Chef’s Kiss: Eating in France 2021

Hi everyone! I am so happy and excited to be writing since returning from France about a week ago. I spent 17 days in France and traveled to both the north and south coasts, seeing the 3 largest cities and several smaller towns I had never visited before. I was so extremely lucky to have two of my best friends there to travel with me, and to see several other friends while in Paris, too. While I have so much to share, I did receive a request to talk about food, so mom, this one’s for you. 

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I am a very picky eater. There are many many things I don’t love to eat, which can be difficult especially as a dancer. In a dream world, I would be able to eat only brioche every day. While I often do try to make that dream a reality, I knew I wanted to try a few new things while away. 

One of the first new things I had were mushrooms while at a bouchon. A bouchon is a type of restaurant in Lyon, France that has more traditional Lyonnaise foods. Surprisingly, especially mixed with pasta it wasn’t too bad! While not pictured, I also tried duck at this bouchon, too, which I thought wasn’t bad either. 

The next thing I had a couple of times in France were salads. I’ve actually become quite a fan of salads now… really venturing out there, I know. 

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I also had Chinese food twice during my trip. The first time was at a restaurant in Paris called Chez Shen. This restaurant is so cheap and really good! It’s definitely a favorite spot among my friends from study abroad, and I actually went with two of them who were in Paris this time around, too, which was so fun and full-circle. 

Another new food I had during this trip was entrecote. I had it while in Marseille and it was so good and it came with the best garlic potatoes. This restaurant was one of my favorites that I went to during the trip! 

While spending time in Caen, France, I tried saucisson and tuna. I learned that I do like saucisson, but am not a fan of tuna at all. A long time ago I heard someone say that you can’t know if you like something until you’ve tried it 7 times, but I think with tuna, twice was enough. 

The last thing I tried while in France were French tacos. While it sounds like it might be the same as tacos in the U.S, French tacos are completely different. They have sauces inside and cheese both inside and out. Plus, there are French fries on the inside… what genius thought of that? There is this one taco place called Chamas Tacos and it really is life-changing. After trying it while in Lyon, I simply had to go to another location when I returned to Paris. Now it makes sense why many French people are so chauvinistic. 

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Below are some images of foods that were a little more familiar to me. 

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And of course, I can’t talk about food in France without mentioning the best food (potentially in existence):

I can’t wait to share more about my experiences while on vacation this summer. Let me know if you have any questions or want to know anything in particular!