The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

Food and drink prices in Metz seem to be slightly lower than prices in the Bay Area. Okay, maybe that is an unfair comparison, but one thing that France offers in spades is an abundance of bakeries with offerings varying from satisfyingly crunchy baguettes, hearty multi-grain breads, flaky croissants, rich beignets, and decadent tartlets. Alas, the day of the small specialty bakery is pretty much dead in the U.S. They have been replaced by the bakery sections of the chain supermarkets.

I can think of four bakeries offhand within a three minute walk of my apartment. But the one I frequented most was José (and Eugénie) Soto around the corner, a small, family-run business (as most are). That's José smiling in the photo -- you can see him better if you click on the photo to enlarge it. I have mentioned before that the people are what make any place and any business special, and this is no exception. I was always greeted with a hello and a warm smile, and sent away with a thank you and have a nice day. I am a big fan of their baguettes.

José Soto Boulanger Patissier
31 rue Pasteur
57000 Metz
06 87 66 67 38

My Backup Drive is Like an Egg...

... Fried!

The night before I returned to France, I copied all my personal files and work backups to my backup drive. As I shut down the computer, I unplugged the drive, which made a wheezing sound. Well, that's never happened before! I turned the computer back on and plugged in the drive. Nothing. I hooked the drive up to my other computer. Nada.

I spent the rest of the night trying to fix the drive, when I probably should have been transferring my personal files to my work computer, which is here with me in France, because here I am with a bunch of photos I wanted to upload to my photo albums ... all on a useless drive! I guess they will have to wait until I get home. In the meantime, I hope to take more in the next few weeks while I am moving out of my apartment.

I had my first negative experience in a Metz place of business! At Namur, a tea house in centre ville, it took forever for a server to come by, and when she finally did, she acted as though taking an order was far too difficult a chore for her. Since it was late afternoon, the selections were a bit limited. She waved toward the display counter, said what was there was what was left to eat, and then took off, passing by several times, ignoring us ... we left. It's a pastry shop, and Metz suffers no dearth of pastry shops with quality fare. The staff at every other one I've been to here has been at the very least cordial, and more likely than not, warm and welcoming. Ah well, can't win 'em all!

Restaurant Atelier Cuisine

I was leaving town for a month on the 9th, so by the evening of the 8th, I had already eaten or given away all of my perishables (I hope), and didn't have the ingredients or desire to cook. I headed out the door into the chill, damp night in search of dinner.

Down rue Pasteur, a few short blocks from the apartment, a lone restaurant in the middle of the block was open, Atelier Cuisine. The menu looked promising, it seemed pleasant, and I was cold and starting to get a little wet from the rain. But I didn't want to give up so soon, just because it was the first place I saw. I continued down the street, passing fast food, Moroccan, Chat Noir (closed Mondays). Around the corner, heading back up rue Lafayette past a few bars, a couple of chain/franchise places, a few brasseries, Mexican, hotel restaurants.

Nothing else really caught my eye, and the walk wasn't warming me up as I had expected, so rather than head up toward centre ville, headed back to Atelier Cuisine. I pondered the menu, thinking the terrine de lapin en croûte de lard et buisson de salade (terrine of rabbit with bacon crust and salad) sounded good. But I ordered the magret de canard sauce acidulée aux mûres sauvages (duck breast with a sour dewberry sauce), because bacon can be a bit too rich for me, the berry sauce sounded interesting, and I really love duck when it is cooked correctly... and it was cooked perfectly! Presented on a bed of mirepoix, it was juicy, flavorful, and the tart sauce complemented it nicely.

I was stuffed by the time I finished, but the dessert menu was placed in front of me, and well, I have a raging sweet tooth. Everything sounded delicious, but the riz au lait sur lit de caramel à la fleur de sel (rice pudding on a bed of salted caramel) intrigued me. I have often been pleasantly surprised by sweet/savory combinations, and this was no exception. Even though I was already uncomfortably full, I ate every last bit.

Heading out of the restaurant, I walked around the neighborhood a bit before heading back to the apartment to ease some of the discomfort of having eaten too much. I will definitely return to Atelier Cuisine if I have the chance.

Restaurant Atelier Cuisine
26 rue Pasteur
57000 Metz
+33 3 87 16 35 10

Ratatouille

I can't think of a more pleasant way to get to know new people than over food and drink. I invited myself to Arnaud's again, this time for ratatouille, and this time, his girlfriend, Anne-Lise, was in charge.

Ratatouille is a relatively free-form dish, so ingredient proportions are adjustable. Ingredients: sliced onion, minced garlic (germ removed), aubergine/eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes and zucchini/courgette cut into ~1 inch cubes, bay, thyme, rosemary, and a good virgin olive oil.

Anne-Lise sautéd the onions in enough oil to coat the pan (she mentioned that traditionally, they use a lot of oil), and added the garlic just as they were caramelizing, while the eggplant and peppers were prepped, then added to the pot. The tomatoes went in next, and the zucchini saved for last, added as the other vegetables softened. Anne-Lise added a little water, three bay leaves, and the leaves from a sprig of thyme and a sprig of basil to the pot, and the concoction was left to cook, with an occasional stir.

She and Arnaud took some potatoes they had boiling and riced them into a large bowl, adding crème, salt, pepper and nutmeg -- Anne-Lise is grating the nutmeg into the potatoes while Arnaud stirs in the photo. I have never had mashed potatoes with nutmeg ... they are delicious that way!

Finally, fresh seabass was cooked on a hot frying pan, browned to perfection. I went to the market earlier in the day with Arnaud and Anne-Lise, and watched the man at the fish stand filet them. It took him all of 15 seconds at most to do each one. The last time I attempted to filet a fish, it took me about 5 minutes, and I mangled it.

Boissons... Before the meal, I had a glass of pastís, an anise liquor. It pours clear, and turns cloudy when exposed to water. According to Arnaud, pastis is very strong, and a favorite among alcoholics, but it is also a typical French drink. We had a good Bordeaux with dinner, and a wonderfully fragrant Earl Grey tea with a mirabelle pie Anne-Lise made from scratch.

The pie was to die for! Mirabelles are a small plum grown in Lorraine. For the pâte brisée, Anne-Lise recommends cutting 50 - 100g butter into 150g flour (she did not use sugar for this pie, although she says a little sugar can be added), then sprinkling on just enough water to make everything hold together in a ball (and not futzing with the dough too much once the water is added). She baked the pie with very little added sugar -- mirabelles are sweet, with just a hint of acid, from what I have tried.

We will attempt one more cooking session when I return in July, and then Anne-Lise and Arnaud are off to vacation in Iran! I have never been to the Middle East. I would love to trek the Karakoram range, but Americans aren't very popular in Pakistan right now.

I am off to Paris in the morning, possibly the Louvre in the afternoon, and will spend the night bumming off my sister's room at the Marriott before the flight Wednesday morning.

See more photos of dinner in my food & drink album:

Food and Drink

Economies and People

Need a container? The man at left (whose name I did not catch) has one for everything. The market was packed this weekend, although from what I heard, it was mostly lookers. Not so many buyers at the end of the month! And, I suspect, not so many this year.

I sit in my apartment, tapping at my laptop, clenching my jaw at the bleak outlook of my future. No responses to job applications other than the automatically generated "thanks for applying" responses. The governor slashed the community college budget back home. Physical Education in particular has been dealt a severe blow, so my backup plan may no longer be available to me come August. And though there is demand for the product my company sells, the companies who want them are not willing to extend loans to have them made. For the first time in my life, I am tasting defeat, and I am not so sure how to handle it. I know that things are tough all around, and that work is scarce for everyone, but if you are someone who has always landed on your feet, it is a lot more painful when you finally don't. The golden child has tarnished.

On a brighter note, I had my Quiche Lorraine lesson with Arnaud. The man eyeballs everything! Luckily, he emailed the recipe with approximate amounts:

Ingredients: pâte brisée (shortcrust pastry -- savory, not sweet); 3 eggs; 100g smoked bacon, 50g enmental cheese (optional, and not traditional), 15cl cream (Arnaud used crème fraîche, but I think heavy cream and whipping cream will work, too -- he also added a little milk); salt & pepper.

Lay pastry in a shallow baking dish with straight sides. Cut bacon into small pieces, and place into bottom of pie pan -- it should be evenly distributed, but not not too dense. Beat the eggs until they turn light yellow. Add cream and milk, and continue beating until the mixture becomes frothy. According to Arnaud, the cream/milk proportion controls the pouffiness of the quiche. More cream = more pouff. Pour over bacon. Shred the cheese and distribute evenly across pan. You can also add onion, which makes it a quiche Alsacienne. Put in a 200c / 390f oven until lightly browned and cooked through.

Between the cream and bacon, it is a very rich dish, and is therefore traditionally served with a salad. Arnaud sliced tomatoes and basil for his salad. Alas, I forgot to bring my camera that day! I assure you, everything was delicious.

According to Food Reference, quiche Lorraine "originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine," and the word quiche is from the German Kuchen, for cake. Let's just say it's a dish from a region that has experienced several changes in administrative authority, and leave it at that.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

At left is a doggie crypt, which resides in the Musée Lorraine in Nancy. The crypt is for Ninette, a young dog of financier Jacques-Onésyme Bergeret de Grancourt in the 18th Century. I thought it touching he would have such an elaborate mausoleum made for his dog. It made me think of my family's first two labs (Happy and Happy Too) and the Bubbling Well Pet Cemetery in Napa, where my parents have them interred.

Nancy, like Metz, is in the Lorraine region, however, unlike Metz, it is in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. Like the Musées de la Cour D'or in Metz, the Lorraine Museum has artifacts and descriptions of the ancient history of the region. In my Nancy Photo album, you will see a big golden porte, which is one of the entries to la Place Stanislas. Stanislas Leszczynski was an exiled Polish king who was given the Duchy of Lorraine as compensation when he abdicated.

Macarons, specifically, the macarons of Maison des Soeurs, a confection of egg white, almonds and sugar, are a culinary specialty of Nancy. These are nothing like the macaroons we think of in the US. They are more akin to a soft meringue in density and texture, and not as cloyingly sweet. The recipe for these macarons was developed by two sisters of the convent of Dames du Saint Sacrament, who sold them to earn a living when they took refuge with a local doctor after religious congregations were dissolved during the French revolution. The recipe has been passed on to the successors to their shop, outside of which I lined up with a horde of other tourists so I could send some to my father, sister and niece and bring some home with me, as well.

Information on Nancy...

Wikipedia has an English entry on Nancy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy.

The Nancy tourist board: http://www.ot-nancy.fr/uk/centre_historique/index.php.

I jogged to Parc de la Seille today, and saw two men on the basketball court, so I asked if I could shoot with them for a bit. I have not played basketball in 20 years (and it showed), and am not really a basketball person, but it felt so good to do something athletic again. It is difficult to explain, but there is something more satisfying about moving around on the sports field for me than being stuffed in a fitness center.

The two people turned out to be a director for an after school program for troubled teens, and one of his charges. The kid seemed to like the idea of playing basketball, but like most teens, not really keen on listening to what the instructor was saying, so he was doing layups off the wrong foot. The instructor would explain and demonstrate, and the kid would stand there looking like he was paying attention, and then just do whatever he wanted. Oddly enough, watching them made me miss coaching, and working with that age group (yes, I have worked with athletes younger than college age, I coached a team for underprivileged youth back in the day ... way back). It is not an easy age group to work with, but when you make a breakthrough with them, the rewards are much greater. A few of my friends know these kinds of programs are near and dear to my heart. I am contemplating going back and asking if they need a short-term volunteer. Maybe their bookkeeper wants to take a vacation.

I am picking up a little French from Mickaël. As it turns out, he went to school to teach Spanish. He is a good teacher and takes the time to explain grammatical points when I mess up (which is often). And Liz, if you happen to read this, he knows French, English, Spanish, Sign Language, Arabic and Russian. You have three languages in common (although I guess French Sign Language has some differences from ASL)!

I spent the evening fixing my internet connection. AGAIN! The cellular broadband modem stopped working with my Mac last week, and with my PC today. I did a reinstall on the PC, which worked, but it did not solve the issue with the Mac. I am guessing there is a protocol somewhere that needs to be trashed that I am missing. What a pain. Now that I think about it, I seem to remember this happening with my UK mobile broadband modem last year, and they are both made by Huawei. I wonder if it is a Huawei issue, or if I am the only person in the world this has happened to...

Routine

I am a creature of habit. Nothing is quite a comforting as consistency for me, and though my routine is usually centered around work, I have other little comforts. Everywhere I have lived, there has been some sort of garden, even if tiny, but this building is completely surrounded by concrete. To satisfy my need for greenery, and my urge for fresh herbs when I cook, I bought herb pots at the marché couvert to put on my widow sill. They are tiny compared to my gigantic plants back home, and I find myself having to wait for them to fill in enough so I can use them, as opposed to having an overabundance, but they are sufficient for me. This photo is from my Lorraine Flora album.

The Marché Couvert has also become part of my routine here. Most Saturday mornings, I can be found there with a horde of other tourists and some locals. I furnished my apartment from the vendors there. Granted, with the ugliest sheet set I have ever laid eyes on, but it covers me at night when my eyes are closed, anyway. I have not taken a photo of the ugly sheets, nor will I. I also buy produce there. The photo at right shows the indoor portion, which houses about half the food vendors. The other half are in the U formed by this building. This past weekend, two women selling mushrooms had the most beautiful purple ones! They were so pretty, I bought a bag. Unfortunately, they had a somewhat bland, grassy, hay-like taste. You can see a photo of them in my Marché Couvert photo album. The rest of Saturday I goof off and take photos.

Because everything is closed on Sundays, it is my official cleaning day. Unfortunately for me, it takes less than an hour to clean 25 square meters! I would also make it laundry day, but it's expensive, at least 8€ to wash and dry, and the washing machines are dinky! I hand wash as much as I can at home, and every 1.5 to 2 weeks tote everything else to the laundromat and cram it all into one load (luckily, I don't have many white things that really need to be white). If I end up staying in Metz longer than my current lease, the next place must have a washing machine, and preferably an oven, too. The rest of Sunday I goof off and take photos.

I was on the phone with an old friend, Didier, last night, who mentioned he had a 4-day weekend, because of the holiday, which means all of France has a 4-day weekend! I again did not plan ahead, and spent this morning wandering, looking for an open grocer. No luck. I am surviving today on lettuce, pasta and an apple. I will probably have a sandwich at Mus and Ceto's at some point (Pamukkale, 26 rue Clovis, 57000 Metz, +33 (0)387 56 95 52). You met them on my Porte des Allemands entry, when Ceto caught me sneaking a photo of his menu. They're good people. They make me laugh, put up with my crappy French and make a real effort to converse with me (and correct my French). I respect them a lot. They work their asses off. Mus is taking a vacation for the first time in 3 years this August. He plans to lie in the sun in Turkey and do nothing!

I also try to go to Maison Petry (photo left, rue Gambetta across from Metz Gare) once a week or so for coffee and a pastry. The ladies who run it are very sweet, although I do not know their names! And the pastries are wonderful, flaky crusts, not cloyingly sweet like a lot of American sweets can be, light but moist cakes. Too bad it is too late in the day to go there...

The work routine? Still accruing a salary. Whether it will be paid is another thing, but as long as my boss is still working (or at least is telling me he is) to secure funding, I'll continue to put in the effort for him. Not quite as doggedly as I was before, but then, I was putting in way more effort than my position and compensation called for.

I scan employment ads daily, and though there aren't many options for an American without a work permit, I apply on the off chance I might have something they need and are willing to go through the rigmarole for me. I am also trying to learn about the economic and business environment here to see if I can find some unfilled niche for consulting. No luck, yet. We'll see...

New News: beginning Tuesday, I am trading English conversation for lessons in French (Alsace/Lorraine) cooking with Arnaud, an Engineering instructor I found through Dominique, who runs Atout Lire Bookshop, and teaches English. He was born in Metz and has lived most of his life in Lorraine, and is knowledgeable of the local dishes. He knew most of the dishes I had on my list, except crème brulée (which was my mom's favorite dessert), but volunteered his girlfriend to teach that to me. Maybe she will want to trade for conversation, too?

You're Where?!?

In conversations with friends and family, I learned that most had not heard of Metz (pronounced mess, like a teenager's bedroom), many picture the Mediterranean when I say it's in France, and only one has been here (he is in the army, and has been almost everywhere). Here is my quick primer on where I am, along with some of my first views of the area.

Porte Serpenoise

I love the grass growing on top!

The city of Metz is in the Moselle department of the Lorraine region (Metz is the the regional capital) in northern France. It is so far

north, it is almost in Germany. In fact, parts of Lorraine have passed back and forth between France and Germany in relatively recent history! After its early inhabitants, the Leuci and Mediomatrici (when Metz was known as Divodurum, meaning holy mount), Lorraine came under rule by the Romans, the Merovingiens, and Carolingians, before becoming a kingdom under rule of Lothar, an inheritance from his grandfather, Charlemagne. The region was named Lotharingia, which evolved into Lorraine. Wikipedia seems to have the most thorough entries in English about the local history, if anyone is interested in learning more:

- Metz on Wikipedia: en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz
- Metz on Eupedia: http://www.eupedia.com/france/metz.shtml

- Moselle: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moselle

- Lorraine: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_(province)

You can also learn more in general on the:

- Lorraine website: lorraine-france.com/

- Metz website: www.mairie-metz.fr/metz2/langues/english/index.php

The Moselle

10 minutes from my apartment

Metz is on the banks of the Moselle river, which flows through Germany before meandering down to France. I stand corrected -- the Moselle flows from France up to Germany, and then turns east... oops! There are vineyards up and down the Moselle in both countries, and the occasional barge, sport or pleasure boat can be seen on its waters. My trip to Germany last summer was also on the Moselle!

Quiche Lorraine is a specialty of the area. Suite 101 has a traditional recipe, as well a a little history. Potée, a soupy stew (or a stewy soup), is another area specialty. Try the aftouch-cuisine recipe. In the nearby town of Nancy, the Sisters of Les Dames du Saint Sacrement's convent created Macarons de Nancy, or Macarons des Soeurs, made from fine sugar, egg whites and ground almonds, and Jean-Frédéric Godefroy Lilich invented Bergamot candy.

Metz Gare

Wed 29 Apr 2009, 21:30-ish

I live near Metz gare (the train station), which was built in 1908, during one of the German occupations. I went out walking last night, and saw a really ugly blue chandelier in the window of an antique store a block from my studio. I was trying to take a photograph of it, when I heard a piano. I looked into the store, and at the rear, saw a man playing. I didn't want him to yell at me for eavesdropping and being a peeping Tom, so I popped my camera back into my pocket, and continued strolling. Okay, I admit he played quite well, and I did linger for a few minutes to listen, with camera in pocket!

As I came up to the train station, I noticed just how intensely, deeply blue and cloudy the sky was, and how beautiful the train station looked against such a dramatic backdrop! I was happy to have my camera with me ... and frustrated at not having either a tripod, or the skill to properly expose the photo. I propped my arms up on a low wall, fiddled with the settings to try and get a longer exposure time for better color saturation (which may or may not be the case with digital photography), and held as still as possible, but I have not really done this scene justice.

You can view more photos from yesterday in my picasa album...

A Cloudy Day in Metz