What do most people think of when you say mention France and breakfast in the same sentence? Buttery croissants fresh from the local baker's? Steaming hot coffee? Tripe maybe?
TRIPE??!!
Recently it was the local Vide Grenier (Boot Fair) at Vassy, a small town a few kilometres from here. It's a pretty big affair with the 150 sellers expected and the town centre shut to vehicular traffic for the day. As well as perusing the tables of wares dragged from the depths of people's cellars, sheds and lofts, between 7.30am and 10.30am you can also have a traditional Normandy breakfast if you want. But forget croissants. This is what is on offer:
Tripe and chips
Apple tart
Coffee
1/4 bottle white wine
FOR BREAKFAST??!!
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| Tripe à la mode de Caen - photo with permission from Yun Huang Yong |
Tripe à la mode de Caen is a traditional Normandy dish served at many an event breakfast. Cow's intestine in a rich tomato sauce. Hmmmm, I could manage the coffee and the apple tart but tripe and chips plus wine are, for my English taste buds, one culinary step too far.
What's the weirdest thing you've eaten for breakfast ... and would you tuck into tripe?
They have something similar in Iran, the meat from a sheeps head and feet....I've seen it served both on and off the head, not sure whether I'd ever be brave enough to eat it though! I draw the line at tongue and I think....that I'll probably never be brave enough for intestine either!!!
ReplyDeleteI would be willing to try most things ... but NOT at breakfast time!
DeleteOh no, no, no, I can't stand tripe! That and pieds de cochon, boudin noir, andouillette... beurk!
ReplyDeleteHe he - the French do like to use the whole animal don't they?! I draw the line at andouillette though ...
DeleteYuck, tripe in general grosses me out but for breakfast?!??! Oh man. I'd rather stay in bed. I just wrote a post on the five French foods I won't eat and I don't think anyone commented that they like tripe. My father-in-law likes it though!!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was just in Mexico that they ate tripe stew (Menudo)! I had no idea it was a typical Normand dish! I will have to tell my mom - she'll love it! Me, I'm not so sure!!
ReplyDeleteOh. Not sure that beats a buttery croissant....... particularly when it comes to breakfast. However, in the interests of cultural diversity a half bottle of wine with my Weetabix? Maybe not....
ReplyDeleteOh, I do luv tripe stew ~ whether you call it menudo (as it is here in the American Southwest and Mexico), mondongo (in the Spanish Caribbean), or sopa de tripas as in Spain, the FIRST place I had it. Have never eaten it for breakfast, but why not? Bring it on! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt would have to be buried extremely deep in a pain au chocolate for me to show any interest I'm afraid!
ReplyDeleteWren x
I can eat pretty much anything but innards (except liver in the form of paté and foie gras which I love) Tripe has to be one of the worst foods ever (and I've eaten some pretty odd stuff in Asia/Mongolia/Iceland I can tell you). I remember gagging through a meal in Barcelona a few years ago when we decided to go "authentic" and eat at a completely genuine local tapas bar. We pointed at all the things we wanted to eat only to discover they were all forms of tripe! It was so hard not to just give up and leave. Urgh! Thanks for linking up at #AllAboutFrance
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that photo, which made me regret even my more conventional breakfast...! How often to you think that people REALLY eat it for breakfast these days (vide greniers aside)?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'm not ready to tuck into tripe any time of day. The chips and wine -- I think I could find a way to indulge at breakfast, just as a one-time thing. :) Nice to learn this bit of Normandy tradition.
ReplyDelete