Road Food Europe. Is there a Road Food Europe?

We have relocated to Europe, from New York, and although there are excellent restaurants and foods to be found throughout Europe we miss the diversity of options in NY. However, as we travel around Germany, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and northern Italy (and Tokyo, Japan annually) over the next 7 years of our stay here we hope to look forward to finding wonderful restaurants to dine.
Does anyone have any leads?

I do recall reading about a Spanish couple, Miguel and Juana Detras who wrote a book "Comida de Los Caminos de Espana"

With the exception of Tokyo, you have basically asked us for food recommendations for all of Europe. That is a pretty broad scope of restaurants. Let's start with France, will you be next to Valenciennes, Lille, Rouen, Romorantin, Cannes, Avignon, Paris, Marsailles, Nice, Maubeuge, Bavay, Cambrai, Douai, St. Jean de Luze, Hon-Hergies, Gussinies, Bordeaux, Strasbourg,Lyon, only to name a few.

Right, sorry. We are in Paris every other month. In Strasbourg we actually had horrible food, but the joke is that Strasbourg is part German, which is unfair. We will be in the south (Marsaille and maybe Cannes or Nice) and Bordeaux periodically through the year. In July there are the circuses in Avignon and we could be there then. So just those towns. Paris is always so daunting because we don't speak French and we are poor. Nearby destinations of Luxembourg City and Maastricht are frequently visited. Any suggestions? Next time I will make some suggestions of my own. Thank you.

Spain is difficult for us. Although Madrid was fine on our last visit and others have said that Barcelona is still ok, we are concerned about the Spanish attitudes towards foreigners that have been making headlines over here. Being American isn't what it use to be....
Thank you.

"Paris is always so daunting because we don't speak French and we are poor."

Only one of these conditions is truly a problem: learn to speak at least a little French. I have found once I try to speak the native tongue (my junior high school French actually comes in handy), I am treated like a human being, not just as an American or a tourist. Parisians especially seem to appreciate the effort, and not onlydo they excuse my fumbling French, but they seem to know a bit more English, suddenly, too.
Get some tapes at the library: no cost. And make an effort.
You can eat pretty well on limited funds, too. Do like the locals do: find the local boulangerie (bakery- see, you're already speaking French)and get on line when they do early in the morning. The best breakfast anywhere in Paris is a fresh croissant and coffee. Pop into a market stall for some fresh fruit and sit outside with your elegant & inexpensive meal and watch the beautiful Parisians scurry about. It's a great show, and it's absolutely free.
Lunch can also be cheap & tasty if you keep it simple- bread (they keep making it fresh all day long, it is the true national religion), cheese, some salami or whatever you like. Save your money for a lovely meal in a neighborhood family boite (joint, approximately). Usually inexpensive, with a decent bottle of wine- just follow the locals. That has always been my plan from Canada to Kashmir- I traveled around the world on a shoestring when I was in my 20's.

quote:

Originally posted by jim hilton

I do recall reading about a Spanish couple, Miguel and Juana Detras who wrote a book "Comida de Los Caminos de Espana"

I guess my humor is a little obscure.

I hope you have a good time living in Europe. I seven years I bet you'll pick up the basics of several languages.

This may help, the Sterns advice from "The Splendid Table"

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/#international

Cathy

quote:

Originally posted by Williamsburger

I hope you have a good time living in Europe. I seven years I bet you'll pick up the basics of several languages.

This may help, the Sterns advice from "The Splendid Table"

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/#international

Cathy

OOPS!
Read that a little closer. Not all those topics are from the Sterns. Too bad.
CB

quote:

Originally posted by Williamsburger

I hope you have a good time living in Europe. I seven years I bet you'll pick up the basics of several languages.

This may help, the Sterns advice from "The Splendid Table"

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/#international

Cathy

OOPS!
Read that a little closer. Not all those topics are from the Sterns. Too bad.
CB

I spent quite a bit of time in Arlon, Belgium a few years ago. Arlon's square has a Sherman tank in it. (Arlon is actually mentioned by name in the movie "Patton"). The largest cafe on the square (there was only three) has a wonderful shrimp salad.

If headed towards France on the motorway from Arlon you will cross from Belgium to France near Longleville. Exit just after entering France, go through a traffic circle...500 meters down the Allied Signal/Honeywell PET plant will be on your right. Left when the road T's and the first cafe before you cross back into Luxembourg on the right has a wonderful Pasta Fagolli. I ate there every day at lunch for six months. The place is less than three minutes off the motorway.

Just outside of Arlon on the motorway E411 is a hotel that bridges the road. They have wonderful mussels in the fall. A different place the Hotel Arlux in Arlon was my home for many months. While not the Ritz it beats anything else in the area. Tel 32 63 23 22 11 Sorte 31 E411.

We used to drive from Arlon to Lux City every other Saturday night to a steak house that served baked potatoes, an almost impossible side in Europe. They served the steak raw w/ a very hot piece of granite. You basically cooked your own steak on the hot rock.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Villory & Bosch (I'm sure I misspelled BOTH names) has an outlet in Lux City. And the roadside frittes sellers sell the GREATEST French fries...or are they freedom fries? Guess not over there.

While in the area I would recommend visiting Malmedy. Wonderful little town. All the cafes are great, really. Make sure to say a prayer for the murdered American engineers at the memorial just outside of the town.

Reims, France is not to be missed. Plan on a weekend at least. Tour the caves and buy bubbly not available anywhere else in the world. Remember the caves are at a constant 55F so you will get slightly cold if dressed for summer. Also a good idea is to join the Chandon Club (free last ime I checked). The tour is free at Chandon in Reims to members and at the end of the tour you get a better glass of bubbly than the commoners.

The only things I can recommend about Holland are that coffee houses in Amsterdam don't serve coffee and don't, repeat don't miss the Van Gogh museumn

V960: You write up was excellent and you know your area really well. I spent quite a bit of time myself in Belgium, France, England, Denmark, Germany, The Swiss area, Italy, Austria, Poland but I have to say that the most colorful area was a colorful city with canals, great bars and a very wild downtown area????? I never spent very much time there though

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Sundancer or I prefer Sundanger...seems to fit much better after your last post.

I spent most of my international road warrior time in Europe in Arlon, Amsterdam or Frankfurt. A few weeks in Aux de Bains, France.

You refer to a city w/ canals, great bars and a wild downtown...exit the train station, cross the canal and head left. The Greenhouse Effect cafe is my fav. The bartender is a retired staff sargent from the 82nd Airborne...got to love those guys that will jump out of a perfectly functioning aircraft. I don't recommend staying there, the Hilton near the museum district is just too nice but for a coffee house it is great. Next door is a Police station.

V960: Obviously I was referring to Amsterdam. I have been there several times but I have neglected from partaking from local quisine.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Excellent, excellent. We travel between Maastricht area and Paris and usually pass through Belgium without stopping. I will look at the map and see if those spots are en route. Also, Lux City is small enough to find anything so we can just ask for a steak house, etc. We haven't been disappointed with food in Lux yet. Ok, the truth is that we many times eat at Pizza Hut, usually late at night... Thank you for the suggestions. It is such a gamble in France. The food may be either fantastic or horrific but definitely different. The best and worst food I have had in the last decade have both been in France. But, the best has been worth the risk. The French make eating and cooking an art. The preparation of the cheeses to the pouring of the wine is all done with such drama. I counted 14 different varieties of cows driving along a national round (N4, I think)to Paris. The cows were all segregated based upon their colors and sizes. All the light browns that were very large were together; the black and whites...; the dark browns; the blacks; the whites; the small browns; etc. I mentioned it in Paris to my colleagues and a 30minute discussion ensued as to the regulations and procedures of making cheese and how much cheese could be purchased legally, etc. I said, ok, this is not NY.
The caves, yeah, I saw a special on them in France- the wall drawings. My colleagues here in Germany are bat neuroscientists and make frequent trips to the hotcaves of Cuba and Jamaica to bring the bats back here. Perhaps these cool caves can be my cave adventure experience that can't possibly entail bats, snakes, cockroaches, and scorpions (at 55F).
The Van Gogh Museum has a special Rembrandt exhibit which ends this month, I think. We have maybe 5 Rembrandts at the Met, which were put into the basement during the renovations, so this is an interesting exhibit for us. Amsterdam is crazy though. The people are amazingly nice, the nicest in the world, and handle their sex and drug scene rather responsibly- considering. The Dutch have a rich history though, of tolerance, etc. since the 1300s- at least- also of slavery, genocide, oppression, and thievery; but at home they are so harmless, inspite of their being the kickbox capital of Europe. And, they have cheese, which inherently implies that they must be great people. Oh, and they have a cheese with garlic in it that I can't even find in NY. Thanks.

Sundancer,
Inteeresting place Amsterdam. For the past few years it has become my entry point for Europe. The first Marriott Courtyard in Europe was built close to AMS a/p. The coupons Marriott was giving out for free nights after you stayed for three nights worked there. Shuttle to the a/p every hour and then a train ride into the city.

Did come back and bite me a few years ago on my return to the states. Huge windstorm closed the train station (glass roof and all that) so the cab ride back to the hotel cost me $100. All the flights were delayed the next morning, stood in line at the a/p for six hours and could only get as far as Memphis that day. Ah isn't travel glamorus?

Regarding the local cusine in Amsterdam...hard to find. Thee local color is easily found in the red light district. Some of the best Thai, Korean and Indian food I've ever had I had in Amsterdam.

ExpatRoadFood,
About an hour east of Lux City is the Rhine river wine district. Well worth a weekend of touring wineries. They are not as well set up as California but it is actually more fun. The caves in Reims were dug by man from chalk. Some date from the Roman occupation. The entire region is sitting on a huge chalk deposit...it is what gives bubbly its taste.

A couple of good places now that I know where you are.

Au Baron in Gussignies (Nord)
Anywhere in Maroilles, France......just for the special cheese made there, especially a Flamiche au Maroilles.
The Abbaye of Chimay in Belgium.
Anywhere in the "Centre Place" in Mons, Belgium.
L'Huiterie in Brussels
Chez Roger a la Grenouille, Paris
Au Chien qui Fume, Paris
Aux Lyonnais, Paris
L'Ami Louis, Paris
Chez Georges, Paris

For fine dining in Paris, Apicius. Also Taillevent and La Tour d'Argent. In Brussels, Comme Chez Soi.

Have fun in Europe. I lived there for 7 years, had a great time.

For wineries, wow, that's limitless. From Bordeaux to Bourgougne, to Alsace, to Loire Valley, to The Cote d'Azur, to Provence. An especially lovely wine/gastronamic town is Saumur in the Loire Valley. Get the pike quenelles. Awesome.

V960,
Yes, Amsterdam benefits from its immigrant community. They have the usual suspects of foreign restaurants but then they may have something unique with the Indonesian and, as of late, the Jamaican influences. Actually, we have a restaurant on West Broadway in Soho, Manhattan, called Diva's. The owner is from Turkey but the cuisine is a fusion of Indonesia and Italian. He describes the ambiance as 'sexy international'. Many model types and mid-20s-30s celebrity types spend time there late nights on weekdays.
We live close to the Rhine and actually lived along the Rhine close to WeinStrasse 'wine street'. The wine scene throughout Europe is outrageous. In NY I normally spent 15-35 dollars (Astor Place Wines and Spirits have the best prices for the quality) for any particular wine but I seldom spend more than 10 Euros here for better quality wines from Bordeaux to Tuscany.

lleechef,
THANK YOU SO MUCH! We had guests in November and I spent over an hour trying to find a place to eat in Paris. We ended up eating at some spot between the Borse and the old opera house, which was mediocre at best. Also, Paris, similar to New York, is the best and worst place in the world. Growing up I never saw the more seedy side of Paris, when with my parents, but now that I drive there and find my own way around it is more and more apparent. We don't have anything in the U.S., that I know of, that can compare to the energy found along the Seine on a summer's night- viewed from the tour boats. Or the architecture, etc. But, in 2002 while there for the Tour de France, we had some people try to kidnap our daughter right outside the Louvre. Now that is crazy but apparently before a tourist even knows what to do these people, not French, have their little ones in another country etc. I can't imagine the authorities in the U.S. allowing such a ring to be so egregious and established. However, now that we live in Europe and I have fallen back in love with that horrible wonderful city it continuously finds a way to reseduce my family. Um, I did have a guy from Morocco try to fight me recently because he said that 'Americans are pacman, why do you want everything......' Yet, most people have been enormously delightful, helpful, and entertaining- truly. Skipping the rest of this digression... why do the French restaurants charge so much for drinks. We sat down to eat breakfast, which was a special for 4 Euro- an omelette (it was fantastic!), bread, and fruit. The bill was 27 Euro. They charged us 5 Euro each for our drinks, a drink that the waitress insisted we try- orange juice. Another place had drinks rather expensive on their menu.
Maybe it is the tourist menu.
We will enjoy exploring your suggestions, actually, I am getting hungry simply thinking about it. I am.
Wine is definitely no problem, nor is the beer here in Germany. Oh, but I had a cognac made from flowers and another made from fruit in France. The name escapes me but it was expensive 128Euro-Liter (about the price of gas here). I never had anything like that before, it really tasted like flowers- but in an enchanting way. I should get the name of it. California has invaded Europe with its wines and the prices are low but so is some of the quality, unfortunately, a Sauvignon Blanc... yuck. Our Italian friends claim that the wine from their vineyard tastes different when they drive it 200km. It is the same but different somehow, less than its best. Therefore they always advise to drink the local wines, especially with the local foods. But as I had admitted earlier we find ourselves at Pizza Hut, too often, and they only sale California wines, good taste but in the markets not so consistent.

The "cognac" (it can only be called that if it was made in Cognac.....French logistics) was perhaps Chartreuse? The one from fruit was probably Poire Williams or Framboise?

Nobody ever said Europe was cheap. But I hope you're not tipping because the tip is ALWAYS included. A cup of coffee in Nice or Cannes is 6 Euro. Lunch is even more. Forget about dinner! If you get down to the Italian Riviera be sure to go to Portofino. Wonderful food in a very old fishing village.

Yes, there are "seedy" areas of Paris, just like any huge city. La Gare du Nord area is particularly bad. Try to stay between Place de la Nation, Place Bastille, Place de la Concorde and the Latin Quarter. Of course the Champs d'Elysee is also safe.

And STOP eating at Pizza Hut! Good God, you're in Europe! Eat some foie gras, some pate or terrine, cornichons, sweetbreads, cochon du lait, frog's legs, wild boar, lapin au pruneaux, duck, goose, moules frites, oysters, Dover sole, ANYTHING but pizza! Although there is this little place in Mons in the Grande Place that does make a KILLER Italian style pizza, that's when you're not having a "Saucisse Frites" which seems to be one of the national foods of Belgium.

Also there is an excellent restaurant off of the Avenue de Breteuil (behind the Esplanade) called Au Fils du Dragon. Fantastic authentic Chinese food, especially the dim sum!

Ok, Poire Williams or Framboise. Maybe now I can find it at the store here. They told me cognac.
No, the weak dollar makes it even more rough. Tip? I can barely afford the meal, generally.
You're right, we should try to stay away from the simple, yet tasty, pizzas. But it is tricky because late at night pizza is sometimes the only option. We had pizza in a lot of places too, Zurich, Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Luxembourg City, etc. Also, we have a 6 year old that is a true New Yorker, she loves pizza too.

We will move to Paris in 3 years and I will start taking French courses in 2 years. For now, I simply have resigned myself to be lost for at least 2 hours in Paris- always, it is maddening. I can't pronounce the words properly, etc. Actually I like exploring Paris, all of it, and there isn't anything in Paris that comes close to the worst of New York- I use to live in the South Bronx. We will probably live in Gif-sur-Yvette. I have some names of food, thank you, and so I will seek these items out specifically. Thank you for the education, it should help us tremendously. But this is it, the French are serious about food! I can start a conversation about food or drink amongst a group and they will discuss it for at least 30 minutes.
Once we are there I will take a cooking course, if I can manage the language. Oh, and now they are going English. I can work in Paris in English, which was impossible 5 years ago.

Speaking of Portofino, there is supposedly a cooking school there also. Yes, the Italian Riviera is a quick shot for us. We normally just go to Milan (charming people but bland town), which isn't much, but the drive to Roma along the coast is a treasure of beauty. We are suppose to be going along the French Riviera but I can't get myself up to the drive. It is 10 hours. We have to drive (Giant Schnauzer in tow) and the drives through France are beautiful. I have just discovered, after going to France since I was 11, that Paris is not the only special city in France. Each town seems to have its own magic. Every where I go I find these incredibly little towns with character and significance. I drove through a town that looked like a Mexican town (weathered stone, 19th century farm houses,etc.), but then a guy had a baguette under his arm and I knew I was in France. The countryside looks like one Impressionist painting after another, mile after mile. I can understand how they feel that they are special, they are. They celebrate a different aspect of life. It is seductive, not like Italy, which is seductive in being interesting because of the architecture, landscape, and history but in the sense that the motives and psychology of the culture is from a different time, perhaps Rousseau's or Hugo's time. Les Miserables is timeless yes but in France Hugo's warnings and concerns viscerally reverberates. I don't know but the freedom of expression, in everything, along with the centrality of thinking and analyzing creates vivid imaginations and concrete realities of... enjoyment. But if only their science could keep up with their imaginations. Their science is horrible (the home of Pasteur). Sorry, this is a food forum. Yet their food and arts are fantastic.

Thank you for all of the suggestions, we'll share our experiences of them. I think that we will go to France (Metz) next weekend and then on to Maastricht. We should be in Paris for something in a month or so. July, we may go to Vienna (not impressed, except for the Spanish School)- then down to Venice, Verona, (all Vs),etc. if we can't get to Tokyo as planned.

We traditionally avoid Chinese food unless it is in Chinatown in Manhattan or China. But Paris is suppose to have the best Chinatown in Europe. I will end here. Sorry for the long missives.

In Metz, you will find a wonderful tradition of many establishments called "salons de the" (tea rooms), and they really are different from ones you might find elsewhere in France (including Paris). These places offer spectacular desserts (frequently filled and covered in whipped cream!) that some claim come from Metz's heritage of being a part of Germany for the last part of the nineteenth century until the end of World War I, and during the German occupation of World War II (this region of Lorraine, along with Alsace, was considered by the Germans to be traditionally part of the German Empire, so those who maintained the French language were persecuted).
Metz' cathedral is absolutely beautiful; a gem that is too often overlooked by American tourists. It is of Gothic style, with some of the most beautiful stained glass windows in all of France. Besides medieval stained glass, they have stunning modern ones designed by Chagall.
Enjoy this underappreciated gem of a city!

Usually, I pass through Metz but I have been looking forward to exploring Metz more. Thank you for the insights.

The Germans use whip cream that is not sweet. What a tragedy. I hope the French treat their guests better. Perhaps Metz is sufficiently non-German enough.

Chagall, we have some of his work at the Lincoln Center in NY, supposedly. Wow, I knew that Metz was in league with the great cities of the world('')

Interestly, my undergrad roommate visited with his wife last November. He had never left the U.S. before and grew up in some rather rough projects in Trenton, NJ. I can't say that he ever expressed any interest in medieval religious traditions or architecture, nor much of anything outside of the stereotypical perspective of his demographic. However, 0100hrs in the morning or later we were driving through Paris as our wives, our daughter, and my dog were sleeping. It was a long day but I wanted to show him Notre Dame before we ended that day. My friend stood in awe of this magnificent structure, as did I. I had seen it at a distance so many times and hadn't been close to it since I was a kid. The detail and immenseness of the cathedral is mindblowing. My roommate could not get over it- the details, the fact that it was built hundreds of years ago, the massiveness and sense of permanency. I saw it for the first time again also. These medieval portals were meant to, I suppose, frighten people into the church with eternal damnation but Notre Dame must have been meant to lure by awe.
We have not been to the cathedral in Metz but we look forward to doing so. Koln, Strasbourg, Speyer, etc. are other nearby places that we have been able to visit cathedrals but, here goes my New York plug again, the Cathedral Church of St. John Devine in Manhattan captures much of the magnificence of some of the less grandiose authentic medieval cathedrals. The exhausts from the cars help make it look 700 years old.
BEST

The cathedral in Reims is not to be missed. Although smaller than Notre Dame is is a more complicated structure. Also the shops on the square have better items...I still use a knife I bought there...the champagne is long since gone.

Right, the cathedral in Reims is very well-known. There are some distinguishing aspects of its Romanesque or Gothic architecture that I can't remember but I do remember that it is partiuclarly important. ...haven't been there yet. I have to look at a map but maybe we can stop there on the way to Bordeaux this summer. We have to drive.

Only a suggestion but General Patton is buried near the Lux City A/P, maybe a flower or two? Also the drive from Lux City to Reims will take you past many many graveyards...also a flower or two for these fallen men? This whole area is a sad place for the death that occured there.

Right, there is a cemetary in Luxembourg (or was it in Belgium) for fallen American soldiers. I remember going there with my mom when I was a kid. I think that there simply white crosses, no names or anything. Yeah, we haven't visited any cemetaries since we have been here- unfortunately we have had to visit enough back home, but yeah we should take a closer look.

The one I am refering to is one of two within a mile...or should I say kilometer...of the Lux A/P. The one for the Allies has General Patton buried at the top of the hill overlooking a few thousand Allied graves. It is perfectly mowed and cared for in every way. About 1/2 klick away is the German graveyard...poorly cared for would be a kind description. Bad memories die hard.

That is funny. I think I will look them both up. I don't know when although Lux is one of my preferred places. My wife wants to be in Maastricht more these days but I like the new post 9-11 Lux with all of the new, formerly Swiss, money that is encouched in that city- to avoid U.S. prying eyes, I suppose. There seems to be a growing community of interesting people. I think we are heading to Maastricht in the morning so I must wish you all eines schones Wochenende.

Well, I have finally saved up enough pennies to go and explore some of the suggestions that were made. We will travel into the Netherlands, primarily, to see the flowers and then down through Belgium to France next weekend. I think that we may have enough to go to 3 or 4 restaurants. I look forward to sharing our experiences. [The dollar is unbelievably weak (70euro cents), remember when 1dollar was 5 Francs or 2.5DM- long gone are those days, but next week should save me a few cents.]

quote:

Originally posted by V960

The one I am refering to is one of two within a mile...or should I say kilometer...of the Lux A/P. The one for the Allies has General Patton buried at the top of the hill overlooking a few thousand Allied graves. It is perfectly mowed and cared for in every way. About 1/2 klick away is the German graveyard...poorly cared for would be a kind description. Bad memories die hard.

This is very sad to hear. So mamy of these men were caught up in an ugly situation and forced to serve and ultimitaly give their lives for a cause that they wanted nothing to do with. Granted there are some burried there that the conditions of their final resting spot may be fitting, but don't let it fall in disrepair and punish the memmories of the common soldier. Chow Jim

I cannot verify it but there seems to have been a lack of concern in the identification of the German soldiers. almost all their graves are simply marked "Ein Deutch Soldaten", "One German Soldier". the Allied graves are mostly marked w/ a name and a cross or star of David.

"Hey Joe put in an order for 1500 headstones marked "Ein Deutch Soldaten" and leave it at that. ??????