Yikes, what did I get myself into. Today I got the list of things my nephew will eat and other things he will try.
Will eat: pasta, chicken parmigiana, fried calamari, hamburgers, steak, hot dogs
Will try: cheese (maybe), duck (yeah - I'll pay to see that).
Okay - so any ideas on what things that may be similar to the "will eats" on the French menu that I can convince him to try or perhaps even fool him with?
Well, at least you'll get out of restaurants spending less that I had to with my two omnivores. He'll probably be happiest at a brasserie-type place or simple cafe.
And hey, if he lives for a week on baguettes, frites and pastry it won't kill him.
Some thoughts-- Steak Frites or Entrecôte( the meat will likely be chewier than he's used to) croque-monsieur (tell him its a grilled cheese sandwich with ham inside) Some places will have some form of pasta If he'll eat chicken, poulet roti If he eats eggs, a cafe will likely have omelettes at lunchtime. I do recall seeing fried calamari on seafood menus.
Buy him take-out jambon cru and tell him it's a Subway sandwich!
Sens'o on Ile Saint-Louis had a few American teens in there for the great pizzas and pastas. You can get the pizza to go, too.
The Boulangerie Saint-Louis sells an interesting "hot dog" baked inside the bread along with other sandwiches to go.
I really think L'as du Fallafel may have something a teen would like -- does he like hummus and pita?
When our sons were teens and went to Paris (and Provence another year) one was picky while the other one eats anything. Italian food, which is easy to find, was what the picky eater wanted. Also, steak frites with the ham sandwiches and omelets with frites.
Mezza Luna makes a great pizza. We were just there in May, but it has a new name that escapes me. However, the address and the pizzas are the same. It is in Saint-Germaine at 38 Rue du Buci.
Of course, "Robert et Louise" in the Marais have beef!
Kevin the answer is 14 and no, his parents won't be with us. The back-story is that my parents take each grandchild on a trip for after they become a b'nai mitzvah. My nephew wanted to go to the all-star game last summer (in NYC) but it was crazy expensive (long story), so they asked him his second choice, and he asked if he could go to Paris with Sammi (my daughter) on her trip and she agreed. Then, since my Dad didn't seem thrilled to go, I swapped with him (he's watching my eldest daughter and nephew) and I'm going to Paris!
Sammi's a picky eater too but she's committed to ordering and eating new and different things.
We've got Jake willing to try somethings but I really want to try to open his horizons to some different foods and I'm thinking the easiest way to do that is to get some items similar or to what he knows and expand from there. He's not food adventurous but I'm ever-hopeful we can change that (btw got him to eat a pork chop last night).
Oh, and I know there's Micky D's and other hard rocks and stuff like that but I refuse to do that - might as well stay here then. I don't mind though throwing in a pizza at some point and/or pasta at an Italian restaurant one night but I'd really like to stay away from Americanized places (though, yes I also caved and marked the locations of Breakfast in America - but that's it, I'm drawing the line there. ).
Omlettes are often on lunch & cafe menus. What about galettes (savory crepes)? You won't have to "go" to italian for pasta, there are often pasta dishes on most menus. Oh, and salads! Wonderful composed salads...
Laura
Posts: 915 | Location: Edmonds, WA | Registered: 01 April 2006
I agree with you. We also refused to go in American restaurants. However, Italian restaurants in Paris kept our picky eater from driving us crazy complaining about the food.
I was thinking more about this as it is a common problem with some young travelers. There is a really neat little book on (book link) Eating and Drinking in Paris.
Does he know any French? Even if he doesn't, I think you could make a game out of letting him have one of these little books as it has the English translation and food description... then ask him which French foods he wants to try each day.
Our picky eater is going to graduate from pharmacy school next May and asked to go along with us to Antibes. I couldn't believe it! However, he's grown up now (25) and is more open to trying different foods (thank goodness).
Eggs - no (can you believe that!), ham, no. Salad no. Honestly, I never realized how bad it is - I do not know how he survives.
Cameron - funny you mentioned that book. I saw it on David Lebovitz's site last night and put an emergency order in for it. He can say hello, good bye, and thank you in French and at least he's open to learning the language a bit and using it.
Good to know about the pasta option at many restaurants.
I think we need to track down those hot dogs in bread - I want to try one!
So, do you think that steak frites is common on most menus?
I have him almost convinced to try the crepes, though he "prefers waffles to pancakes"
You could also offer to order for him from the children's menu if there is one. Often it's simple food like ground beef and fries. Smile and tell him you'll lie about his age if necessary. An episode or two of that might encourage him to try grown-up things.
First, you are a great aunt for even delving into this. One of our three was in a picky teenage stage the one time we had them all in Paris; she did eat a lot of frites, and sometimes ordered an omelette while the rest of us enjoyed more of a dinner menu.
Amy is quite right in that he will survive for a week on frites, baguettes and pastries, but it gets a bit awkward when you're actually sitting down to a nice meal in a restaurant.
My suspicion is that once he's on his own, and is smelling and seeing the wonderfuls foods in Paris, and is away from his parents, he will probably branch out a little, and you may find him trying the things that Sammi is eating. And if not, , he will survive nicely on Amy's suggestions. Just take a very low key approach, no fussing, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Again, what a great aunt you are - have a super trip with your mom and the teens.
There is practically steak hachee and frites on a lot of menus and sometimes chicken nuggets - hey at 14, ordering off the kids menu might embarass him to try something new.
14 year old boys love to be dared - dare him to try - frog legs, mussels, duck...you might be surprised.
In a new country he might want to be daring and maybe his food choices in the past may be just what he has been presented with in the past - Paris has opened the culinary eyes of many.
Kim - on our family trip to Italy I was a little apprehensive about whether our grandsons (17 and 13), who are very picky about food, would balk at anything other than pizza. So I was amazed and pleased when they DIDN'T fuss - somehow being in a different environment opened them up to trying new things, and it didn't even take arm-twisting. I held my breath when the older ordered a seafood pizza and it arrived with clams and mussels in their shells, but he just laughed, removed the shells and scarfed it all up.
And as others have said, as long as he is willing to fill up on bread and frites and doesn't prevent the rest of you from enjoying your meals, he will survive!
Judy
Posts: 3899 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
When I first read your post, I thought your nephew must be 5 or 6 years old. 14 years old and with a list of things he'll eat like that ? Get serious...
Tell him now that his is officially a man (at least in the eyes of a certain immortal being) he should start acting like one. In France, real men not only eat quiche, they eat lapin, escargots, foie gras, fruit de mer, etc., etc.
My heartfelt advice: go to the places you'd go to if you were on your own or traveling with someone who eats like a normal human being. Don't beg him to try something. Don't make it into a game (it's not, this is eating which is serious stuff in France). And whatever you do, don't let him chose the restaurant - this is your vacation, too, let's not forget !!
Just the thought of you coming all the way to Paris, culinary capitol of the universe, and eating pizza, pasta, hot dogs, etc. is enough to make me want to hop on the TGV (even if I have missed all the PREMs) and come up there and slap some sense into your nephew (no matter how sweet and adorable he may be)...
On a more general level, I'd like to rant for a second more about the term "picky eater". There is nothing at all picky about these kids who won't eat anything but junk/processed/fried food. Picky implies you are particular about things - fastidious. Seems to me, these youngsters are just the opposite. Completely indiscriminate when it comes to what they'll eat. As long as it's full of sugar and grease, it's good to go.
Picky is much too kind a term for that kind of behavior.
And in my experience, 9 times out of 10, the parents are to blame. It's just so much easier going the chicken nuggets, hamburger, pasta route than making the effort to expose a kids palate to decent food. Then you can just excuse the whole thing by saying your child is a "picky eater", when in reality, they have simply developed lousy habits...
Hey Kevin I PARTICULARLY LIKE the part about a good smack. But, I know about picky eaters, myself (and a LOT older than 14) included...first rip to France Honfluer, mussels yuck, Priscilla said try one..needless to say we had to go back to that restaurant the next night...and, they are now one of my favorite foods, the nice fat ones in sauce with .. oh never mind... At 14 perhaps he will "try" something new.. How about a taste off your plate?
Daniel and Priscilla in Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 682 | Location: South Florida | Registered: 25 July 2001
Seriously, I like to think of "picky eaters" as those with a narrow palate, it certainly better describes a teenager whose food comfort zone is limited, since they don't really pick, they just like certain things and will eat lots of them. I think Kim's nephew, if he rose to the $5 challenge in Hawaii and ate calamari, will probably widen his range on this trip to Paris, just by being in the company of those who are eating things that look interesting, but not scary.
Judy, I laugh at your grandson's pizza experience - I ordered a seafood pizza in Lerici one night and was quite surprised at the clams and mussels in their shells atop the crust, so like your gs, I picked them off, ate the flesh and went back to the pizza. Wish I had taken a picture.
Originally posted by KevinWidrow: Tell him now that his is officially a man (at least in the eyes of a certain immortal being) he should start acting like one. In France, real men not only eat quiche, they eat lapin, escargots, foie gras, fruit de mer, etc., etc.
Interesting to think that the significance of having been bar mitzvahed is the responsibility to eat shellfish.
Posts: 820 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
My instinct is simply not to obsess about it in advance and risk turning the whole business of food into any more of an intergenerational issue than it already is. I certainly don't think it makes any sense to discuss it with him as a succession of hypotheses in advance, or indeed as any sort of issue (however much one might agree with Kevin). At 14, how can he possibly know what he might feel even a day or two ahead, let alone once he's abroad?
Wait till he's hungry, then look around at some ordinary neighbourhood places, see what's on offer and pick somewhere that looks nice and with a varied menu. Only let any question about food arise at the point that he needs to eat and when you've all got the menu in your hands. If he wants to stick at "steak frites" every night (which most places are likely to offer), so be it. Or if he really turns up his nose at everything and has to make do with just the breadbasket, so be it. At most, "I'm sorry you don't like anything, we're having a lovely meal" is about the only comment that need be made to get the message across.
I recently spent a week in France with my sister, who exists on a very limited diet from my point of view. We had no trouble at all. As somebody said, the croque-monsieur with some frites was always a good choice. Crêperies were a hit. In other cafés, there were hamburgers and cheeseburgers, as well as poulet rôti and haricots verts. Despite my fears, finding good simple, but high quality, food and restaurants for my sister did not turn out to be a problem. And I was always able to get something I really enjoyed too.
One problem with steak-frites in France, for Americans, is that the meat is cooked so rare. Most Americans can't eat it that way, and cooked well-done the French beefsteak is like shoe leather.
It would be hard for anyone to die of hunger in France.
Seems to me, these youngsters are just the opposite. Completely indiscriminate when it comes to what they'll eat. As long as it's full of sugar and grease, it's good to go.
Picky is much too kind a term for that kind of behavior.
And in my experience, 9 times out of 10, the parents are to blame. It's just so much easier going the chicken nuggets, hamburger, pasta route than making the effort to expose a kids palate to decent food.
Kevin, I have to say that, much as I think kids should be encouraged to try new foods, your comment is quite unfair. (I would also point out that I think the people who are most vociferous about bad parenting are rarely parents themselves.)
As an example, I point to my two grandsons with the same parents, who are very much in to healthy eating -- no MacDs or junk food in their house. The kids definitely were not raised on grease and sugar. Sweet treats are just that -- occasional treats, not part of their daily diet. The older one (11) eats almost no vegetables and is extremely reluctant to try anything new. The younger one (9) we call our "gourmet grandson" -- he loves salads and all types of veggies, and is eager to try new foods. They have been that way pretty much all their lives.
The parents don't cater to the more picky eater. They try to make sure that his choices are all healthy ones, but also don't want to make a huge issue out of it. They figure that as he grows older he may get more adventurous, and if not, at least he doesn't have a lot of unhealthy eating habits. Trying to force him to eat something he doesn't like could just make him more rebellious and stuck in his ways.
I think a lot of it is a personality thing -- some people are just naturally more reluctant to change or try something new.
Your points are well taken - there are certainly cases such as your grandson that don't fit the more typical (IMO) scenario. I did say, after all, in 9 out of 10 cases...
I'm not sure I agree though when you say that people who criticize bad parents are usually not parents themselves. At least amongst friends here (who are all parents) they are quick to point out when kids have been badly brought up. Perhaps this is a French/cultural thing ?
And in any case, you don't have to be a parent to offer constructive criticism of parenting. Just like you don't need to be a politician to criticize what goes on in Washington. Quite the contrary, sometimes being a step removed can give you an insight that those blinded by love might not enjoy !!
It sounds to me like your grand kids are being raised in a good, solid healthy manor. But walk up and down the aisles of any major supermarket or listen to the conversations of families ordering in places like TJIF, Abbleby's, etc. etc. and you'll see this is far from the norm, malheureusement...
I fear this thread is veering dangerously close to the non-travel-related edge of the universe. So to bring it back from that awful precipice...
I'll readily admit that "picky eating kids" is kind of a pet peeve of mine. But at the end of the day, it's neither here nor there and anyway, nobody is even for a minute going to change the way they raise their kids based on a posting on an internet forum.
That being said, I think here on Slowtrav, one of the great things about this community is that the members are more or less dedicated to experiencing the cultures of the places they visit in some degree of depth. Of all things cultural, food is perhaps the most important, and something which sets one place apart from another in a living, everyday sense.
So, to set out on your travels with the idea that you are not going to try anything new. That you'll stick to eating the same old things you eat at home. That you'll search far and wide in Paris for the perfect pizza or in Rome for a decent baguette. Well, that kind of approach is truly a shame. And just being a capricious pre-schooler, or a moody teenager doesn't cut it as a good excuse. If that's the case, leave them at home with the grandparents - that's what I say !!
Interested to note Kevin's observation about French people's willingness to criticise other people's parenting (I won't mention Londoners' reactions to French school parties on the tube - that's teenagers en masse for you). It reminds me that at some European summit, an observation by T. Blair about the arcana of EU agricultural subsidies and the importance of farmers' opinions in French politics prompted Chirac to tell him he was "mal élevé" even to mention such a thing.
And as for the original question, I can hear my mother saying (this was in the years just after food rationing had stopped in the UK) "You'll eat what you're given and you'll LIKE it".
But in general, I don't think this will be a real issue unless it's allowed to be. Just keep the lad busy till he's hungry; most places will have plenty of alternatives.
So, to set out on your travels with the idea that you are not going to try anything new. That you'll stick to eating the same old things you eat at home. That you'll search far and wide in Paris for the perfect pizza or in Rome for a decent baguette. Well, that kind of approach is truly a shame. And just being a capricious pre-schooler, or a moody teenager doesn't cut it as a good excuse. If that's the case, leave them at home with the grandparents - that's what I say !!
-Kevin
As an uncle about to be visited by his picky niece, I say
À votre santé !
Posts: 195 | Location: Connecticut, USA | Registered: 08 March 2006
Wow, folks - all I asked were for some suggestions off the French menu of similar foods so that we can expose him to some different items and expand his repertoire.
So, to summarize, so far,
I have a couple of Italian restaurants (and no I do not plan to eat Italian food every night, but I imagine even the French eat at these establishments too and even I wouldn't mind one night of Italian, or Moroccan even)
Hot dogs in baguettes (thanks - I've been meaning to try these myself since Daniel mentioned them in a trip year report years ago)
Here's another tip--give him a copy of the French Menu Glossary and let him use it to find something when everyone is pondering the menu. He may surprise you and himself!
Kim, if he's willing to try duck confit (and especially if he likes it as much as I do), there's hope for the lad yet.
I was raised in small town Ohio and much indulged by doting grandparents during WWII. They allowed me to become a fairly picky eater and this discussion has revived many memories.
I first tried (and didn't like) rabbit during the early mid 1940s (it had been dropped-off at my paternal GPs' house by a draft-deferred uncle who was a hunter). I also remember being bribed (at about the age of your nephew) by my grandma to eat strawberries!
Post-1994 travel to Italy and France was what really broadened my tastes to include such exotica as tomatoes, duck, rabbit, sardines, gizzards, and even ...yes... strawberries. I still have some resistance to calamari, kidneys, and escargot, but have at least tried all of them and more.
Also, I really like Amy's idea of giving him the French Menu Glossary before the trip. If he has a sense of control, he will try more variety. You might include it an a short stack of other books and videos offered "to help him decide what he'd like to do on the trip". This will dilute the focus on the food issue and maybe prevent the universal teen "stubbornness" gene from kicking in.
Thanks for stimulating a lively discussion that caught the interest of many of us on the forum.
KIm, I second Amy's idea for a glossary - if he can look up words on the menu, he will "own" the dining experience and it does sound (duck confit!) like he is not adverse to trying some new foods. I am confident you will all eat well, in your own way, on this trip.
Kim, That is one long list ! That is no picky eater. And it is not at all the specimen described by Kevin who had in mind someone more like my hephew who stuck to McDo the whole time he was here, because that way, he (my nephew, not Kevin) said, "I knew what I was getting".
We had a teenage nephew visit us here in Seattle (from Iowa, where he lives on hamburgers and pizza) and his mom warned us he was a super picky eater. He turned out to be no trouble at all and in fact tried things that shocked his mom. I think being in a different environment and not wanting to appear uncool (we took him to some very good and very "hip" places, and he somewhat idolizes my musician husband) made a big difference. I wonder if you can conspire with your daughter--ask her not to talk about what she won't eat, and maybe the nephew won't want to appear picky (and thus childish) in front of her.
I think the first meal we took my boys to in Paris was for crepes at Josselin. Nothing too scary about that! Maybe your nephew will be comfortable trying things once he gets into the spirit of French dining. I have a 15 year old son who is a vegetarian. It, too, makes dining a bit of a challenge but he realizes he's hard in some cultures and just orders things from the menu like soups, salads, etc. if there's not a vegetarian option. We don't make a big deal of it, have a nice time at dinner and all is fine. That being said, bistros and such are easier than a really fancy dinner. That gives my husband and I excuses to return without kids He loves the onion soup at Au Pied du Cochon. I suspect he'll rise to the occasion and surprise you! Have a great trip! Susan
I have a 15 year old son who is a vegetarian. It, too, makes dining a bit of a challenge but he realizes he's hard in some cultures and just orders things from the menu like soups, salads, etc. if there's not a vegetarian option. . . . He loves the onion soup at Au Pied du Cochon.
Does he know that it's made with beef broth?
Posts: 820 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
There are alot of good suggestions here, the confit de canard -duck confit- is definitley the "new" thing to try. I even like it, there are alot of French dishes that are hard for me to eat even if I adore snails.
I hated pizza and spaghetti as a child and might have agreed with Kevin about parenting and picky eaters until I had a little girl that won't eat unless she can play with her food, so be it. Mind you she's only 16 months and putting her hand in the yogurt, etc, will end soon- I hope.
The best confit de Canard "that I had" is at Cave Le Bourgogne at the very south end of rue Mouffetard. Great street with local market. They have real home fries not the regualr prefrozen frites you find everywhere, and excellent salads and good atmosphere.
He could also look forward to a tart tatin. If you can download a menu before you go and ask him if he can translate it just for fun that might be a way to lighten the dining experience.
I would also tell him about how cute the French girls can be and distract him from the food with asking him to rate the girls from 1-10.
Last idea, go for one of those incredible stuffed felafels down in the Marais.
He could also look forward to a tart tatin. If you can download a menu before you go and ask him if he can translate it just for fun that might be a way to lighten the dining experience.
I would also tell him about how cute the French girls can be and distract him from the food with asking him to rate the girls from 1-10.
OMG - Have you met him and didn't tell me? On both accounts - I think they're activities he would enjoy.
Thanks everyone - well, putting the whipping cream on this sundae because we take off in 25 hours!!
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He loves the onion soup at Au Pied du Cochon. I suspect he'll rise to the occasion and surprise you! Have a great trip! Susan
I think I may have lost my appetite for roast chicken.
