COOK'OON

Hello guys,

These past two weeks I've talked about video and article but it's time to coming back to restaurants!

I've talked about fast-food last week and how it became popular in France. That's why I choose to present a fast-food restaurant for my last article on this blog.

When we are talking about fast food, we are thinking about McDonald’s, KFC or Quick, but actually, many "taking-away" restaurants can be considered as fast food.

I've discovered few months ago one of them, the "Cook'oon", an Asian take-away owned by three French, passionate by Asian culture. I really wanted to share with you my experience in this restaurant.

The Cook'oon restaurant offers a large range of Asian meals inspired by different countries. Each meal was elaborated to share with the customer a real experience in Asia.

You can choose a meal based on rice or noodles and then choose meat that you like, from the classic caramel pork, to the more elaborated Pad Thai

The main strength of this restaurant is that everything on the menu is home-made, that's why the price remains a little bit expensive for students: from 8,90€ to 10,90€ for the meal and a drink. An affordable price if you consider that is fresh products and homemade cooking.

I want to share with you my favorite meal on the menu: The Bangkok.

It's a meal made with rice noodles, soybean, chicken and shrimps and a delicious nuoc-mâm sauce that reveals the taste of the ingredients. I love this meal and I recommend you to try it.

Don't forget to take an Asian beer in addition to your meal, to complete your Cook’oon experience!

Their website : Cook'oon restaurant

16 place Notre Dame, 38000 Grenoble

04 76 59 03 69

Open from Monday to Saturday, from 11h to 22h

It’s my last article for this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing on this blog.

I wish you a great week!

xxx

Anastasia.

YOU MUST READ IT!

 >> Click  picture above, you're redirected on the Dailymail article! 

As we said in our first posts, we've created this blog to share with you our favorite places in Grenoble. For that, we try to find good restaurants and pub where there's not need to spend the monthly budget for fun.

In this idea of good deals, sharing and solidarity, I found an interesting article releases by the Dailymail.
This article deals with the revolutionary concept of Rub and Stub restaurant in Copenhagen.

Indeed, this fabulous restaurant has created a partnership with some supermarkets and farmers which allow it to get food a little damaged (misshapen bananas, tomatoes with greeness...) or products close to their best before date in the aim to make dishes from food that would be thrown away. However, for a health and hygiene question,Rub and Stub doesn't accept food that already been prepared elsewhere.
Beyond solidarity, which is congenial is that dishes change daily, depending on donations.

 

Don't worry, even if the food is destined for the bin, dishes are really tasty thanks to the volunteers who cook. Yes, volunteers! This restaurant is quirky thanks to its 100 volunteers who cook and help manage the operation of the kitchen, the bar and the service : it's a non-profit restaurant very popular for its beginning!

Rub & Stub has found really innovative way to fight food waste.
Because a sad fact is that many people don't have access to enough food, Rub and Stub is aiming to draw attention to what we consume and how we can help to reduce food waste and feed those in need.

Subject to meditate...

Good evening,

Laurie

OUR SECOND PODCAST

Hello everyone,

Last friday, we made a second podcast about food, blog and Haute Cuisine. 

This debate was very interesting, I invite you to listen this interview on FoodRadio.com

We hope you'll enjoy !

xxx

Good deal's staff

FRENCH FAST FOOD OUTSELLS TABLE SERVICE

Hello everybody!!

Next week I was talking about a newspaper article I found about French restaurants and their bad habits with factory-frozen food. This week, I invite you to watch a new video about French people and fast food.

French fast food outsells table service

This video comes from the BBC news and is about the increase of fast food in France.

According to the video, French people prefer eating fast food instead of seating at a table for a meal. The economic crisis can explain this phenomenon of course but it's not the best explanation.

In France, eating sandwiches became popular since women are working and the time for lunch reduced. But now, French people have a large range of different fast-food products to eat for lunch: sushi, pizza, bagels, burgers ect... They have a large choice that's why they are more likely to eat fast food than seating at the table for lunch.

The second explanation can be based of the increase of the quality of the food serves by the fast-food restaurants. French people are responsive to the quality of what they are eating.

However, some people are totally against fast food in general and they are fervent supporters of bistros and cafes, place where they can seat at a table to eat their lunch. They don't take any pleasure to eat fast food and they don't understand this enthusiasm for this way to eat.

To conclude, we can easily say that French people are eating fast food in their daily life because they don't have time to seat at a table, nevertheless they don't forget traditions and are enjoying eating at a table when they can, with all the friendliness French are used to have.

Thank you for your loyalty to our blog.

I wish you wonderful holidays :)

xxx
Anastasia.

THE TORD BOYAUX

Located in the old town in Grenoble, the district of Notre Dame in an inevitable place for the student night life. There are many pubs with their multiple atmospheres. One of them has been being my favorite for 4 years: Le tord boyaux ! 

This name can afraid you, I understand. It means “Rotgut”. You can imagine yourself with your twisted intestines because you drank too much alcohol… It’s not a very pleasant image of your crazy night! Don’t worry; Le Tord Boyaux is just a pub…and a very good one, my favorite!

First of all, I have to admit it, because of the smell inside the pub: when you go into the bar, you can smell this delicious aroma of wools, barrels and flavored alcohol! It’s creates, according to me, a particular atmosphere specific to Le Tord Boyaux. 

Then, when you have enjoyed this smell, you can go directly to the counter to choose your drink: and this is the most difficult part of your night! Why, you may ask? Because there are too many choices! You have to know that the specialty of this bar is the flavored wine: more than 43 flavors are available in big wooden barrels. You can choose a bottle for 12 euros and drink it with your friends. There are the different flavors: 

PINEAPPLE
BANANA-BLACKCURRANT
BLACKCURRANT
SWEET CHESTNUT
CHARTREUSE
STRAWBERRY
RASPBERRY
RASPBERRY-LYCHEE
GENEPI-LEMON
GENEPI-STRAWBERRY
MORELLO CHERRY
GINGER-LYCHEE
GUAVA
LYCHEE
MANDARIN
MANGO
MANGO-HOT PEPPER
MELON
MELON-STRAWBERRY
CHERRY PLUM
BLACKBERRY
BLACKBERRY-PASSION

BLUEBERRY
NECTARINE
NECTARINE-KIWI
PASSION
PEACH
PEACH - APRICOT
HEADED - CINNAMON
HEADED KIWI
HEADED RED-COCONUT
HEADED GREEN
PERRY
VERBENA
VIOLET
BARBAPAPA
SALTED BUTTER FUDGE
AFTER-PARTY EIGHT
CURRANT
RED BERRIES
BLUE PTITE PILLULE
PISTACHIO NUT

Then? You see? This is why it’s so difficult to choose. So, you have to come every night during 3 or 4 years (as I did) to taste one of each. 

Of course, if you don’t really like this type of wine, you can drink many others alcohols and cocktails: during the “happy hours” (from 6.00 PM to 8.00 PM every night), the pint costs only 3 euros ! You can even add a syrup inside (if you don’t want to be drunk too early !) for 3.50 euros ! 

If you don’t want to drink alcohol, if you are “Sam”, the one who drives and takes his friends back home with the car (good boy !), or if you don’t like alcohol (does it really exist ?!), of course you can drink some non-alcoholic drink such as cocktails with fruits juice and sodas. 

Moreover, when you drink, you are hungry. So, Le Tord Boyaux suggests some snacks, such as chips, peanuts, cheese with cumin (my favorite) and the inevitable “French saucisson”. 

Ok, now you are spending a good night. You are with your best friends; you drink a very good cheap flavored wine, in a very good atmosphere…

Then you can enjoy the music! Of course the music is essential in a pub! Le Tord Boyaux  broadcasts some very good songs, particularly old songs such as the 1990’s songs ! I love it ! You can lapse into a second childhood and dance on Lorie, Manau, The Spice Girls, K-Maro, even Louise Attaque and Indochine ! 

My little advice: favor the Tuesday nights, because Le Tord Boyaux organize “the Blind test”. You are in a team (you can choose your team name, according to the quantity of alcohol you drank, sometimes there are some very ridiculous names!), there are 4 or 5 parts, with different themes, and you have to guess the name of the song, and the singer or the band of the music you are listening to. Everybody hears the same song. You have few minutes to guess, and there is the next song. The winning team wins free drinks, so it’s worth it !!!

If you want to have a little break in this deafening atmosphere, you can go to the smoking room, have a fag and speak quietly with your friends… before going back to the counter and having another drink, of course ! 

So, how does it sound? Did I convince you? 

Trust me, you won’t be disappointed ;)

Your devoted Juliette

LONDON PUB

 

LET'S GO TO DANCE AND HAVE FUN!

This week I present you a famous pub in Grenoble : The London Pub ! You want celebrated a brithday, the end of exams or simply have fun ==> come in this place and the ambiance will be guaranteed !

The decoration outside and inside is entirely create on the topic of the Great Britain ! You will can find the different colors of british's flags but also the various symbols like Welsh Guards, red phone box...

Thanks to this atmosphere, you will can speak english or meet different foreign students and therefore have an open-mindedness!

I like so much this pub because the last year I was in England (Lincoln) and when I come there I have the impression to find my habits, the atmosphere and the frame of England !

This pub is opened all the day exepted the sunday from 6 pm till 1 am and is situated in the city center near others pubs in the street "Rue de la Brocherie"! As regards the prices, they are similar than others pub in grenoble and the entrance is free for everybody!
 
So DON'T HESITATE and come to taste this pub around a good beer between friends!
The dancefloor waits you with your friends!

See you next week !
Bertille

BAGELSTEIN IN GRENOBLE!!!!

Hi everybody!

I was thinking about my Grenoble "lunch spot" list and I realized that I've not told you about Bagelstein.
Bagels' lovers? We're so lucky! It's on the city center, in front of the subway station "les halles Sainte-Claire"

You know the recent trend when everybody loves American food, especially American bakery with cheesecakes, carrot cakes, cookies, brownies... Now, it's the bagels' trend and it's time to go to Bagelstein!

What is Bagelstein? It's a chain of restaurants in France that offers 100% homemade bagels and trust me, it becomes obvious when you bite into one! It's a little taste of New York in Grenoble!

Don't get me wrong : I'm not saying these bagels taste like New York bagels but these are French bagels with a few American flavors.
Bagelstein's sandwiches are bagels in the sense that they're round pieces of bread with a whole in the middle and they're delicious like "real" bagels but they're not boiled and they're more light than New York bagels (thanks for our delicate stomach !).

Bagelstein restaurant, it's a large choice of great bagel sandwiches with amazing flavor! They're delicious, made with fresh and great tasting ingredients. You can choose between salted or sweet sadnwiches but you've to try bagels with nutella spread, it's excellent !

If you prefer, you can also devour a giant cookie or some awesome muffins and brownies ! 

Concerning the atmosphere, you'll be charmed by the humorist decor : inside the restaurant you can read the funny quotes or look at some ludicrous pictures on the walls. Moreover, the staff is really cool!

In front of the place, you'll see the big choice of bagel sandwiches and formules written in bright colors on a blackboard, it's nice!
For the price category, bagel + drink = less than 10€! And you can sit in or takeaway.

Try this restaurant (8 place Sainte-Claire) and let me share your experience.

See you soon,

Laurie

Fast food + French cuisine = Gourmet fast food

The French love food of quality but sometimes, we also love to go to some fast food.

Students, we go to McDonald's or Subway restaurant because we love it, it's fast, fatty and also because it seems not very expensive... Yeah, the aftermath of a party, who want to cook a small tasty dish? Nobody, of course! And each of us goes out to devour a big sandwich !

Who has never dreamed of a hotdog with foie gras ??? It's possible now!!
French top chefs now concoct gourmet sandwiches, as you can watch on this video !

For sure, these gourmet fast food are expensive ! But soon, maybe...

See you, 

Laurie

Hey! You asked me about something like gourmet sandwiches in Grenoble?!
I don't know yet very well Grenoble but I heard around me and seemingly, there is a place where you can find some sandwiches with foie gras, for example.

I don't know the exact adress but I'll find out and I'll tell you asap.
For the moment, I just can tell you that is near to the subway station "Sainte Claire les Halles", at the beginning of the street Pierre Duclot, next to a flower shop.
It's not really gourmet fast food because sandwiches aren't created by chefs like on the video but there are tasty sandwiches made with great ingredients.

I'll try that when I come back in the city, next week and I'll share all the informations with you!
Be patient or share your experience before I test !

>> So the place to try and taste some sandwiches with "foie gras" or other great ingredients is called  "Patrice Gatta Traiteur - Epicerie Fine", next to "Les Halles Saintes Claires", street Pierre Duclot!
Let me know your opinion!

UNESCO declares French cuisine "world intangible heritage"

This article has been written by Henry Samuel in Paris, for the famous newspaper "Telegraph". 

Samuel informs us that the experts from the United Nations cultural organization said that France's gastronomic meal fulfilled the conditions for featuring on the "world intangible heritage" list. 

This list numbered 178 world cultural practices such as the royal Ballet of Cambodia, the Fado songs of Portugal, the Al-Sadu traditional form of weaving by Bedouin women in rural communities of the United Arab Emirate, the Mongolian folk songs, the spanish flamenco or the China's traditional art of Peking opera. 

The UNESCO protects cultural practices but also sites of cultural value or great natural beauty.

The experts sais that French people love getting together to eat and drink well and enjoy good times. It's a part of the french tradition.

For example, how wines are paired with dishes, how the tables is dressed, the precise placing of glasses, for water, red wine, and white wine, knife blade pointing in and fork tines down. All this is a part of the french rite about the cuisine. We call it the "French etiquette". 

When people have knowledge of food, it's a treasure for the community.