Sometimes the French language is hard to understand. But do you know what’s even harder? French menus that have been translated into English.
I’m telling you: Don’t ever ask for the English menu. You’d have better luck pointing randomly at the French one and just hoping for the best. I’m not sure if it’s the wider range of unique French ingredients and preparations that throws them off, or the fact that the French are generally way more poetic in their descriptions, but I have seen some completely insane English explanations of dinner. I’ve more than once handed back a translated menu because it was indecipherable.
The one exception thus far being this menu, found at the snack bar at the top of Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix:
I can totally get on board with ordering a Sweetness. Perhaps a dough’nut, or a jame pankake with extra of wipped cream?
(Yes, I know that I myself routinely butcher the French language. Heck, I routinely butcher English! And I know that restaurants in America probably screw up French things on menus. But it just seems more egregious here. And more hilarious.)
Unlikely Diplomat 