La Carte s’il vous plait!
Deuxieme Partie
Part II of III
by Beatrice Barber
St. Supéry Entertaining Maven

Last month I talked about the different Menus you could have in a French restaurant. This month, I will talk about a few most common and traditional dishes in their respective categories of Appetizers, Fish, Meat, Dessert.

Les entrées: French for Appetizers

• Escargots de Bourgogne : Snails often served in their shell with garlic, butter and parsley
• Plateau de Fruits de mer: A platter of crustacians for one or to share
• Moules Marinières : Mussels cooked in a light broth
• Pied de cochon : Pig’s feet salad with vinaigrette
• Soupe à l’oignon gratinée : Onion soup with melted cheese

Les Viandes  / Meat

• Filet de boeuf  or entrecote de boeuf : beef Steak
• Steak Tartare: Raw grounded beef
• Magret de canard : duck Breast
• Rognon de veau : veal kidney
• Escalope de veau : veal scallop
• Côtes de porc : porc Chop
• Civet deLapin : rabbit stew
• Coq au vin : chicken stew cooked in a wine sauce
• Boeuf Bourguignon: beef stew in a wine sauce

Les Poissons / Fish

• Huîtres: Oysters
• Coquille St. Jacques : Scallops in a white sauce served in its shell (generally)
• Saumon Grillé  : Grilled Salmon
• Homard: Lobster
• Lotte à l’Americaine : Monkfish American style (cooked in a lobster sauce)

Les Dessert / Desserts:

• Plateau de fromages: Cheese assortment platter
• Crème Brulée : Vanilla custard with caramelized sugar crust
• Profitéroles: puff pastry filled with vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top
• Oeuf à la neige: sweet fluffy egg white floating on crème anglaise

Now, if you go in a Brasserie or a Bistro which is more like a bar/café that serves sandwiches, salads and warm dishes:
Some of the common items are:

• Croque Monsieur : Grilled cheese and ham sandwich
• Croque Madame : same as Croque Monsieur but with a over easy egg on top
• Filet de Hareng : Cold marinated herring with warm potato salad
• Salade de cruditées : mixed vegetable salad
• Soupe à l’oignon : onion soup
• Steak frite : Steak with French fries
• Poulet frite: roasted chicken with French fries

Come back next month for Part III  where I will help you navigate a French wine list, because, you can’t have a French meal without WINE !  à suivre………