Today, my Wednesday lunch buddy and I headed off to brave the oddness that is the freaky kangaroo restaurant, Le Relais des Trappeurs (which I think is the french equivalent of saying “the Trapper Diner,” or the equivalent of a truck stop, but for trappers/hunters as opposed to… well, truckers).
This place is kitsch de chez kitsch, from the wall mural, confederate flags and bald eagles, and indian headdresses galore. Add to that classic country music such as the Tennessee Waltz, and you’ll have the idea.
We ordered once we had made up our minds… I opted for the ostrich (why not?) and Carrie went for a “Chiken” (yes, that’s how it is spelled) salad of some sort. With their people only two other people in the restaurant (already halfway through their meal), our food came rather quickly, and in quite the americanized quantity as well:
Presented on a cutting board, I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of food. The waitress presented it to us, then invited us to help ourselves to whatever sauces we would like at the sauce bar (full of barbecue, mustards, vinigrettes, etc) and to serve ourselves at the cave
10 responses so far ↓
1 ddj // Mar 31, 2005 at 12:05 am
What a weird place. At least the cutting boards have a moat, so the goodies from the sauce bar don’t get on your clothes.
Chicken spelled without the “c” reminds me of the ads for Chick-fil-A restaurants, where a cow holds up a poorly lettered sign that says “Eat more chiken.”
I don’t know what to make of the Confederate flags. Too much dubbed-over Dukes of Hazzard in your departement?
2 Kay // Mar 31, 2005 at 2:00 am
I can understand the temptation as a touch of home sounds great sometimes. But, normally it turns out to be a disappointment — a bad copy!! I’ve been there and done that — i.e. mexican food in Germany!
3 ViVi // Mar 31, 2005 at 8:09 am
Eh, never was a big fan of corn on the cob anyway. I wonder if they get nervous when they have American customers?
That reminds me: have you been to a Buffalo Grill yet?
4 Flare // Mar 31, 2005 at 9:44 am
The search for a real milkshake. The only place I’ve found it is in my own kitchen.
Onion rings… they only gave you three?
5 Sammy // Mar 31, 2005 at 10:12 am
Yehaw!
Sounds *kitschtraordinary*!
But did you find it hard to eat with all thise animal paintings staring at you?
6 Pat // Mar 31, 2005 at 11:04 am
Looks interesting. The food looks good. Do you know who owns the place? Are they French or expats from some other country?
7 kim // Mar 31, 2005 at 11:23 am
Flare, yes, three onion rings. It was fine though, they really loaded on those steak fries, and I was far from finishing the whole cutting board of food anyway.
Pat, I did inquire, and actually, they own five restaurants in Le Havre, each with a different theme. Two of them I had eaten in before (a savoyarde themed one, and the pierrade restaurant), and the two others I haven’t (a cancoillote one, with franche comt
8 Estelle // Apr 1, 2005 at 12:32 am
I had no idea milkshakes wre made of ice creams until I met my husband. He would call my shakes “flavored milk”. Hum! The French are not really comfortable with the idea of eating corn on the cob, it’s not popular so let’s give it 10 more years before finding good corn there
9 Gamera // Apr 1, 2005 at 12:55 am
Caves are good! Eegah!
Nah, you have a few kitsch places like that all over Europe. In fact they mostly buy their decoration things from the same catalogs. You know the type: fake Arizona plates, badly rendered Marilyn Monroe pictures, some stars and bars (yeash! they seem to love that Mason-Dixon line), kitsch neon signs, fake old adds for Coca Cola, native american dreamcatchers and in your case a Quebecois stereotype name to top it all: The Trapper’s Dive. Do Quebecois sing Dixie? I doubt it. It’s just that no one there has a clue. They put it up to sell. It’s what I call Euro-Kitsch.
But hey, if the food is good and the price is great, I won’t mind eating next to a cut out cardboard of Daniel Boon.
Anyway, I have this idea for a theme restaurant where it’s all caveman stuff, you are given raw meat, you have a central fire, charcoal to finger paint the walls, no chairs, no lightbulbs, no water, no tables and the waiters only say “ugh”.
10 sistabella // Jun 6, 2007 at 8:37 am
Funny to learn that all five of these restaurants are owned by the same people. We have been several times to Le Gaulois. Always the same guy working alone, greeting the door and cooking. And here i thought he was some artist, living his dream, ha!
He makes great boar pate, yum! And it is the only place i don’t feel ashamed to have him wrap some of my plate in foil to take home.
i wonder if all five serve on a plank of wood, lol.
*laughs at the mention of the Buffalo Grill*
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