Why We Might Miss French Toast If We Move to France

We love France, and that is probably the country we would most likely move to when we next become temporary expats.  Part of the appeal of France--aside from the fact that we are already in the process of learning to speak the language--is the food.  We are fans of French cuisine!

But... as we realized again yesterday at breakfast, we are going to miss American-style brunch.  We've mentioned this before, and it bears repeating.  The U.S.--especially in larger cities like Chicago--produces some of the best, most creative, and imaginative brunches in the world (though, yes, we're have had some pleasant surprises on that front, as in this post on Montreal brunch scene).

In part, this American culinary success might be owing to the melange of cultures (again, in the larger cities) in the U.S. that allow a fruitful cross-pollination of influences from Mexican, Korean, Italian, Chinese, Caribbean, Thailand, Peru, Indian, etc.  We will definitely miss this ability to pick and choose from, yes, a smorgasbord of different cuisines should we leave the U.S. or even if we move to a smaller town within the U.S.

For this post though, let me stick to French toast, as per the title of this entry. (But, yes, in fact, this post is about more than just French Toast, or even about food in general--though food is quite important to us!)

Of course, "French toast" is quintessentially French, perhaps more so than croissants--which was probably invented by Austria and which has variations called viennoiserie--or even "French fries"--which might more accurately be said to hail from Belgium.  French toast, at least, really seems to come from the French pain perdu--literally, "lost bread," for when cooks salvaged day-old bread by soaking it in an egg custard and fried it in butter.

This dish has become a popular staple of many restaurants specializing in brunch, and Will and I have ordered our fair share of French toast.  While we have enjoyed many different French toasts in our travels both domestic and international, perhaps we enjoy them most in our own "backyard"!  In a modification of Dorothy's mantra in The Wizard of Oz, we might assert here, "There's no place like home . . . for French toast."

So, to that end, I am going to mention here varieties of French toast we've had ONLY in our little diner, on our block, just three doors down from our home:

Most recently, after St. Patrick's day, we had the Irish themed "Bailey's French Toast" (pictured at the top of the post) with brioche slices "dipped in an Irish cream custard, topped with chocolate ganache and powdered sugar."

Or, below, "Cinnamon Crunch French Toast"--this time dipped in cinnamon custard and rolled in crunchy corn flakes before being topped with vanilla mascarpone cream and cinnamon sugar.

How about the "Ricotta Stuffed French Toast" stuffed, of course, with "sweet ricotta and topped with banana caramel sauce, toasted pecans and powdered sugar"?

Let's try a different fruit with "White Chocolate Raspberry French Toast," this time covered with white chocolate ganache and raspberry compote, vanilla mascarpone, and topped with house made granola.

And my personal favorite, possibly the simplest of these but absolutely amazing: the Churros French Toast.  Extra thick slices of brioche bread, cut into large sticks, battered, fried, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, drizzled with a dulce de leche sauce, with a generous mound of whipped sweetened mascarpone cream.  This dish combines Mexican, Italian, and French influences in a lovely harmony of flavors.

There's a lot more we have consumed, in the very same diner, but don't have pictures of (drats!): Blueberry Mango French Toast, the Cinnamon Roll French Toast, Tres Leches French Toast, the Kahlua Espresso French Toast, etc.  But you get the idea.  And let's not get into the pancakes, crepes, and waffles too!

Ultimately, this post addresses a somewhat trivial example of a broader and more sobering truth:

We will indeed miss many aspects of the place we're already living in if we decide to make any sort of a major move, either within or outside of the U.S.  After you live in one place a number of years, you become savvy about the best places for you to shop, eat, entertain yourselves.  We are going to miss that familiarity--regardless of what form that familiarity takes--and we might have expectations that cannot be met elsewhere.

Plus which, especially for people like us who have lived in larger cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, we have first-hand knowledge of how much the U.S. has gained (and, no, not just in culinary ways) with its history of immigration, and we will definitely miss the many positive multi-cultural aspects of living in this country.

BUT, of course, that doesn't mean that there are not going to be other positive aspects that outweigh (or at least balance) the parts we feel we'll lose out on.  There will be other, different, advantages we can look forward to elsewhere.  For instance, in France (and even in our little slice of Montreal), the variety and quality of viennoiserie are staggering!  And the cheeses!  Beautiful scenery?  Health care?  Historical attractions?  Ability to immerse ourselves in a different culture and language?  Trying out a new you?...