French restaurants: Ordering without looking like a dolt

I had my first Vietnamese food in about fifteen years here in Albuquerque on Sunday. In fact, I skipped a local tour of landscape architect designed gardens when I saw the restaurant sign.
(Probably dumb of me, if I move here I'll have another year to wait for the next tour... and I have a learning curve re soils and native plants if I am going to open a practice here.)

Well, I sure am a Vietnamese and Thai food fan, and enjoy many other countries' food besides European, but I do like European food too. I've had some really fantastic meals in excellent french restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and waiters' snobbery isn't something I remember happening to me.

Cheese no, it cant be beaten.....but wine?

Australian and Californian are now far superior. In my view, a good Aussie Shiraz knocks spots off the best French wine.

The French are now very concerned about the drop in their wine trade, as Australian wines now make up a very large proportion of total wine sold in the UK, and other countries that used to buy tons of French wine.

In defense of French wine, there is nothing like a Grand Cru Chablis produced anywhere else. I prefer red wine, but will go out of my way for a glass of that stuff. And while there are great wines produced around the world now, the noblest grape grows best in Burgandy, pinot noir. Got a bottle of Romanee Conti laying around? I wish I did.

I own half a farmhouse in Burgundy.....but I must say that, after drinking Aussie Wine over here in the UK, I really have to hunt around to find a Bourgogne that matches up. I will look for your favourite next time I am there, and will let you know what I think.

The best I've found out there so far, is Haute cote de Nuits, Chateauneuf du Pape and Vieux Papes. Its still great to drink though....in the sun...french bread in one hand....cheese in the other.
I cant wait for August !!

LATER EDIT.
I've just managed to find a couple of pics, and scanned them onto my computer.

Pic 1. Our nearest neighbour. A ruined castle (dismantled during the French revolution)....just opposite our front gate.





Pic 2. Our Farmhouse. (The white painted section is the habitable bit, the natural stone section is all barn. The idea is to gradually convert it, when time and money allows. At present, it can sleep twelve or so....maybe ideal for a future A2K meet one day? When it's all spick and span of course. The cows in the foreground are Charollais, and are the only cattle reared in the region. Bloody great muscular things, grown for their beef (the French equivalent of our Aberdeen Angus I suppose)

for my taste a fine bottle of french gewuerztraminer (even though it comes from elsace and has a german name) is hard to beat.
ZUM WOHLE ! YOUR HEALTH ! SANTE ! hbg

You guys are killing me. I feel SO deprived. Lord E, I did have a couple or more of glasses of an australian shiraz at a party last night. At least that's what I was told it is (I served myself from a decanter). IT WAS MAGNIFICENT. And for a guy who is happy with "two buck Chuck's" merlot (I didn't see the movie, obviously), it was a wonderful experience.

If you want to try an Aussie Shiraz, a good one is Hardy's. Buy a bottle, take the cork out and let it breathe for an hour or two.......it's about the best wine I've tasted.
All of their original Vine root stock came from France and Italy of course, but when you think about it, all that is needed to grow magnificent Vines, are the right soil, weather conditions and SUN....all of which Oz has in abundance.
Their Vineyards are now mature enough to produce really top quality grapes, and they are expanding their vineyards every year.
One day, I reckon, they will corner the world market for quality wine.

The first time I tried Aussie Shiraz was sitting in a "Winery"(as they call it) drinking the stuff, listening to Kookaburras in the nearby "bush".
MARVELLOUS.

OOPS....Sory to derail your thread Mr K, you know how I am when I get going.....blah blah blah....never shut me up.

Getting back on track.....just a tip for you, when in a French Restaurant, NEVER order an Aussie wine......they will only spit on your snails before they serve them to you.

And NEVER order Andouillette.....it is basically minced up Bulls Willy mixed with various innards, made into a sausage.

then again, with slovak cuisine being what it is, they had to come up with saying something like that ...

pfffft! luckily, there's no such thing. only central european, if you will. damn mean soups though, got to give us that.

MY most favourite wine is from Slovakia, of course. Devin or Dievcie Hrozno - only made there, and that only in one region. Nothings else comes close in the world. I like wine. And diversity of it. From reds I love a good rioja or a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, never was fan of shiraz that much. But i'll drink that, too. especially if there ain't nothing else on the table.

Still undecided on the right wine for tonight...
Thunderbird or Ripple?
Decisions, decisions

Try something new for a change, Boss, go with the white port . . . winos swear by it . . .

Always take the word of a corner-sewer.

"Sparkling muscatel, one of the finest wines of Idaho."

Just ask the waitress if she likes to be french kissed below the belt.

Here are a couple of handy phrases - guaranteed to impress your date!

Est-ce que je puis obtenir une partie de ce crap de boue que je vois à cette autre table?

J'ayez un mâle cinquante à mon nom, combien d'escargots de rampement peut j'obtenir pour ma date?

Good luck!

Your date will be so impressed she/he will die laughing

Our dear Osso had her first Vietnamese meal in Albuquerque? The world is farf too complicated for me.

farf - is that french for fart?

sottises, sottises, sottises . . .