Back home in Montreal, take-out food had pretty much been limited to picking up the phone and ordering a pizza or a BBQ chicken. Of course, you could always pick up something yourself by going to a drive-through such as Burger King or McDonalds. Covid has changed that slightly. With dine-in eating banned, a few restaurants began offering take-out meals.
Long before Covid, take-out was popular in France. Outside of major cities, Dominos, McDonalds and Burger King do not exist. There are no drive-throughs. But food stores, especially boucheries, often have prepared meals. During holiday periods, there is always something special. As we walked through Auxonne, a sign in the window below caught our eye.
Typical of stores in France, the inside was small – they sold only what was their speciality – usually, an assurance of quality.
On the counter, the menu for the Easter dinner they would be preparing. Actually, two menus. We chose one of each.
And here’s what we got.
Not to be outdone, a nearby pâtisserie had prepared Easter treats.
I didn’t see any chocolate Easter bunnies. Maybe they were already sold out. They did have what I think is a lady-bug. I’m not sure what it has to do with Easter.
I just learned that “April Fools” actually originated in France. Except it’s not called April fools. It’s called “Poisson d’Avril.” Unlike Canada where just about any trick can be played on the unsuspecting, in France it is limited to pasting a paper fish on someone’s back. They, unknowingly, walk around with it on their back. Kinder friends will simply give a chocolate “Poisson d’Avril” as a gift.
At those prices, a Poisson d’Avril is more treat than trick.