so, that's probably the smell difference - air changes. Low airflow may be less safe (in other types of kitchens where there is grease) and less comfortable (in the summer), but definately preferable when creating a good bakery environment.
Vous n'aimez pas le paysage et les paysans? Incroyable!
In all seriousness, I always understood French cuisine to be VERY regional, with all the major food traditions originating in the provinces, if interpreted at a very high level in Paris. Was I wrong?
blah blah blah. you've got to hang out on the east side and get your republican "center-right" shit on before you understand anything in a wide scale about us. go hang with a rossi possie. go to an applebees. many times.
or if that's too far go sit in the bar at fox sports downtown from happy hour till... close. and talk to people. dont be an anthropologist. just hang out and get to know america.
@42 and 43, in addition to Julien using "snob" as a modifier Lindy last week suggested we all start using "goof" as a verb, as in, "he's so snob he said 'zut!' when he goofed in me."
@39 - I'm a Black Southerner living in Seattle. Do you want me to review Southern-cuisine restaurants here? Will I get called a "snobby know-nothing" hick for my reviews?
I was wondering what you guys have been doing since we Europeans invented the train in 1804. Seattle is more than three times wider than Paris, but you only have buses and a brand-new unfinished light rail? I expected better from you. I know it’s quite hard to build metro and train lines with a lot of hills, but Westlake tunnel proves that you know how to deal with underground construction (Westlake station is very beautiful, by the way). What have you been doing then?
Hey, give Seattle a break. We've been too busy tearing down beautiful old buildings (like the downtown Carnegie library) and replacing them with hideous newer ones, voting down proposals for interesting public spaces (e.g. the Bogue Plan, Westlake Commons), and erecting temples for jocks and their fans to think about doing any frivolous like building a subway.
Or maybe I’ve been ruined by American bakeries such that the faintest whiff is enough for me, but I’ll gladly take that.
Moral of the story: It's okay to loath everything, as long as you remember to loath yourself.
While I appreciate you acknowledging your own cultural biases in this piece (though you seem to be reveling in your short-sightedness rather than gaining any actual introspection), I just don't understand the cross-cultural value to either the author or the reader in having you report back to the denizens of Seattle that "french" things here aren't the same as in France.
If you are homesick and looking for familiarity, that is one thing--but I would rather read about that journey than your encounter with peasant bread--amazingly, in all your bitching, you never actually described the difference between parisian v country bread, only that the one in which you have more familiarity is perceived to be superior, by you.
De Toqueville and more recently Bernard Henri Levy wrote brilliant and engaging examinations of the American culture, legal and political systems through the eyes of a Frenchman. They did so, however, not by hanging out Au Bon Pain and complaining that it's not Paris, but by actually diving into and experiencing American culture, politics and jury trials.
Your first two pieces read like a bad standup act complaining about airline food. This piece is entirely meaningless to the audience and horribly self-indulgent.
Your readers are here--be a troll or try to craft yourself as an antihero if you so desire, but please step it up a bit.
Either experience America and give us a thoughtful outsider's perspective or go back to France and enjoy French things without constantly whining. You sound like an underbred, overweight tourist: "Oh, they don't do this as good as home. Back home this is much better. They just don't do things right here, do they?"
What the hell is the point of any of your puerile, superficial, homesick ramblings?
I love French Intern. More, please.
The first railway that meets all of the modern conditions demanded by the term "train" (running on tracks, steam power, pulled by a locomotive instead of a stationary engine with cables, scheduled service rather than whenever the mine cars filled, carrying both passengers and freight) started running between Liverpool and Manchester in 1830.
As for why we don't have better in-city train service, it's a bit unfair to compare Paris to Seattle. Paris is France's New York. Seattle is perhaps closer to the Montpellier or Toulouse of America, and while those cities have tram networks that surpass ours, I'll wager that their overall bus network is less comprehensive than ours, and in markedly less difficult circumstances.
And Julien, all those you cars you see everywhere? Each American is required to own three or four of them. That's why the mass transit system seems so behind the times.
It was delicious. Savory. Tasty. Soft and crispy at the same time. Fabulous. Exalting. Orgasmic. Yes, orgasmic.
I'm sure Le Fournil is a fine lunch place and the desserts look good, but they killed the good croissants and are dead to me.
Big Mario's Pizza
American BBQ
Seattle Mariners, but hurry, season is almost done (what's more American? Hot dog + shitty beer: go)
Ivars
Saltys on Alki
Puyallap Fair
Dicks (seriously, have you guys taken him yet? Dick's Deluxe, Fries, chocolate shake)
oooohhhh. and here i am contemplating raisin bran for breakfast. yay me. :-(
....freedom fries!
I'm sure Le Fournil is a fine lunch place and the desserts look good, but they killed the good croissants and are dead to me.
Salty's? Do you want him to hate America?
Are French bakeries generally quite warm? If so, that's probably the smell difference - air changes. Low airflow may be less safe (in other types of kitchens where there is grease) and less comfortable (in the summer), but definately preferable when creating a good bakery environment.
In all seriousness, I always understood French cuisine to be VERY regional, with all the major food traditions originating in the provinces, if interpreted at a very high level in Paris. Was I wrong?
This may sound crazy, but have you considered doing anything else during your stay here besides sampling French cuisine and lecturing us about it?
Ahhh, I'm drooling. It's been years since I've had one of those.
Also I was very pleased to see "snob" used as an adjective once again. Julien, please continue doing this. Thank you.
When he is sadly cast back, can we get a Vietnamese intern to review the Pho houses?
Anyway, Julien, please keep up the good work. Buses are a little slice of hell on wheels. The ferry's very pleasant, though.
Meanwhile, Stranger editors, can you please find a German intern to scour the US for some decent Oktoberfest grub?
Hey, give Seattle a break. We've been too busy tearing down beautiful old buildings (like the downtown Carnegie library) and replacing them with hideous newer ones, voting down proposals for interesting public spaces (e.g. the Bogue Plan, Westlake Commons), and erecting temples for jocks and their fans to think about doing any frivolous like building a subway.
Montpellier has barely 1/4 of a million people in its urban area.
And Toulouse has a Vancouver-like automated metro.
Not to nitpick too much, but I remain adamant that there is no valid defense for Seattle's public transportation situation, ever!
"Fake, fake, fake, fake."
@56 I prefer the Metro in Paris. But Nantes is very nice, if you enjoy walking, great food, and great people.
Montpellier, Toulouse, and their tram systems were cited for the purposes of comparison with (and in implied defense of) Seattle's bus situation.
Montpellier happens to be too tiny a city to justify the comparison.
And Toulouse happens to have a real metro, similar to Vancouver's Skytrain.
The metro in Paris and the cuisine in Nantes are completely fucking irrelevant.