Monsieur et Madame Croque teach us a lesson

From 2009-04-16

Last night I ate a croque monsieur for dinner - it's pictured on the left above. I'm very familiar with croque monsieurs because they are quite popular in Quebec so it wasn't a totally foreign food to me. I loved the way the did mine last night because I've normally had it as a grilled sandwich rather than open face which I quite enjoyed. It's very similar to a Monte Cristo or a grilled-cheese sandwich.

The menu also listed a croque madame which neither of us had ever heard of so I asked the waiter about it. Here's the conversation transcript:

Jackson: Quelle est la différence de la croque monsieur et la croque madame? - What's the difference between the croque monsieur and the croque madame?
Waiter: The croque madame has an egg on top of it.
Kathie: Why is it called a croque madame?
Waiter: Well, the madame has the egg, yes?

As soon as I figured out what he meant I had a serious laugh. Yes, it is the madame who has the egg!

One of the hardest things to figure out is menu items at a restaurant. Menus are a big challenge. If you didn't know what a croque monsieur was you'd never know what it was by literally translating the menu item into "Crunch Mister" or "Crunch Mrs". Half the fun is ordering something that you think is one thing but you end up getting something different or perhaps prepared in a way you'd never had before. It's all part of the adventure!