will WE play in Peoria?

While we were enjoying an incredible grown-up dinner, Kaitlyn was enjoying the epitomy of American experiences for children. (Disneyland not withstanding) She went to Chuck E Cheese with her uncle, aunt and cousin.

Could it be? Are Bill and I turning into French food snobs? We… who turn up our noses at fois gras (gross) and have stopped ordering shrimp because we don’t want to have its legs and eyes on our dinner?

Tonight we met friends for dinner at a wonderful steakhouse in Pasadena. I noticed one of the side dishes on the menu was gratin dauphinois. It’s a creamy potato dish that’s a regional specialty in Grenoble. So we ordered it. And when it was delivered to the table, we just stared at it. The bubbling dish of potatoes that had just been taken from the oven sported a bright yellow coating of cheese. Clearly some over-pasteurized American variety. The waitress saw the funny looks on our faces and asked if something was wrong. Bill asked what was in that potato dish. Cream and garlic and potatoes… under that layer of cheese. She offered to get us something else, but that seemed too food snotty. We ate it. It was wok, but it was no gratin dauphinois.

I am getting really used to being able to talk to everyone without giving it a second thought. Sometimes I catch myself thinking afterward of how I could have said something in French. But it’s going to be hard to go home.