Paris vs. Rome - The Food
(Editor’s Note: I think one of the most laughable groups around today are people who call themselves "Foodies". People who claim to have "sophisticated palates" and prefer only "fine dining". These are the same goofballs who were once "wine connessiuers". The vast majority no longer claim that title because they know that in a blind taste test, 99% couldn’t tell a French Vintage from $3 Buck Chuck if their life depended on it...and they don’t want to risk the embarrasment of being outed as having an "unsophisticated palate." So they’ve moved on to criticizing food to satisfy their elitist needs. So this food review is coming from a guy who falls into his own group: "Eater." And all the food I will talk will fall into 2 categories: "It tastes good" or "It tastes bad". For emphasis, the words "really", "very" & "fuckin’" can be inserted in various combinations before "good" and "bad", but "Good" & "Bad" are the continuum on which all of the food will be based. So if you are interested in the "layering of flavors" "inctricacy of the technique", or "molecular gastronomy", you may not want to read further.)
Category 1
Breakfast
In Rome and Paris you can get pastries and coffee in the morning in of host of little stores scattered around the city. What vaults Paris way ahead of Rome in this category is that in Paris you can easliy get the pastries right in the shop where they are made. These little bakeries are everywhere in Paris. In Rome I could only find places where it was obvious they had thier pastries dropped off and coud’ve been there for a couple of days. There are few things better at 8 in the morning than your choice of piping hot croissants or pastries filled with fresh cheeses and jellies. But my favorite was the one where they baked chunks of chocolate into the bottom of the pastry. Coffee and chocolate in a great combination. I had at least 2 of those things every morning I was in Paris.
Winner: Easily Paris
Rating: Very Good
In Rome and Paris you can get pastries and coffee in the morning in of host of little stores scattered around the city. What vaults Paris way ahead of Rome in this category is that in Paris you can easliy get the pastries right in the shop where they are made. These little bakeries are everywhere in Paris. In Rome I could only find places where it was obvious they had thier pastries dropped off and coud’ve been there for a couple of days. There are few things better at 8 in the morning than your choice of piping hot croissants or pastries filled with fresh cheeses and jellies. But my favorite was the one where they baked chunks of chocolate into the bottom of the pastry. Coffee and chocolate in a great combination. I had at least 2 of those things every morning I was in Paris.
Winner: Easily Paris
Rating: Very Good
Category 2
Lunch
I didn’t really sit down for Lunch, but the menus in both Paris and Rome looked very similar to there Dinner menus, so I’ll review them there.
Lunch
I didn’t really sit down for Lunch, but the menus in both Paris and Rome looked very similar to there Dinner menus, so I’ll review them there.
Category 3
Walking Around Food
In both Paris and Rome you could pop into an eatery on the street and get pizza or a baggette that were pretty good. It was enough to keep you going during sightseeing. What was great about both places is that they wrap it up for you so you can walk and eat. What gives Paris the big edge in this category is that on every corner they have creperiees or other food shops that set up stands where they make crepes for you. You can get ham and cheese in a fresh crepe in Paris. It was cold when I was there, so getting a hot ham and cheese on a crepe was fantastic. In Paris they also had these little Greek restaurants that did one of the oddedst things I ever seen...but it wound up being really good. The have a slab of meat that’s about 2 feet long (I’m guessing it was lamb), rotating on a skewer in the window. The Greek guy then takes some sort of electric tool and shaves the meat off the slab into little pieces. They then pile of bunch of it into baggettes and cram a bunch of French Fries into the sandwhich and that’s how you eat it.
Winner: Paris
Rating for Baggettes/Pizzas: Good
Rating for Ham & Cheese Crepe: Really Good
Rating for Shaved Lamb & Fries Baggette: Really Good
Walking Around Food
In both Paris and Rome you could pop into an eatery on the street and get pizza or a baggette that were pretty good. It was enough to keep you going during sightseeing. What was great about both places is that they wrap it up for you so you can walk and eat. What gives Paris the big edge in this category is that on every corner they have creperiees or other food shops that set up stands where they make crepes for you. You can get ham and cheese in a fresh crepe in Paris. It was cold when I was there, so getting a hot ham and cheese on a crepe was fantastic. In Paris they also had these little Greek restaurants that did one of the oddedst things I ever seen...but it wound up being really good. The have a slab of meat that’s about 2 feet long (I’m guessing it was lamb), rotating on a skewer in the window. The Greek guy then takes some sort of electric tool and shaves the meat off the slab into little pieces. They then pile of bunch of it into baggettes and cram a bunch of French Fries into the sandwhich and that’s how you eat it.
Winner: Paris
Rating for Baggettes/Pizzas: Good
Rating for Ham & Cheese Crepe: Really Good
Rating for Shaved Lamb & Fries Baggette: Really Good
Category 4
Dinner
Okay, this is where the fisticuffs can start. This reactions are visceral when it comes to people defining their love for French or Italian cuisine. I must admit that I love Italian food. I even had Lasagna at a place called "Mama’s" one night while I was in Paris. But to be fair I sat down and had Beef Burgundy at a little bistro behind the hotel. It was good. I examined a bunch of other menu’s at the other bistros around the area, but none really got me excited to eat. I’m sure they were fine, but not necessarily worth the effort. In Rome, I had pizza, fetucinne bolognese, lasagna and veal scalopione. Every dish, no matter the reaturant, was fantastic!!! If I had one meal to eat before I die, it would be the pasta with bolognese sauce followed by pizza funghi in Rome.
Winner: Rome in a Trouncing!
Rating for Beef Burgundy: Good
Rating for All Italian Dinners: Really, Fucking, Good!!!
Okay, this is where the fisticuffs can start. This reactions are visceral when it comes to people defining their love for French or Italian cuisine. I must admit that I love Italian food. I even had Lasagna at a place called "Mama’s" one night while I was in Paris. But to be fair I sat down and had Beef Burgundy at a little bistro behind the hotel. It was good. I examined a bunch of other menu’s at the other bistros around the area, but none really got me excited to eat. I’m sure they were fine, but not necessarily worth the effort. In Rome, I had pizza, fetucinne bolognese, lasagna and veal scalopione. Every dish, no matter the reaturant, was fantastic!!! If I had one meal to eat before I die, it would be the pasta with bolognese sauce followed by pizza funghi in Rome.
Winner: Rome in a Trouncing!
Rating for Beef Burgundy: Good
Rating for All Italian Dinners: Really, Fucking, Good!!!
Category 5 -
Sweets
The Romans just throw down the gauntlet in this category with the Gelatto. They had gelatto in Paris also, but it couldn’t compare to the gelatto in Rome. Let’s face it there is nothing better than ice cream...except gelatto. But the Parisians have all of the bakeries and you can get fresh eclairs, brownies and cookies any time of the day. I would give a slight edge to the gelatto at this point. But to settle this we have to go to the Nutella. Nutella is a creamy chocolate/hazelnut spread. It’s made in Italy, but available in Paris too. While Italians spread it on a number of things, what gives Paris the edge in this category is that those creperies have as one of their options: Crepe with Nutella. You get a hot, fresh crepe and that melts the Nutella and creates almost a little Nutella pop tart. Melted chocolate on anything is ridiculously good. I was addicted. I had at least 2 of these per day and had to tell myself no a couple of times in order to walk by the creperie without buying one.
Winner: Paris but both are Really, Fucking Good.
Rating for Gelatto: Really, Fucking Good
Rating for Eclairs, Brownies & Cookies: Really, Fucking Good
Rating for Nutella on Crepes: Really, Fucking Good
The Romans just throw down the gauntlet in this category with the Gelatto. They had gelatto in Paris also, but it couldn’t compare to the gelatto in Rome. Let’s face it there is nothing better than ice cream...except gelatto. But the Parisians have all of the bakeries and you can get fresh eclairs, brownies and cookies any time of the day. I would give a slight edge to the gelatto at this point. But to settle this we have to go to the Nutella. Nutella is a creamy chocolate/hazelnut spread. It’s made in Italy, but available in Paris too. While Italians spread it on a number of things, what gives Paris the edge in this category is that those creperies have as one of their options: Crepe with Nutella. You get a hot, fresh crepe and that melts the Nutella and creates almost a little Nutella pop tart. Melted chocolate on anything is ridiculously good. I was addicted. I had at least 2 of these per day and had to tell myself no a couple of times in order to walk by the creperie without buying one.
Winner: Paris but both are Really, Fucking Good.
Rating for Gelatto: Really, Fucking Good
Rating for Eclairs, Brownies & Cookies: Really, Fucking Good
Rating for Nutella on Crepes: Really, Fucking Good
Overall Winner:
Rome
Even though Paris won more categories, I have to give the edge in The Food category to Rome because the dinners were just way too good. But if you have a real sweet-tooth, Paris is your place.
Even though Paris won more categories, I have to give the edge in The Food category to Rome because the dinners were just way too good. But if you have a real sweet-tooth, Paris is your place.
1 comment:
The slice lamb I could pass on. I liked the idea making a sandwich filling with french fries...its all traveling to the same place...why not! But I have to say it was the chocolate chunked croissant with coffee that put a smile on my face! Although probably not close in taste, Im treating myself to Starbucks tomorrow morning! Thanks for sharing your trips...Love Part one of 2008!
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