# You're in France and they're serving you brains. Now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2001, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228 "2001-01-22T05:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/21 "2001-01-22T18:02:44Z")
Say, “Hey, I wanted something with a decent IQ here.” ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/22 "2001-01-23T04:13:14Z")
It’s just that I’ve never been much for internal organs. I could bring along a massive supply of Altoids… I’m sure Altoids and brains don’t go together. Since Altoids are the best thing ever, they’ll give up brains. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Ike, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/23 "2001-01-23T04:19:38Z")
Watch out **andygirl** they’ll strike back with that dreaded French weapon… Flavigny Violet Pastilles. Your altoids will crumble in the face of the assault. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/24 "2001-01-23T04:23:08Z")
Of course you could say something like “no thanks, I prefer the whole head, freshly ripped right off the body.” [Yellowbeard] _Won’t be the first head I’ve eaten…_ [/Yellowbeard] ---
**Author:** ![vertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3ec8ea/32.png) [@vertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertigo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/25 "2001-01-23T04:52:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Robot Arm \* > \*\*“Your host family enjoys eating brains and serves them regularly. How would you react?” > > Fill up on bread. > \*\* For some reason that well placed bread comment made me laugh/snort something fierce. I think a piece of brain shot out my nose. Ow. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/26 "2001-01-23T05:12:03Z")
Can you send it over? I’ve got a case of the munchies… ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/27 "2001-01-23T05:43:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*I could bring along a massive supply of Altoids… \*\* Feh. You just want to corrupt the French with altoids. Double Feh. You just want an excuse to bring altoids when you go. You know they check for those things at customs;) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/28 "2001-01-23T06:01:36Z")
“I think a piece of brain shot out my nose.” Fill up on bread. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/29 "2001-01-23T06:23:07Z")
[This site](http://frenchfood.about.com/food/frenchfood/library/weekly/aa031400.htm) said, among other things: “On the other side of the dining experience, the bourgeois menu was simpler and more directly in touch with foods available regionally. Seafood was often the heart of a meal, and fresh vegetables combined with simple bread and wine completed it. In place of rich meats which might not be available, local sausages, kidney, brain or tripe served as a substitute.” FWTW. Might well be a regional thing as . . . well, cohogs are/were. But it’s not like it’s (in my experience/gathering from reading) a delicacy so much as that it’s something to eat. Like tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/30 "2001-01-23T06:29:43Z")
This whole thread provokes two things with me. 1. A seriously spasming gag reaction. 2. Curiosity about what foods Americans think are normal and take for granted but that people outside the U.S. find bizarre and revolting. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/31 "2001-01-23T06:46:43Z")
American cheese. Deep fried cheese curds. Deep fried mars bars. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/32 "2001-01-23T06:51:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > 2. Curiosity about what foods Americans think are normal and take for granted but that people outside the U.S. find bizarre and revolting. Pork rinds, hot dogs, easy cheez, cheez whiz, altoids (obligatory in any andygirl thread) . . . ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/33 "2001-01-23T07:38:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iampunha \* > \*\*altoids \*\* funny… these aren’t american. I can make cases for some of the others too, but these aren’t even made here. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/34 "2001-01-23T10:01:09Z")
People outside America find hot dogs revolting because hot dogs outside America **are** revolting. I read an article recently about a guy who owns a hot dog chain in the US who wanted to expand into Britain, but complained that there wasn’t a decent frankfurter to be found anywhere in Europe. (Not to be confused with people from Frankfurt, many of whom I’m sure are decent.) Many Brits I’ve spoken to have found the concept of penaut butter and jelly sandwiches revolting (even after I explain that that’s “jelly” as in jam, not “jelly” as in “Jell-o”). ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/35 "2001-01-23T15:48:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*there wasn’t a decent frankfurter to be found anywhere in Europe. \*\* Well, that may be true of Britain. Some of the things I’ve eaten called “bangers” have included more oatmeal than meat. But, fer chrissake! GERMANY? Germany produces and consumes so many different kinds of sausage the typical American hotdog-eater would go blind from confusion. And that’s just the most obvious example. The French make great sausage. All the Germanic and Slavic countries make great sausage. And I ate a piece of grilled lamb sausage in Sicily last year that brought tears of pleasure to my eyes. Shit, Oscar-Meyer ain’t even in the running when it comes to Great Sausages of the Western World. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/36 "2001-01-23T16:27:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > > \*\*there wasn’t a decent frankfurter to be found anywhere in Europe. \*\* > > Well, that may be true of Britain. Some of the things I’ve eaten called “bangers” have included more oatmeal than meat. > > But, fer chrissake! GERMANY? Germany produces and consumes so many different kinds of sausage the typical American hotdog-eater would go blind from confusion. > > And that’s just the most obvious example. The French make great sausage. All the Germanic and Slavic countries make great sausage. And I ate a piece of grilled lamb sausage in Sicily last year that brought tears of pleasure to my eyes. > > Shit, Oscar-Meyer ain’t even in the running when it comes to Great Sausages of the Western World. \*\* Yes, but while hot dogs are sausages, not all sausages are hot dogs. Sure, I’ve had a variety of fine sausages here and there (and some really bad ones – New Years 1999/2000 I had some wursts in Prague that, while I’m sure they were mostly comprised of animal parts, I couldn’t tell you which animals or which parts, and as for Germany, let me just say **Wiener Wald** – were they _supposed_ to be green?). And true, I never had a bad meal during my time in Sicily (one particular meal still gives me flashbacks, it was so good). But I’ve not seen anything resembling what I would consider a real hotdog. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/37 "2001-01-23T19:59:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*Your host family enjoys eating brains and serves them regularly. How would you react? \*\* Several options (all tongue in cheek. I don’t advise really trying them): You’re at a restaurant, they order brains for you as a special treat. When a big pile of prefrontal lobes appears, throw a tantrum. The French are used to food tantrums: “You’ve put beschamel (sp) (or whatever) sauce on the brains? _Beschamel_ sauce? I don’t know who you think you’re serving, but I am fully aware that only a bernaise sauce is appropriate. You might as well have doused them in ketsup. No, no…don’t go get a new plate. After that monstrosity, I can’t bear to see brains again. A slice of prime rib, cooked rare, some mashed potatoes, a small salad and a glass of wine will be all that could settle my stomach.” If it’s in their house, however, a tantrum isn’t appropriate. Bursting into tears, however, is completely appropriate. Look at steaming heap o’ brains. Quiver your lip. Then explode into sobs. Regain control slightly. “\ I’m sorry…it’s just that Geoffery…\ Geoffery was my fiancee’…We were to be married \. Cow Brains were what brought us together. It was a small resturant and we both ordered the last portion. We shared it and it became _our_ dish. Then, a week before the wedding, I found Geoffery and my Bridesmaid in bed together eating Cow Brains! \ I’m sorry…I can’t bear to ever eat brains again. \” Fenris ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/38 "2001-01-23T20:08:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\* > Several options (all tongue in cheek. I don’t advise really trying them): \*\* mmmmm tongue in cheek… one of my favorite dishes. mmmmm ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/39 "2001-01-23T22:37:30Z")
Oldscratch, there is no way that my eyebrows can raise any further. 😉 Now, Fenris, explain to me how you knew my secret? You’re not… oh, Gods, don’t make me track you down for revenge… Now I’m trying to figure out if I should be honest or not. I know that they want some sweeping statement about accepting cultures and stuff… I had something different in mind. “I would say no because I’m afraid of mad cow disease. However, I think your larger point is that I will be occasionally served food which I do not necessarily want to eat. As long as it’s not brains, I say bring it on.” ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228/40 "2001-01-24T08:59:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by douglips \* > \*\*Mmmmm. [Pork brains.](http://www.stanford.edu/~cgale/photos/pork.html) > > It’s just not the same since I can’t embed the picture in my post… \*\* My god, doug. Besides everything else, 3500 mg. of cholesterol. So I couldn’t even be talked into it on the grounds that it’s healthful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-in-france-and-theyre-serving-you-brains-now-what/51228.md?page=3)