Tartare de Boeuf

On Thursday we wandered down to a different part of historic Avignon to the picturesque Rue de Teinturiers. We arrived just in time for lunch and spotted an appealing looking cafe with its outdoor seating completely in the shade. The patio was filled with locals (another draw) and we decided to fill the last remaining table with 6 hungry Canadians. The notice board on the road advertised the “plat du jour” as “Tartare de Boeuf avec frites” for 9 Euros. I was up for a little mid-day beef until I saw most of the above-mentioned locals chowing down on a neatly arranged brick of shiny raw hamburger. And as if this dish didn’t surprise enough with its rawness, on more non-conspicuous peeking I learnt that the shininess was due to an uncooked egg plopped on top and slithering down the sides. Faster than you can say “I like my hamburg well-done”, I changed my lunch order to “la grosse salade”, with cooked chicken, feta cheese and plenty of raw lettuce.

But, I admired my Dad for doing like the locals and ordering the featured lunch plate. His meal was the first to arrive (Grace later remarked that of course Papa’s food came first as they didn’t even have to cook it). Upon seeing what their Papa was eating, both girls were flabbergasted and genuinely concerned for Papa’s health which wasn't surprising as “raw meat” has always been referred to in our household as if it were toxic material; (“Grace, that plate had RAW MEAT on it. Don’t put your fingers anywhere near your mouth and go scrub your hands”, or “Lily, don’t touch that counter, there was RAW MEAT near it and I haven’t disinfected it yet”).

The brave one at our table thoroughly enjoyed his lunch and polished it off as though he had grown up eating "tartare de boeuf" every Thursday for lunch. The girls and I did keep a close eye on him for the rest of the afternoon for any signs of severe E-coli poisoning, but he plowed through the afternoon and quipped that he had never felt stronger. I am still not tempted!

We are off to Paris on Saturday for the last 4 days of my parents stay here; we are all so excited.