dmu

Will any one be copying the personalties' intention not to eat meat or fish on Mondays?

Ni viande, ni poisson : 500 personnalités appellent les Français au «lundi vert»

It won't be difficult for me, since I've become flexitarian, eating less meat and fish anyway, having two veggie daughters....
But why have they chosen Mondays, and not Fridays which used to be a traditional non-meat-eating day - maybe too Catholic an idea in this day and age?

grannybunz

Monday is not a good day in this household because we often have a roast on Sunday and have left-overs. However we do have 2 veggie meals a week and at least one fishy one - quite often on a friday but not for religious reasons just because the fish stall happens to be there then! I think even in France poeple are eating so much meat and veegies are no-longer considered to be creatures from another planet, However they still have to wrap their minds around what a vegan really is..

cyrian

Hi
A happy New Year to all. I hope that 2019 is kind to you.
I am amazed at the current push for veggie and vegan lifestyles.
This includes some disruptive activity with placard-waving (English sense) activists in some restaurants.
It really is a 1st world problem.
I don't eat beef - viande bovine - because of digestive problems and I sometimes find it difficult to find suitable dishes in certain restaurants.
This means that my consumption of red meat has already reduced and I eat more fish and poultry and vegetables.
The french love their beef and I can't see many of them patronising a restaurant that doesn't have beef on the menu.
The current situation is presented in several forms including animal cruelty.
I am against the cruel treatment of animals but that depends on how you define cruelty.
I wont be changing my eating habits and I don't copy someone because they are a celebrity.
Got to go - the lamb is cooked.

Chatter Static

Don't eat that much meat these days and tend to prefer the more exotic meats you find like Kangaroo, Boar etc they are lower calorie and better for you. `it's ironic that the French refer to us as "Rosbif" but overall the British culinary experience outside of the Michelin star environments is much more diverse in the UK than here.

grannybunz

Think of the foodmiles though. Sanglier is good and local though! I can't remember the last time I ate beef in a restaurant in France. It's rarely hung for long enough anyway. I nearly always go for fish although if there is riz de veau on the menu I'll knock over the serving staff to get to it.

Chatter Static

Phone around and ask if the restaurant has a "vieillissant sec" ageing fridge/cabinet better ones do but they tend to be far and few between, But I know of a hotel in Chartres that has one and do a wonderful buffet breakfast there are three Indian restaurants in walking distance as well, and the shops are open on Sundays.

But on the whole getting aged meat here is an issue.

Tweedpipe

In answer to DMU's opening question, "Will anyone be copying the personalties' intention not to eat meat or fish on Mondays?", from me it's a definite "No".
I'm certainly not a meat-eating freak, in fact I've cut back over the years on red meat simply because Mme TP doesn't buy or prepare it quite so frequently as in the past. And I have no problem with that.
Must add though that one of my all-time favourite restaurants on frequent visits to Toulouse is renown quite simply for it's steak & pomme-frites. It's a fact that it's the only restaurant I know there, where every day at 10 mins prior to the midday opening, there's already a queue forming. Same in the evenings, and if one arrives after opening time there is always at least a 5min waiting queue. Every day of the week. Which says a lot for the quality of the food, and not the least, proves without doubt - as mentioned by Cyrian that the French certainly still love their beef!

Had to smile at Grannybunz comment about knocking over the serving staff to get to any riz de veau on the menu. Rather you than me, in fact I'd be very tempted to knock over any staff who tried to serve me riz de veau! Les abbats or eating any other glands is an immediate put-off. But everyone to their own, as I often used to see pigs ovaries, even placenta was a speciality on the menus in Hong Kong - one could smell it before setting eyes on it, especially at the payment food stalls.

And for those who thought that vegetarian/vegan food was bad for you, here is resounding testimony that I saw recently in a restaurant window near here, just 2 weeks after the restaurant had opened.....



The sign states, 'Vegetarian restaurant etc.....all home made. Dear clients, we are ceasing activity due to ill-health.'
That appealed to my sense of humour, and had to show my French niece who, being vegan also appreciated it - but only a little!

grannybunz

I love abbats - awful offal or whatever you want to call it!
I am from 3 generations of pork butchers in the UK. For this reason during both wars the family never went short of protein. My garnny used to say that you can eat every bit of a pig except the squeak.
It took me a while to persuade Grandpabunz to appreciate such dishes but when he came to france he discovered andouilettes, pieds et paquets, riz de veau but he still won't eat any sort of kidneys, except in a steak and kidney pie!!
I love the sign Tweedie. Vegetarians - like my d-i-l - have a hard time in France even though there seem to be more and more of them and any restaurants who wish to attract foreign touritists must appreciate this if they are to survive.As for vegans . Anyone for a Greggs vegan sausage roll? Can you imagine that on sale here?...........

dmu

Without splitting hairs, it's "ris de veau", not riz! Have to admit that I draw the line at brains and such delicacies, and refused point-blank to cook andouillettes for OH. Veggie daughters always have problems finding veg proteins on the menu in French restaurants.....