the french déjeuner (lunch) is an odd institution, not particularly in what it is, but in what it is not. the french are delightfully obsessed with food. it is fairly difficult but not impossible) to find bad food in Paris.
for instance, the french have taken the initially german and then principally american* dish, the sandwich (said sondweesh, one more frenchification) perfected it a bit, and generally made it very french. the french sandwich consists of half a good crusty baguette, sliced halfway through lengthwise, a bit like a sub (its closest american counterpart). from there, the staples are some variety of meat (usually ham, but more like cappacolla ham than american ham), cheese (a good french soft cheese, with rind, usually), and crutités (tomato and lettuce), and perhaps some sort of mayonnaise or sauce.
these are sold everywhere at lunchtime (but not after about 2:00, annoyingly–don't be late to lunch). what is so remarkable is the lack of diversity in french sandwiches. the classic sandwich au jambon is exactly the same, at all seven or so sandwicheries (actually a word) within a block of my school, and throughout the city. there is a little diversity; sometimes you can find sandwiches on a different type of bread, for example (pita, for a sandwich suédois; a heavy wheat sometimes, too), or half-cooked baguettes which are then turned into paninis. i have seen a few variations on this theme. a sandwich americain for example, is a baguette with a hamburger patty cut in half height-wise, tomato, lettuce, and some sort of thousand island/big mac-ish sauce. it is not particularly wonderful. i also saw a sandwich bresilien one time, with roast beef and banana, i believe, though i didn't try it, regretfully.
aside from that, parisian sandwiches are incredibly invariable, and are very universal. it is quite strange coming from a place where every restaurant tries to differentiate its sandwiches (or food in general) somehow. even fast-food restaurants do this (with bacon!/blue cheese!/a buttered bun!/etc!), but nicer restaurants also tout their arugula, sprouts, fresh mozzarella, etc. in france, this does not happen, and i have no idea why. perhaps it is part of the french mentality. perhaps it's also due to the fact that both my school and my apartment are in two of the most expensive and white areas of paris.
the french mentality is a strange thing, though; they are incredibly disorganized (though somehow everything functions, defying comprehension a bit), but love rules, particularly in naming and defining things. the academie française, which is the official governmental body that determines what is and is not a part of the french language, is the paragon of this. it is also very history dependent. the french like to talk a lot about their equality and liberty, while in fact their culture still is very dependent on social status in everyday interactions. i think they're a bit confused about their politics; they all adore louis xiv, are a little hushed but positive about the french revolution, kind of like napoleon i and iii (but not i's architect hausmann, who busted through paris to make its broad avenues), adore the trente glorieuses (the thirty years after WW2 when france became very socialist and built itself up under du Gaulle and Mitterand), and now complain that their economy is not going anywhere, while still not comprehending the idea of a crossdisciplinary program of a sort which would likely help them in a globalizing world. in other words, french politics is almost as messed up as american ones.
other news: i had a fantastic crêpe today with crême chantilly, which is basically very high quality real whipped cream. positively orgasmic. much better than my last crêpe, with citron (some sort of lemon jam, which is horrible). i've also had one with a french hot dog (very different, very good) and cheese inside, one with smoked salmon and greens, and one with ham, maybe potatoes (i forget), and sauce bêchamel. the french eat a lot of crêpes.
i also had rabbit for the first time, which was not bad; kind of like chicken, to be a little cliché.
also: i detest french keyboards. there's a reason few french people can type very fast.
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* i believe. i am by no means a food historian.
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