WTN: Lunch in France (musing & obscure)

[David M. Bueker]

Two weeks ago I spent some time in France on a business trip. Of course Paris was wonderful (if a bit strange during the simultaneous Rugby World Cup and transit strike), but one thing really stood out: eating lunch.

Two days in a row I was taken to lunch by people from our facility outside Paris. We ate both days at a local Brasserie (When I asked if they ate there every day they said "Of course, because the menu changes every day.") that was always full to exploding. The owner was gregarious to say the least, and welcomed our group both days with hearty handshakes and a quick trip to an unoccupied table. Both days I had the special, which on Wednesday was Duck Confit and Thursday Blanquet de Veau. Each meal was delicious, and each was accompanied by the same wine:

2006 Domaine Laurens Marcillac
It took a bit of searching to find out anything about this wine. Thanks to Randy and Eve for their help, as well as to the good old Oxford Companion to Wine. Made from the (unknown to me at the time) Fer Servadou variety, the wine was rustic, but pleasing with peppery wild red fruit, reasonable alcohol, and refreshing acidity. It was also cheap (available in the UK for around the equivalent of $12 US. Best overall it was an uncomplicated accompaniment to good food, lively conversation (more lively after the 2nd bottle than the 1st) and a general atmosphere of unfussy enjoyment of the pleasures of the table, even in a hurried, corporate-style lunch (though a hurried lunch in France is utterly relaxed compared to even a leisurely lunch in the USA). It was, I should mention, also a lovely accompaniment to the cheese course I was "forced" to eat (much less intimidating than the tarte tatin doused in Calvados I was served on day 2).

Overall what impressed me so much was how the wine was not a special part of the meal. It was instead an expected component of the whole. In fact the wine was never ordered, it just came to the table, and when the bottle was empty in the middle of lunch another appeared to replace it. Given the number of folks at the table nobody was in danger of being impaired (except me - they kept filling my glass no matter how little I had sipped since the last pour - little did they know how much training I've had), and we all went back to work to finish up the day.

I could get used to my wine being an unpretentious part of dining. There would be no more chasing after verticals, seeking out limited releases or obsessing over critical evaluations would mean more enjoyment, and less stress from what is supposed to be a pleasant component of the meal.

Yes, nice to see that some cultural differences do still exist, which makes travelling worthwhile. Although those cultural differences have also become very politicized, hence the strong reaction to preserve social rights and the transit strikes..

Still, I too am often struck by the casualness of the wine culture in those lunchtime French brasseries, although I must admit I prefer it when the wine is well-chosen and "interesting" even if "simple" and even in France that is somewhat rare..

[David M. Bueker]

Rahsaan,

I should mention that I found the wine interesting. I actually liked it a lot & have every intention of seeking it (or other Marcillac) out. But I was more struck by how everything just fit together as part of a freindly lunch rather than being a "wine event."

David, I love the sort of approach to wine that you describe in your post. It is what I wish we had here in North America too. Outside "pockets of interest" (meaning food and wine loving communities), I have doubts as to whether it ever will get that way here. I hear that habits are changing the other way in France and all, but I think that this integral approach to wine is so much better than all the power lunches, power meetings and power dumps that we North Americans have had to get used to.

Great post BTW; thanks very much.

I actually liked it a lot & have every intention of seeking it (or other Marcillac) out.

Sounds good. As you probably know/could suspect, Chamber St. carries some.

[David M. Bueker]

They do? Cool. I had not looked yet.

I am glad to hear that the French gastronomic culture is live and well in lunchtime brasseries.

It was certainly like that when I worked in France over 20 years ago but, since then, French media have been increasingly full of Public Health Talibans preaching the evils to health and beauty of alcohol and, to a less extent, fine food.

My daughter, who lives in Normandy, says that these campaigns have had quite a repercussion on family social life, although I suspect that her husband lunches the way you describe when he is with his working pals in Paris.