French cuisine has a reputation for being some of the best in the world. Why isn’t it more common outside of France? In the US, major cities have a few French restaurants. Many (most?) medium and small cities have none at all. I see some hints of French food here and there, mainly related to bread products but not much else.
It is. It’s so popular that it’s not even called “French cuisine”. It’s just called “cuisine”. Which, of course, is a French word.
A few educated guesses:
- Unlike, say, Italy, China, and Mexico, among other countries, there wasn’t large-scale immigration of French natives to the U.S. in the late 19th and 20th centuries, meaning that there were fewer new immigrants looking to build a life here, and thus, relatively few family-owned French restaurants sprung up, and eventually led to their cuisines (or adapted versions of their cuisines) becoming staples in the American diet.
- There aren’t many areas in the U.S. which were originally settled or colonized by the French, and where the French influence has remained. New Orleans would be an example of one, but I don’t think that there are many more.
- Among most Americans, I suspect that French food is seen as upscale, and there is likely an assumption that a French restaurant would be expensive, as well as featuring unfamiliar foods which would require a gourmet palate to appreciate. That’s not to say that there isn’t simpler, less expensive French “peasant food,” but it’s likely something that Americans aren’t familiar with, and most French restaurants in the U.S. are likely of the gourmet variety.
There are lots of places in town to get French fries.
I thought about New Orleans too but the food there doesn’t seem to be very French IME.
Likely because cajun and creole cuisine have roots in multiple cultures: French, as well as Spanish, Caribbean, African, and native American.
There are some French international hotels in the US, and I suspect that most, if not all, offer authentic French Cuisine. In my experience, many upscale restaurants in US cities include French dishes, but not exclusively. I agree that there are not many totally French restaurants in the US; however, there are likely far more in Canada. I believe this is because not everyone likes French cooking. Having been to France many times for both work and pleasure, there are lots of French dishes I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole that my French friends and colleagues savored. Americans’ limited exposure to authentic French cuisine likely results in a lower demand for 100% French restaurants.
‘French’ fries (pomme frites’) are actually a Belgian delicacy.
Largely true, and brought here in part by American soldiers returning from WWII but certainly popularized by the original celebrity chef Julia Child.
‘French’ food is typically characterized as haute cuisine and nouvelle cuisine in the United States, or as it was known prior to the 1990s “fine dining” (as opposed to ‘ethnic’ cuisines or the homey familiar cuisines brought by German, Scandinavian, Italian, and Mexican immigrants). Haute cuisine has largely declined as tastes have gone away from heavy, cream-based sauces but nouvelle cuisine has basically infused all of American medium and high end restaurant culture with fresh ingredients and light sauces.
Of course, France has a wide variety of regional cuisines beyond what is traditionally thought of as ‘French food’, with Southern France being especially rich in various Provençal seafood dishes including my favorite (when prepared well), Bouillabaisse à la Marseillaise.
Cajun and (Louisiana) Creole cuisine is definitely more influenced by traditional Caribbean and African culinary traditions than French even though the names are French (or Spanish and Portuguese as parsed through French). French language and terminology dominates because Louisiana was a French colony and maintains many French traditional and laws (Napoleonic code) but the culture and food are quite different from France.
Stranger
I think I may have to make French toast tomorrow morning.
I think French food might be considered expensive or fussy. But it does not take long or cost much to make French Onion Soup, it is more a matter of good technique and quality ingredients.
I’m sure it is still the basis for many a business lunch or country club meal. Las Vegas has its ups and downs, but I would eat at Boulud’s Bistro in the Venetian anytime at all.
Patisseries and boulangeries abound in Australia. Elements of Vietnamese cuisine, including street cuisine, which is almost the de facto Australian diet are also strongly influenced by French cooking and would probably count.
Perhaps the fine-dining elements of French cuisine have to now battle against a much more diverse range of competitors at that top end than they did 50 years ago, when a fancy date meant a French restaurant, but as food for the proletariat they seem to have entered and held their place in the mainstream.
In Québec, the French speaking Canadian province, every other restaurant serves steak frites and classical French cooking. It is also popular both for home meals and many restaurants.
Plenty (relatively speaking) of places to get crepes where I am; that’s one dish that gets a lot of solo exposure.
French restaurants are around, though. Here in the Cleveland area we have:
Edwins - https://edwinsrestaurant.org/fine-dining/ https://edwinsrestaurant.org/brasserie/
Chez Francois in Vermilion - https://chezfrancois.com/ (several menus)
Edwins is an institute that trains ex cons to be chefs. Chez Francois was the highest rated restaurant on the Great Lakes in Conde Nast. My next stop at Edwins will be to try some Pate de frois gras.
I disagree with the premise. I’ve been in towns quite down the size scale and they’ll still have maybe one French restaurant. Though in smaller towns, it’ll often be a “Bistro” style place rather than a fancy upscale place.
As an example of “bistro” styles in small towns, there is La Vie Est Un Bistro in Silver City NM. My folks visit occasionally when they’re staying away from Las Cruces during the summer months. Silver City is a town of around 10k.
Of the fancy sort, we used to visit this option in Canon City NM, Le Petit Chablis, which was shockingly good for a town of 17k, though it closed in 2022 when the owners were ready to retire after 35 years.
And that’s leaving out many restaurants that serve French dishes, just not exclusively.
I think it’s because there are no longer many first or second-generation French immigrants to keep authentic French kitchens in operation. The Immigration Act of 1965 eliminated the de facto favoring of immigrants from western and northern Europe, and then as Europe was had more or less recovered from the war there was less of a push factor causing French people to leave.
Meanwhile, the French language lost its status as the prestige foreign language for Americans to learn. There was a time when just about anybody with a college degree, or sometimes even a high school diploma, was expected to know at least some French, just as in the late 1800s some high schools required students to learn Greek or Latin. As Americans became less and less familiar with French, even those who could afford expensive restaurants, the customer base dwindled.
There’s also the fact that a good deal of French cooking involves organ meats, which most Americans shy away from. Speaking of that, I think you’ll find organ meats in “peasant” dishes as well as in haute-cuisine. Ray Charles once said “Poor people don’t waste nothin’ on a pig”, going on to describe how basically everything but the oink could be eaten or used for something. And I suspect it was much the same for poor farm people in France.
When all that went by the wayside
And in certain corners of America, the post-9/11 anti-French animus lives on. (“Freedom fries,” anyone?)
There’s also L’Albatros, where we had our wedding dinner (back when it was still That Place on Bellflower).
I agree with @ParallelLines’ comment - think in most middle-sized to large cities, you’ll find French restaurants, and not all of them are high-end. You’ll find bistros too. You just don’t see them on every street corner like Italian or Mexican.
I’m sure that it varies from location to location but in my area, bistros are pretty much sandwich shops.
I mean, there are bistros, places that use the name, and a ton of places that do some French dishes (usually lighter fare), combined with a bakery and pastry shop. I am certainly not entitled in any way to claim what should be authentic, or “true” French cooking. It’s a complex thing. Just that they’re a lot more around if you look even in smaller towns.
I do agree with @romansperson that it’s pretty far down the ladder of commonly seen places, like Mexican (mostly Tex-Mex though), Italian, or Chinese (which itself would be intensely regional), but it’s present.