Food Of The Day: Escargot In France

The French are notorious for their take on escargot, so it was an opportunity I could not miss. When I ordered the dish, I didn't expect it to be both such a visual and tasteful plate of food.

There were two things that fascinated me about the dish: presentation and taste. The white small bowl sat on top of larger, clear, glass bowl. It looked similar to a cloud, floating on the table. Although I couldn't see the escargot clearly, I could see hints and spots of it. The yellow, salty foam was covering it, like soap.

Then there was the taste. My spoon dove into the bottom of the dish for the escargot; then as it went back to the top, there were small amounts of foam that came with it. The snails were not too chewy, not too soft. The texture was like eating perfectly cooked shrimp or mushroom. Many restaurants don't get that one right, but this place did. 

You may think the dish was too briny with the salty fish and salty cheese, but it wasn't. The salt wasn't overpowering, instead it helped highlight the ingredients.

This escargot definitely was like a nice little package, from which I had to peel off layer after layer before I got to the end. Each spoonful was a different taste and texture. I went from picking up more than one piece of snail to three, and from having little to no foam, and back to lots of it. The dish kept me on my feet, and lacked any sort of repetition.

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