Lunchtime in Paris

May's guest luncher

Hi guys and please let me present my "Guest Luncher for the Month of May"  my very own sister Lisa. (there are four of us girls but who knows when I'll get the others to participate...)

Here's us once upon a long time ago...(sister Lisa is the smaller one in the photo).

Sister Lisa now blogs here ,and  she has been a faithful fan and has also been the vector through which I met many of my most interesting readers. So, thank you Lisa for your support and encouragement, and also for introducing me to your crowd. (but  please oh please, you are a talented writer, pleaser write some more!)

And since I just love following recipes all that follows is in Lisa's own words and with her own photos (I picased a little to get them up to "food blog" standards but that was my only intervention aside from this introduction) take it away Lisa:

Welcome to Norfolk, Virginia and thank you to my sister Emily for allowing me to share my lunch with you. But first I will tell you a little bit about where I live.  It is the second largest container port on the United States east coast and the largest coal terminal in the world.  Goods pass through Norfolk from and to all corners of the world on container ships and coal ships and chemical ships.  In addition, the worlds largest navy base is here and Norfolk is headquarters to the NATO North Atlantic Command.

All this may sound like we are very cosmopolitan city.  But instead are a small southern town in many ways.   We do not always pronounce our words correctly and most in my business (international transportation) call the French port of Le Havre “La Harv” and call the English river Thames the “Thaymes”.  But this is easily overlooked because the people are so very friendly and welcoming and are always willing to share their love for the city with others.

Emily asked me to write about lunching in Norfolk so I went for a Saturday lunch at a famous Norfolk restaurant called Doumars.

 

You may learn about them here:  http://www.doumars.com/

I sat at the counter and ordered my meal.  The first important thing to order is a glass of “sweet tea".

Everyone in Southeastern Virginia and North Carolina drinks cold sweetened tea in the summer time.  It is one of our most important traditions.   

Then I ordered a barbecue sandwich that is nothing like any barbecue you’ve probably ever seen.

It is chopped pork that has been marinated in a vinegar sauce and is served on a hamburger bun with coleslaw on the top.  That’s the white stuff.  I may not look tasty but it is the best: Eastern North Carolina style Barbecue.  You can learn more about it here: http://www.hkentcraig.com/BBQexp.html

This is my whole meal, with French fries.  I was hungry as soon as they put the sandwich in front of me and had to take a bite before I took a picture:

This scrumptious meal cost me $5.50 and since it was so inexpensive I decided to enjoy a small hot fudge sundae with a cherry on top.

The food at Doumar’s is not expensive at all, just very good.  They make their own barbecue and grind their own beef for hamburgers.  Mr. and Mrs. Doumar are in their late 70’s and they still work hard, cleaning counters and taking orders and visiting with diners.  They keep us nourished with down-home food at a price almost anyone can afford

And in a last word about how friendly people are here.  If you sit at a counter people who do not know each other strike up conversations.  The couple sitting next to me asked why I was taking pictures of my food and I told them my sister in Paris had a lunch blog and wanted show how people around the world ate lunch.  We had a wonderful conversation and in the end, they paid for my lunch just to be kind, and asked nothing in return.  This is what we call Southern Hospitality and one reason I like living here.

Lisa, I thank you, and as soon as I can I'm gonna come running back to the States and live down south, where, apparently the living is good...

mille mercis et comme toujours...happy lunching!

Lunchtime disappointment

I'm disappointed today (and yesterday as well, retroactively).

If you check out the post right before this one you will see a very delicious roast beef sandwich from the new takeout place that just opened across the street from where I work.

It was so good that I went back for more:

On Wednesday I ordered the smoked salmon (saumon fumée) and tarama sandwich with a diet coke and fromage blanc for dessert. Bad idea.

How could things go from excellent to beurk in such a short period of time? Slimy lettuce, mushy tomatoes and soggy bread...how long has this sandwich been sitting around? My guess, since they only opened yesterday, is since yesterday (gross).

And then I went back again today (not a smart move and I assume responsability for being that dumb but it would just have been  so convenient if the food was good...).

Ham and cheese panini, fruit salad, and a diet coke.

Some strange things were going on inside this panini...unmelted cold cheese and a very few, very small bits of ham. Why was I not warned about the current ham shortage in Paris?

But seriously there is no excuse for this, none at all. Perhaps I take it too personally but being served bad food is one of the most unpleasant experiences a person can have.

and finally the fruit salad (1/3 fresh and 2/3 fruit cocktail straight out of the can).

I will not be going back to this place in the near future. Perhaps I will never go back.

Still I just don't understand. I've never worked in the food business but it only seems logical that if you open a place you prepare for those first few difficult weeks when you don't exactly know how much business you'll be getting. You serve good fresh food (and give what's left over to the shelters at the end of the day), you build up some clientele, and you build up some knowledge on how much to order and prepare. Although I could be wrong.

Today I'm just hoping that your lunch was better than mine...

Roastbeef sandwich and chocolate mousse for lunch

Greetings fellow lunchers,

Today I tried the new sandwich place that just opened up across the street from us. All I have to do is step out the door and in 2 minutes I'm back at my desk with my lunch. This is very convenient for cold rainy days when I don't want to walk too far.

This lunch cost 6,50 for a sandwich, dessert, and beverage. I chose the roast beef sandwich on baguette, chocolate mousse and a diet coke. In the foreground you will see a little booklet of "Ticket Restaurant" (restaurant tickets). I get these every month from my employer.

Inside of the booklet there are 21 tickets and each one is worth 8 euros. There is some kind of law in France that employers have to finance part of their employee's lunches. Big companies will invest in cafeterias and offset part of the food costs while smaller companies use the very practical restaurant tickets.

For each 8 euro ticket I pay 3,20 and my employer pays 4,80. They are accepted in all the takeout places so if you're ever in Paris and you see people paying with these tickets you'll know what they are.

This was a magnificent sandwich so this place is off to a good start in my book. I really like the idea of using chunks of roast beef rather than slices...sometimes when it is sliced you can't really bite all the way through and you wind up pulling half of the roast beef out with the first bite...I hate that.

These were nice rare manageable chunks of roast beef with lettuce, tomato, herbs and some very delicious pickles.

And a chocolate mousse (mousse au chocolat). Not quite as wonderful as the sandwich but ok nonetheless.

I think I will go back to this place tomorrow to see what else they have to offer (perhaps I will have the smoked salmon sandwich; it looked delicious) and I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping that they withstand the test of time.

Happy lunching!