I’ve been back in France now for about a week and a half now. Over the past ten days, I’ve spent a lot of time transitioning back into the French lifestyle. Baguettes, cheese, and wine are just a small part. As such, I’m now ready to make some observations, and with this post you’re about to read, we’re going to start a new column, Battle of the Cultures. This might be a lofty goal but I’d like to write a bit about the different cultures I’ve grown up in. We’ll see whether or not it continues, but here at least is Part I. If there are any topics you’d like me to touch upon, just leave a comment or contact me and I’ll try and include it for the next edition. In this edition:
Le Fromage vs Kraft
I don’t think a translation is necessary, but to be absolutely clear, we’re talking about cheese here. More specifically, French cheese vs American cheese. One might not be pasteurized, the other might not contain milk. Visiting the cheese section of a French supermarket is a delight. No matter how small the supermarket is (exceptions can be found), they’ll have a cheese counter. Whatever kind of cheese you’re looking for, you’ll find. Multiple versions of Chevre, Camembert, Comte, and Roquefort can almost always be found. Not to mention of course those cheeses coming from across the border: Italian and Swiss. One walk down an American supermarkets aisle and it’s enough to make a Frenchman (don’t even think of calling me one) have a nervous break down - or at least cry. I’m trying to think of American cheese right now and I can’t get past the pre-sliced, mutant orange Kraft slices. Isn’t Kraft a company name anyway?
Winner: France
Une demi-pression vs I’ll have what’s on tap
This is a tough one. Surprised? So was I. I’ve been talking about how great European beer is in the States and I come over here, get myself a six-pack of 1664, and find it to be sub-par. However, Alsatian (I quote from from the OED, “a native or inhabitant of Alsace.”) beer never tasted better. Of course, being in France, you’ve got a ready supply of ‘imports’ that cost half the price - Heineken, Amstel, Hoegarden, you name it, Carrefour has it. But, then again, the US does have some good beer and most of the imports can be found too. Of course, we’re not talking of Bud, Coors, or Miller but the microbreweries and more expensive name-brands: Yuengling and Sam Adams. In the end, I’ll have to shrug my shoulders and move on to the next showdown with declaring a real winner.
Winner: Tied
Pizza vs Pizza
Who am I kidding, this one is impossible to answer. Pizza in France is generally thin and contains few choice ingredients. Pizza in America can range from Chicago-style deep pan pizza to New York-style how-many-ingredients-can-we-possibly-fit-on-this-pizza to thin pizzas crafted by a Vegan artisan. All are good. None are bad (almost). You probably won’t find raw egg on pizzas in the US and you’re definitely not going to find pasta on pizza here, but that’s the beauty. Each country has their own rules and neither are wrong.
Winner: Tied
Carte d’Or vs Ben & Jerry’s
You can replace Ben & Jerry’s with your favorite American brand of ice cream: Baskin and Robbins, Starbucks, Edys, Häagen Dazs, you name it. French ice cream is simply superior. We’ll start with the basics. Vanilla. American vanilla tastes like cream, trust me. French vanilla tastes like the they placed vanilla extract in the ice cream, making it a much stronger, poignant taste. It’s less milky and more tasty. If we move on, and this may just be because of Nice’s proximity to Italy, the presentation of ice cream here is amazing. Take Bacio, a chocolate ice cream based off of the Italian nut candy. If you go to the local ice cream store and ask for it, they’ll be scooping it from a tray that features the hazelnuts in it and looks as if a person spent half an hour just decorating it. Coconut ice cream will have a coconut placed in it. One of things you won’t find here though is soft-serve. It just doesn’t exist.
Winner: France
Espresso vs Drip
I guess that title’s a bit misleading, but coffee here really is pretty much espresso. You can get cappuccino and some places might serve Cafe Americain but for the most part, if you ask for a coffee, you’re going to get a tiny cup of espresso served with dark chocolate. Strong, but very little of it. I may have just gotten used to the idea of quantity over quality, but going to the local coffee shop and ordering a decent cup of coffee that takes more than a minute to drink has some appeal. It makes discussions around the table last longer and you feel like you’re craving is being satisfied. Plus, a $2.00 for a beverage that lasts for a quarter of an hour is economically bad. That said, you’d be hard pressed to get a bad coffee here. Lavazza, Illy, and the countless other brands of coffee here are just good. You’re not going to find any diner style dish-water tasting coffee here.
Winner: Tied
Public Transport
Perhaps this is a reflection on size, but public transport is simply better in the US. Here on the Cote d’Azur, buses, at least on my line which is one of the most important in the region, stop running around 9 o’clock in the evening. If you need to go anywhere afterwards (Nice? Monaco?), you can count on perhaps one train an hour and you’re lucky if it stops at your station (Villefranche is a small town). After midnight, forget about it. It seems the Americans care a lot more when it comes to transportation - at least from the systems I’ve used. Granted, some buses run all night in Nice but they’re not very often at all. If you need to get around here, count on a car or a moped.
Winner: America
Quoi? vs How may I help you?
Customer service in France is almost non-existant. I called up Wanadoo when I first got here and the agent I spoke to didn’t want to deal with our problem. No DSL (actually, ADSL here), don’t bother me. We’re only your service provider. Walk into a store here and you’re lucky to even get a hello. Maybe a glimpse to make sure you’re not going to rob the store blind, but don’t expect any service. Lost? Looking for a certain book in the store? You could go and ask the two customer service agents who are applying nail polish and talking about last night, or you could just randomly pick books off the shelf. You’re better off choosing the latter option. In the US, expect a greeting and a lot of attention. Sometimes it’s overbearing but they do try and help. I was looking for a book in Borders just before Christmas. The store was packed and understaffed. However, after being unable to find the book and just looking lost, two employees approached me and pointed me in the right direction.
Winner: America
French Drivers vs American Drivers
I’m not even sure if I need to write anything here. American drivers for the most part follow the rules, wait at traffic lights, keep within 10 mph of the speed limit, and tailgate to a minimum. Moreover, with their obsession for changing cars every other month, driving the biggest, baddest SUVs that lead to the widening of lanes, and enjoyment of strip-malls, American roads are generally safe, well signed, and easy to drive on. Not to mention, almost all cars are automatic … try and find a stalled car! Let’s take a look at France. The roads are narrow, curvy, and poorly marked. Signage is excellent, but since you’re traveling 20 to 30 kph over the speed limit, impossible to comprehend in time. Drivers will flash their lights at you, honk, and make sure to leave as little room between your bumper and theirs. Transmissions are manual, turn signals are an annoyance, and any car over a year old will have countless dents and scratches (ours does and so will yours).
Winner: America
Historic Architecture vs Cookie Cutter
France has history. Sure, so does the US but it’s still a young country. Today I was walking on stairs the Romans had built. Yesterday, when we were in the mountains, we were just minutes away from the Maginot Line. Buildings here, even if they are modern, are built to be beautiful. Sure, there are exceptions. The HLMs of most cities (low-cost, subsidized housing) are most likely to be concrete bunkers, but you’ll be able to find an old town featuring beautiful architecture with mosaics and such. America is standardized. Modern buildings do look nice and there are some exceptions. There are several buildings in New York and San Francisco that could be declared the most beautiful in the world (Flat Iron building, anyone?) but leave the major cities and end up in the country side and each Best Buy will look the same, the communities will all be cookie cutter facsimiles, and you’re lucky that there’s even a town center or square.
Winner: France
Smoking vs Non-Smoking
I’m a non-smoker. I appreciate New York states effort to pretty much ban all out right public smoking. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past century, smoking kills. It gives you cancer, it makes you stink, and it’s just downright rude to smoke in front of someone else. Walk into a restaurant, bar, or public area in the US and you’re not going to have to deal with it. Here in France, it’s a constant annoyance. I’d say it’s part of culture (see above) but when it comes down to it, the fact that smoking kills just doesn’t excuse the behavior. I wish France would take the next step and mandate smoke free environments.
Winner: America
OK, I think that’s enough for this first round. Again, feel free to leave some suggestions as comments for the next round!
First, you should note for your readers that the score is 4-3-3, with the USA in the lead (and judging from the order, pulling away with the contest).
Second:
Having once traveled to the strange and foreign land that you currently call ‘home,’ I disagree with your assertion that ’soft ice cream’ does not exist. In fact, it does; only a short walk from said country’s famed Eiffel Tower I purchased a vanila cone of soft ice cream (from a French ice cream vender). Sure, it was not on par with the famed Bonomo’s of New York receipt (that’s Central NY, to all of us in the know), but it did the job on a hot fall day.
John on December 30th, 2005 at 01:14 am
Hmm.
Well I restrained myself last night, but…
My experience of the US is not so extensive (three weeks this October), but is this battle not more about the difference between city and small town life.
Here in Tourettes-sur-Loup, we get great service in shops, as I did unfailingly in the US, apart form one NY diner where I rather foolishly ordered a croissant!
Le fromage vs Kraft: no contest, France wins, but had great sheep’s cheese in Troy, NY, at the weekly farmers’ market.
Beer: well San Francisco Steam brewery seemed to do some great stuff, Pression is only really any good on a hot sunny terrace in the summer.
Pizza: here is very good, even from wood fired roadside vans, didn’t try too many in the US, but restaurant food in San Francisco and NY was generally very good, though oysters were not so good there. On the other hand in store Sushi was excellent…
Icecream: well have you tried my Dad’s home made vanilla?
Café: Princess Malika in San Francisco, great Italian/Algerian coffee.
Public Transport: TGV vs Amtrack, oh come on…
Service: see above
Drivers: well an interesting angle here, but then perhaps the environment and oil usage are not so much of interest to the youth of today, and as to covering the country in asphalt, well really… Bad roads encourage slower driving, less accidents, less pollution.
Architecture: well cover it in rough plaster and roman style tiles, and what were you saying about the houses we passed on our walk the other evening?
Smoking: seems to be on its way out everywhere, apart from teenage girls who do it to get thin!!!
All in all good arguing/discussing with you.
Back to UK this evening, another whole issue.
Have a great New Year
Chaz on December 30th, 2005 at 07:37 am
John, you’re always looking for patterns. I’ll have to add some randomness in the future to throw you off. Also, you missed it: today we went to Menton which is just on the border between France/Italia and had perhaps one of the best ice creams of 2005. There was even the taste of pistachio in it! I’d have brought you some back but customs and border patrol would have had to cease such contraband.
Chaz, you may be right, although I’d argue that Nice (and perhaps its ’suburbs’ such as Villefranche) could compete in many ways with larger cities. One thing that I hadn’t mentioned was choice. As you found out firsthand, if you’re in a major city and willing to pay for it, you can find products/produce that rival those of France. But when Eli’s, the gourmet deli around the corner from my parents wants to charge $7 for a 2 euro bar of Carte Noir, there’s definitely the question of affordability for imports.
Aram Kudurshian on December 30th, 2005 at 01:27 pm
Sorry, but I think you’re just plain wrong. Sure, the public transport system in New York is better than in Paris, but Paris has a much better system than L.A., Detroit, Las Vegas, or even San Francisco (the one line BART with two stops in the center is just not enough).
Michael on January 16th, 2006 at 07:39 pm
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New Jersey is adopting one of those no-smoking-in-public-places laws. I thought it was in effect already, big mistake. I went to a sports bar and came out drenched in the smell of smoke, I think I ruined the jacekt I was wearing. Let’s just say I will be waiting until January 1st when the law does in deed go into effect to enter a bar in New Jersey again.
Adam on December 29th, 2005 at 02:50 pm