Not knocking this but does this tarte aux escargots /snail pie (really more like a quiche) entice anybody? I didn’t get it and opted for a yummy apple tart, but maybe if I stay longer in Burgundy, snails will eventually seem like a treat.

Ici, c’est comme ça! / This is what we do here!

Maybe I’ve been in France too long, but am I wrong to think this is funny and even cute?

Piggy banks seen in Vezelay. Were they made in France? Don’t answer that.

We were in Paris a little while ago and headed over to Breizh Cafe, a creperie that focuses on quality and organic ingredients, crepes, galettes, other goodies from Brittany and some twists on these traditional dishes. They turned us away because we didn’t have reservations. Pffff! So, we went to the first Breizh Cafe in France, located in Cancale (Brittany), which is, I think, is better. So there!

Like its Parisian sister, Bertrand Larcher’s Breizh Café offers tradional and original dishes. but unlike in Paris, the Breizh Café in Cancale is right on the beach.

And because the seafood is caught just a few yards away and is delivered the same day, it couldn’t be fresher.

Definitely order oysters! They were the best I’ve ever had.

Have local cidre with your galettes and crepes. A must.

If you’re looking for the freshest, tastiest sashimi ever, go upstairs to La Table de Breizh Café, which just opened last February. It specializes in Japanese-Breton cuisine created by Chef Rafael-Fumio Kudaka.

For dessert, crepes of course! I can never resist a crepe with salted caramel.

This one wasn’t too bad, either.

Lastly, you can purchase organic buckwheat fllour and buttermilk, among other products at Breizh Cafe.

Breizh Café/La Table de Breizh Café – Cancale
7 quai Thomas
35260 Cancale, France
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 99 89 56 46 / +33 (0) 2 99 89 61 76

Breizh Café – Paris
109, rue Vieille du Temple (Le Marais)
75003 Paris, France
Telephone: +33 (0)1 42 72 13 77

Breizh Cafe Creperie – Tokyo
Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Telephone: +81 3-3289-3531
There are also locations in Yokohama, Kawasaki, Akasaka and HIbiya.

On our way to Vezelay, we decided to take a slight detour to peek at this tiny village just to check it out.

It turns out it’s beautiful

with picnic areas

and three bridges

and hiking trails.

Looks Roman.

Moral of the story: Always wander off the beaten path!

Sometimes a croque monsieur (a ham, melted cheese and bechamel sauce sandwich) and fries hit the spot.

I thought some people might be interested to see what you can order to eat on the TGV, so I grabbed this brochure and did a quick scan. Click on the images below to see the summer TGV menu and prices in detail. I can’t comment on how the meals taste; I haven’t ordered food yet on the TGV but I think it looks edible, and the prices are fairly reasonable.

They even offer some organic items. Only a couple of things but that’s a good start. We were actually surprised.

There are muffins and wraps offered, which is particularly un-French but oh well.

Me: WHY can’t we find corn on the cob in France? I want to bbq some during the summers!
Him: We can find it, cherie. Didn’t you see them in all the fields around? I’ll just go pick some for you.
Me: What??! No, dude. They might be the GMO, pesticide ladened, industrial, poisonous varieties.
Him: Anyway, corn on the cob is pig food.
Me: Yet. French people eat canned corn.
Him: Yeah, so?
Me: Canned corn comes from CORN. ON. THE. COB.
Him: Corn on the cob is for pigs.

~~~

…and people wonder why I have to make fun of France. Back to corn. Did anyone notice that canned corn is labeled differently? I remember when canned corn always had instructions to rinse the corn before consuming it. I always did that, never realizing that it was probably because of the Bisphenol A (BPA) inside the can (or dirt). These cans still have BPA but the labels to rinse them first have disappeared! Weird, but I guess it alerts consumers that there’s something wrong with the corn. And, as most evil industrial minds reason, the solution is to remove consumer information so they don’t know there are risks. Yea, keep them in the dark! It’s like the law that was just passed in the U.S. where salmon does NOT need to be labeled that it’s genetically modified so people won’t know that the salmon they’re eating is not only bad for them, it’s also potentially dangerous to their health. écoeurant.

How much more adorable and well-made can this animation of French clichés get? Not much.

Patisserie Wagner
18 Rue Monge
21200 Beaune, France
Telephone: +33 (0)9 50 26 24 69

After you finish your walking tour of the Palais des papes (Popes Palace) in Avignon, and take the exit just outside the gift shop, you will be facing La Mirande, a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant, cooking school and salon de thé. If you time it right, which is what we always try to do, arrive during tea time for absolutely delicious pastries and tea, coffee or unrivaled hot chocolate.

La Mirande is an elegant, beautiful, 700+ year old converted mansion, previously inhabited by generations of aristocracy. Now, it’s a little more casual. Afternoon tea is served in an bright, comfortable and protected atrium, a perfect place to rest your feet from hours of walking around Avignon.

The afternoon tea at La Mirande is offered for a flat fee of 11 euros, a steal. Just go help yourself to whatever you want. Drinks are ordered and served at the table. When we were there last, we actually didn’t eat much (not like us, normally!) so the waiter charged us less. Sweet!

Mikael Aupert is the dedicated pastry chef at La Mirande.

La Mirande
4, place de la Mirande
84000 Avignon France
Telephone: +33 4 90 14 20 20

These panda shoes would look cute on one of my little nieces. FYI: Seen in Macon, France.