Pizza
During one of said long phone conversations, R and I discussed the bizarre nature of pizza in Europe, and the ultimately strange and unpalatable toppings we have no choice but to choose from.
I'll give you some examples:
tuna
corn
potatoes
salmon
green beans
an egg, cracked in the middle and left to bake
I once got a pizza at the bakery that I thought had green peppers and artichoke hearts on it. Nope. Buried beneath that cheese was not my lovely peppers, but potatoes, green beans and salmon. Ew. I couldn't eat pizza, potatoes, green beans or salmon for two weeks after that.
Not once have I seen a pizza in Paris with any sort of peppers on it, and if it does have olives, there will (guaranteed) be hairy anchovies as well. So far, my safe bet has been "La Reine" (the Queen) which is ham, cheese and mushrooms (though they often call the ham "épaule" which means shoulder, but I know it really is ham). Dr. B goes for "Le Roi" (king) which adds an egg. I really don't understand the egg thing, but he loves eggs and will pretty much put them on anything.
I would love to take a sack from the grocery over to our local pizza restaurant (-15% if you get it to go) and ask them to put on green peppers, onions, green and black olives, and pork sausage. They are Italian at La Trastavere, so I don't think they'd mind, but they go with the crowd here in Paris, and for some reason, that means potatoes and green beans.
But as for me, I like the supreme.
| Everything Pizza |
 Diverse and adaptable You enjoy the full buffet of life It's hard to you play favorites with friends... or flavors There's very little that you dislike! |
Except, of course, potatoes on my pizza. I'm sorry if I am being very, very American, but... yuck.
4 Comments:
Hi !
/*/ (though they often call the ham "épaule" which means shoulder, but I know it really is ham)/*/
Now, now: (smile) …
ham (jambon)
=
the thigh of the pig (la cuisse du porc)
while, in France,
pork shoulder (epaule de porc)
=
the upper portion of the front legs (partie supérieure des pattes avant)
The French are very precise when attributing a names to foods and ingredients. (smile)
Amerloque remembers in the USA being served "scallops" which were nothing more, alas, than round bits of shark meat. In France, real "scallops" are from Normandy only and are sold under the name pecten maximus, which is the Latin name. Unfortunately the European Union has decreed that other, similar bivalve molluscs can now be sold under the name "Coquille Saint Jacques". Since the law was updated several years ago, in France Amerloque has encountered:
pecten novazaelandia
placopecten magellanicus
argopecten purpuratus
chlamys islandica
chlamys nobilis
zygochlamys patagonica
and
patinopecten yessoensis
However, pecten maximus is the only "true" scallop. Ask for it by the Latin name in the open air market(s) and watch the fishmonger's face light up !
In France the Latin name must by law be on the sign/package if the "scallop" is part of a prepated dish, such as those found at Picard. If it isn't, there's something fishy. (smile)
/*/ … (-15% if you get it to go) … /*/
Simply because the Value Added Tax on foods consumed on the spot is 19.6%, while the TVA on food to go is only 5.5%. (smile) That's why there was that huge demonstration Monday in Paris, with 3000 or so vehicles (according to the press) blocking the main boulevards: restaurant owners were protesting that President Chirac has not as yet fulfilled his election promise to reduce the tax so as to compete with fast-food / delivered pizza outlets.
Best,
L'Amerloque
Pink + Salty + Porky= Ham to me.
:)
EEEEWWWWWWW! doesn't sound like pizza to me....corn potatoes???
No doubt about it, after 17 years here I still HATE the pizza here, anywhere, any restaurant, yuck yuck yuck. Pizza is one of the very first things I gobble when I'm in NY, right after a knish, Reese's P-nut butter cups, Hershey kisses, and cold noodles with sesame sauce from my favorite chinese restaurant downtown.
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