America v. France: The foodly state of play

Before getting bogged down in descriptions of individual restaurants and foods, I wanted to write a quick description of where I think the US/France balance stands in terms of food (and by US/France balance, I really mean France/New York balance, since I am deeply familiar with the food scene here, which is also reputed among the best in the country) . For reference, I'll note that I cooked at least one meal a day at home every day during the vacation, in both Paris and Cassis in the south. We also ate at two 1-star michelin restaurants, and a couple of others listed in the guide, including one "bib gourmand" (good value food).   

High Cuisine - Admittedly, my impressions are based on a limited sample. We had a full dinner at Hostellerie Berard in La Cadiere D'Azur, and one smaller meal at Les Fables De la Fontaine in Paris (both blessed with one star). I enjoyed Berard more than our tasting menu at Le Bernardin (my clear favorite in New York), which cost twice as much and boasts 3 Michelin stars in the American guide. Our meal at Berard was simply flawless and served with extraordinary grace.   

Casual high cuisine  - by this I mean the new breed of restaurants that prize cooking over service or setting.  Gastropubs in England, Ko (my thoughts) and Little Owl and Peasant (my thoughts) and the Spotted Pig in New York, or Cafe Constant or Le Comptoir in Paris.  Our efforts in New York in this genre are excellent, in their own ways - I still remember a truly great beet and smoked trout salad at the Spotted Pig, but the de-boned, braised, rolled, and then fried pig's foot at Le Comptoir is one of the greatest dishes I've ever had, and my fiance's tandoori spiced veal breast was close behind.  I still think we have space to improve here. 

Diversity - France has none of any note (please, spare me traiteurs chinois, and kebab stands, and the occasional tagine specialists - I've eaten at all of them, and they're not like New York).  New York is one of the great culinary melting pots. A New Yorker craves sushi and thai when in Paris, even while gorging him or herself on the best of France. 

Bread - France continues a slow decline, but there is still bread that makes the best in New York pale. A "pain de campagne" of wild sourdough from the Cassis market stands out especially. My fiance says it was the best bread she's ever had. I think it's damned close, but then I've eaten a lot of bread.

Vienoisserie (croissants, brioche, pain au chocolat, etc) - I'm not even sure this is worth describing. In short - every bakery in France is as good or better than La Bergamote, which is the best croissant bakery in New York. Yes, some in France are using frozen product, but even so do a better job of getting it to rise properly than their American counterparts. But when you get hold of someone making their own - oh gosh.   I had numerous extraordinary croissants, but right now I remember that at Boulanger Julien. 

Chicken, poultry - The quality of French chickens is unsurpassed (I had an amazing farm raised bird in the south, which delighted even though cooked in a convection oven I knew nothing about). Having said that, some of the best Pennsylvania chickens are very good. I wouldn't move to France for chickens alone.

Cakes - Like croissants, this isn't a fair competition. I had an eclair at Le Moulin de la Vierge the first day which laid to rest any doubts I had about my palate memories when I whine about New York cakes.  Every cake I had in Paris was better than its equivalent here. 

Fruits, Eggs, Vegetables - I buy the most expensive fruits and vegetables here in New York, from both Whole Foods and, more important, from the Union Square Greenmarket, in season and local.  Nothing could have prepared me for the first peche blanches I had in Paris, nor for the raspberries, nor for the wild strawberries, nor for anything else I bought at the market or fruitier.  We are doing something very very wrong when it comes to produce.  

As for eggs, we had two weeks of the best omelettes I've ever had, with good butter and eggs from the cheesemaker and the market. 

Ice cream - New York newcomer Grom is excellent (my thoughts) and their pistachio flavor remains my favorite, but we were utterly startled by the ice cream in the gardens of Versailles.  The best fruit flavored ice cream I have ever had - the apricot especially was revelatory.  

Cheese - Again, I realize that Americans have been doing some great work recently, but French cheese making is hugely diverse and blessed by some of the best raw product (and really raw, since French cheesemakers are unhampered by stupid laws) in the world. What to do at home? I recommend sticking with young goat's cheeses (which we do well with) and our own cheddars and similar. Leave young, soft, cheeses like camembert for France.