Still in the Parisien region - Potage Saint Germain, split pea leek soup with crouton. Browned some chopped bacon, added chopped carrot, leek (only green part), onion, split peas, crushed garlic, bay leaves, fresh thyme and water. Cooked for around 1 hour. Mixed the soup and served with cream and crouton. Energetic and filling soup.
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Indulgent! Love it!
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You can find it in many bars or cafés here. There is another version called Croque madame, you have a fried egg on top of the same sandwich.
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A thing of joy when done well.
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These are indeed both reliable bar food, something not to be taken lightly. As classic as these two are, I don’t think I’ve ever had two identical…and that’s okay. They are (almost) always comfort food.
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I just read that you have a variation of this French toast sandwich called Monte Cristo. Egg battered dip is delicious with pan fried.
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It’s really not close. Deep fried. Richer.
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Always Croque Monsieur for me! I remember branching out when we were in Aix en Provence and ordered a hamburger - the beef was raw and it came topped with a runny fried egg…I could only scrape off the cooked outside of the beef patty to eat. I remember the waiter being highly dramatic that I did not like it.
When we were living in the Netherlands, however, a safe menu choice for me was an Uitsmijter - open faced ham cheese and egg. Not as dainty but I always knew what I was going to get. It was called “the bouncer’s sandwich”. End of night party kind of grub but always on the day menus. The food in the Netherlands was somewhat atrocious so I stuck with sure things.
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That’s presumably a few years back when our north European food wasnt as good as it is today.
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Ah okay, was thinking it was like pain perdu.
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Not always deep-fried. Can also be pan-fried, like this one.
Served dusted with confectioner’s sugar, sometimes with a small dish of maple syrup or cranberry preserves (at least that’s how I had it on the Cape in New England).
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I’ve never had a Monte Cristo that wasn’t pan fried like pain perdu or French toast.
Also a Croque Madam, from Le Nazir in Montmartre.
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I think some people also are more open to local foods in less popular countries. I loved trying stamppot, herring, rijsttafel, pfannekokke (sp?) , ollie bollen and every other Dutch thing I could find when I visited 16 years ago. I also tried every regional Swedish thing on my visit 20 years ago.
I haven’t tried any highfalutin Noma-esque nordic restaurants in a northern Country yet. Maybe some day.
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Same, I’ve only had panfried Monte Cristos.
Since some ppl are mentioning other ham and melted cheese sandwiches that are griddled , fried, or baked, there’s also the Francesinha in Portugal, and the German Strammer Max (ham, cheese and topped with a fried egg, sometimes ham, no cheese, with a fried egg).
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You’ll never see me eat it. Unlike most countries, there are no real traditional restaurants in NL. Dutch people eat typical food at home but when they go out they eat other cuisines. Don’t want to eat the same crap they eat every day at home when they go out. They absolutely love the food when on holiday in neighbouring countries, though, whilst hating them (the people) at the same time.
re Monte Christo sandwich, I will stand corrected. To be honest, the last one I had was a LONG time ago, the one thing offered at a lounge where a bunch of us stopped after work. After an hour or so, I realized that I desperately needed something to eat. I ordered one…and wound up splitting it four ways,.
Never met up with then again…the group or the sandwich.
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Made Croque Madame (and Monsieur) again. This time swimming in sauce.
Verdict: I think I like it more as a crispy toast than a gratin, too soft and too much sauce! Also due to my lactose intolerance, bloated even hours after. Mr n was very happy with this version.
.
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Be still, my heart! 
And that probably could stop a heart. LOL
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Most of the MC’s I’ve had have been deep-fried, and I consider them to be far superior to the pan-fried variety, which to me seems more like a french toast sandwich.
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