France: Better Bread, Butter, Cocktails & More

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chi Meson
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The discussion centers around the perceived superiority of French culture and cuisine compared to that of the United States. Participants argue that France excels in various areas, particularly food, with a consensus that French bread, butter, and pastries are of higher quality than typical American offerings. Some participants suggest that Italian cuisine may surpass French food, particularly in coffee and gelato. The conversation also touches on broader cultural aspects, including the French approach to humor, art, and literature, with references to famous French poets and chefs. Contrasting opinions emerge, with some asserting that American food, particularly Californian wine, can rival French standards. The debate extends to historical military comparisons, with claims about the outcomes of wars and the contributions of various nations during conflicts. Ultimately, the thread oscillates between light-hearted banter and serious cultural critique, reflecting a playful rivalry between the two nations while highlighting the complexities of food, history, and national identity.
  • #31
I prefer American pancakes to French crepes, but American pancakes are Scottish anyway, so I guess that doesn't count.

Uh... post-structuralist architecture?
 
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  • #32
El Hombre Invisible said:
I prefer American pancakes to French crepes

Holy crap i had these crepes a few times... omg it was like heaven x 100.
 
  • #33
French food is great, Italian can be better, (French meat is better, actually Belgium meat is very very good, less fussy than French dishes) although Greek is the best...

Says who? The radio? I've had a french bread before and it's as hard as a rock. Just about all french food I've ever had was either mediocre or terrible. Even things france is world renown for, like wine, is argueable not as good as the US's (i.e. Californian wine). Your just comparing french food to places like McDonalds.

Says me.. whos been in both places :-)

Cali wine can be good, some is very good, but in general new world wines arent as good as old world.. Italian wine is better than French anyway... And IMO Greek Wine (the people who introduced it to Italy and then France) especially rezina is the best...

Anyway what is the "American" kitchen? Most of it is related to another countries first... (Not an insult, I am curious what you would say is the "american" kitchen...
 
  • #34
3) We have never lost a war

Comparing Apples and pears, I can guarantee that France has WON more wars than America…

Anyway did you not have a civil war? Thus could you not argue you have (at least a portion of your citizans have) lost a war?...

Ok before you come down on me like a 100KG of bricks (like the use of metric system there :-) ) I didnt read Pengwuino post proper and thought it said America ;)
 
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  • #35
fourier jr said:
what about music? you got lully, marais, du pre, tortelier, navarra, kantorow, messaien, rameau, des prez, leonin, perotin, machaut, dufay, gombert, de rore, lassus (aka orlando di lasso), couperin, berlioz, saint-saens, bizet, faure, dukas ... but i guess a lot of the good music might have disappeared after the revolution since there was no king to write/perform for, & the role of the church was greatly diminished. there were still composers but none like marais or rameau
& i'll add french onion soup too! :biggrin:
'In the Depths of the Temple' is bliss! You forgot Delibes and Offenbach, although the US marines have stolen 'Les Deux Gendarmes'!
A french friend had us to dinner last night - french cooking followed by crepes, downed with an Aussie wine he provided (a St Henri shiraz)-more bliss!:smile:
I'm very fond of scottish pancakes too!
 
  • #36
what is a Scottish pancake? I think you mean Pikelets, right?
 
  • #37
Anttech, I've got a feeling I've discussed this here somewhere before. You're correct, Pikelets is what I call them, they are also called Scottish Pancakes and Drop Scones, I've discovered. Yum!
 
  • #38
Well I was brought up in Glasgow, and we never called 'em "scottish pancakes" Just Pikelets.. or those yummy sweet things you have with breakfast :-) hehe
 
  • #39
Anttech said:
what is a Scottish pancake? I think you mean Pikelets, right?
Drop scones.
 
  • #40
Thanks Anttech, my ancestors were Scottish, so I must have them to thank for passing down the correct terminology!:smile:
 
  • #41
Anttech said:
Ok before you come down on me like a 100KG of bricks (like the use of metric system there :-) ) I didnt read Pengwuino post proper and thought it said America ;)
Why would we come down on you like a tenth of a tonne of bricks? Anyway, I think its clear that America is MUCH better at losing wars than anyone. Such style and denial! The writer/monologist Sarah Vowell points out that one week after the fall of Saigon, she was learning how US has never lost a war. Who was it that said "We didn't lose Vietnam, it was a tie!"

And on the subject of "drop scones": my mum (a true Glaswegian) calls them just "scones", but pronounces them "sconns." They are not really pancakes, nor what we call scones. They were made with potato (but that could be a WWII thing) and eaten cold, and with butter but no syrup. Sounds like a crumpet to me.
 
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  • #42
Anttech said:
Comparing Apples and pears, I can guarantee that France has WON more wars than America…

Anyway did you not have a civil war? Thus could you not argue you have (at least a portion of your citizans have) lost a war?...

Ok before you come down on me like a 100KG of bricks (like the use of metric system there :-) ) I didnt read Pengwuino post proper and thought it said America ;)

I'm still coming down on you!

*grabs a 100kg of bricks and looks for a crane to hire...*
 
  • #43
And on the subject of "drop scones": my mum (a true Glaswegian) calls them just "scones", but pronounces them "sconns."...snip...They were made with potato

ahh you mean tattie sconnes :)

I LOVE those things, everytime I am home I buy as many as poss :)

sah yeh ken scots, seen as yer ma is fa thear.. :)
 
  • #44
Aye, ah dinnae ken wha' ye said, but.

"Tis a braw bricht moonlicht nicht, the nicht,"
 
  • #45
how about architecture? there were le corbusier... & i don't know who else, but the pompidou centre is still pretty cool after all these yrs
 
  • #46
you dinnae ken but ye ken ma spreaken...

aye tis braw :)
 
  • #47
I really like French kissing, but I'm an American and do it pretty damn well.
 
  • #48
fourier jr said:
how about architecture? there were le corbusier... & i don't know who else, but the pompidou centre is still pretty cool after all these yrs


Didn't Norman Foster design the Pompidou?
 
  • #49
like Elvis's hair?
 
  • #50
America has conan, nothing else matters.
 
  • #51
Pengwuino said:
America has conan, nothing else matters.
Did you mean O'Brian , or the guv'nor O'California? Or are they really the same guy?
 
  • #52
Chi Meson said:
Did you mean O'Brian , or the guv'nor O'California? Or are they really the same guy?

What about The Barbarian?
 
  • #53
brewnog said:
What about The Barbarian?
What about John Travolta?

Mr. Kotter
 
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  • #54
what about inspector poirot

Lays bait and waits muuhhaaa :-)
 
  • #55
Chi Meson said:
Did you mean O'Brian , or the guv'nor O'California? Or are they really the same guy?

O'brian. And how dare you speak of Him without first using "The Lord and Master of all Comedy".
 
  • #56
brewnog said:
Didn't Norman Foster design the Pompidou?
no it was rogers & piano, whom I've never heard of. le corbusier was a visual artist who then got into architecture. he was the one who first designed buildings with exposed concrete, complete with the lines/marks made by the boards used to hold the concrete together until it set. he also thought it would be cool to build buildings on stilts, etc.
http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/lecorbusier.html
 
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  • #57
fourier jr said:
no it was rogers & piano, whom I've never heard of. [/url]

Ahh, good old Lord Richard Rogers of Riverside! He also designed the Millennium Dome, Madrid Barajas Airport, Heathrow Terminal 5, and some sexy little school.

Bloody nice chap.

/name dropping
 
  • #58
Who was it that saved France from this man again?
paris.jpg
 
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  • #59
Spiderman?
 
  • #60
france sacrificed more than the US in any war they've both taken part in. example: in WWII france lost ~13 ppl/1000 while the US lost ~3. in WWI france lost 1,300,000, more than 10x the US. is it any wonder they call it the "lost generation?"
 

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