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Why are the French a people that you love one day and hate the next?

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Archive for 'Food, Drink & Smoke'

Shit Wine

Restaurant owner Jean-Marc Speziale is so pissed off with the general prejudice that Languedoc-Rousillon wines are lousy plonk that he decided to hit back. He now labels some of his wines (which are actually very drinkable) Vin de Merde, or Shit Wine in proper English. He claims not to do it for the money, but […]

Posted: Mon 15-Sep-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Oops

What are they selling here?

Click to reveal full ad.

Posted: Sat 13-Sep-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Created in France

Paris Muslims break Ramadan fast in soup kitchen

Reuters has a long article and a photo documentary about poor Muslims living through Ramadan in Paris:

It's sunset in the French capital, and hundreds of hungry people are poised to begin their meals at the sounding of a Muslim call to prayer.
Elsewhere in the world, the call rings forth from the minarets of mosques, but […]

Posted: Fri 12-Sep-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Events

Want free cannabis and a free car? Come to France

The French are getting sloppier by the day. As if multiple uranium leaks, and the theft of 28 kg of Semtex (which still hasn't been found) aren't enough, the French customs authorities found out this week that happy smokers got away with 200-300 kilos of cannabis resin. The stuff was stored in an unguarded customs […]

Posted: Wed 03-Sep-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Oops

Jacques de Vaucanson's Digesting Duck

On Wikipedia:

The Canard Digérateur, or Digesting Duck, was an automaton in the form of duck, created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1739. The mechanical duck appeared to have the ability to eat kernels of grain, and to metabolise and defecate them. While the duck did not actually have the ability to do this - the […]

Posted: Thu 21-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Created in France

Unhappy end for this cow

Two life-loving cows in northern France fled the abattoir. One was captured, the other hid in a drain and ran for about a mile through the underground sewage system. When she was tracked down, the rescue caused such horrific injuries that she had to be put down on the spot, making her unfit for consumption. […]

Posted: Sat 16-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Events, Oops

Happy Smoker Sophie's Choice

On Danish photo site Mdolla: Sophie Marceau in Black and White (10 photos).

Posted: Sat 16-Aug-08 under People, Food, Drink & Smoke

What are they selling here?

Click to reveal the full ad. Via Ads of the World

Posted: Mon 11-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Created in France

European Pot Smokers Map

On Wikipedia: Adult lifetime cannabis use by country

According to this map, Denmark and France are the European countries with the highest percentage of people who use, or have used, cannabis during their adult lifetime. The French (scoring 30.6%) come second after the Danes (36.5%), but both countries pale in comparison with the world's happiest potsmoking […]

Posted: Mon 11-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Society, Statistics

Off to the Pig Fest!

The chasseurs of my little village are readying themselves for the new wild boar hunting season, so they're emptying their freezers, and preparing a copious meal of sanglier specialties for the locals this afternoon. That means no further blogging today. Back tomorrow!
(The picture is from Asterix chez les Belges, and is inspired by a Bruegel […]

Posted: Sun 10-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Events

No meat, no fish, but lots of flesh

The New York Times goes to La Zucca Magica in Nice, and discovers that vegetarianism is far from synonymous with asceticism:
Zucca has few equals among well-known Western restaurants serving no meat or fish. Nor are there many that can so readily satisfy omnivores, because Zucca’s owners, Marco Folicaldi and Rossella Bolmida, believe in sizable portions, […]

Posted: Fri 08-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Country & Travel

Bottle Shock: French wine's darkest moment

It was a calamity for French viticulture - and it sparked a wine war that rages even to this day.
In 1976 a group of 11 distinguished wine experts were asked to compare some of France's finest wines with some little-known California bottles in a blind test. At the time it was carved in stone that […]

Posted: Thu 07-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Oops

Fancy Some Foie Gras or Caviar Ice Cream?

I'm probably prejudiced, but I'm not sure I would fancy this:

French makers of gourmet ice cream Philippe Faur have added a new dimension to their high-quality line up of products. Latest in the range are foie gras ice cream, consisting of 50% foie gras de canard, and caviar ice cream, made with 60% white sturgeon […]

Posted: Thu 31-Jul-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Created in France

France by Numbers: 8 Billion

The French can see goodbye to their traditional Christmas oysters this year. Up to 8 billion young oysters, or 80% of the total harvest, have died in just a few days. The probable cause is a virus, but there may be a link with global warming. The disease has hit ostriculteurs on both the Atlantic […]

Posted: Sun 27-Jul-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Statistics

France By Numbers: 18%

In the twelve months since June 2007, fruit in France has gone up 18% in price, and vegetables 11%. Bad weather (frost and rain) has been the main culprit. Peaches and apricots have seen the highest rise: 24% and 54%, resp. Wheat and corn are also up, but the trend is slowing.
Source: Liberation

Posted: Sat 26-Jul-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Statistics

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