Raclettes with Rick Rolls Served by Kevin

As Peter pointed out: We ate Raclettes at the Raclette with Raclette! (the name of the meal, the restaurant and the cheese are all the same!)


Kevin's face appropriately demonstrates our surprise at the size of the cheese!
Scraping off the first layer of melted cheese onto my plate. Yum yum!


After a few scrapes Kevin had to cut off the rind - this made it easier to get the melted cheese out.

Marco was very excited about this meal - he ate like it was Thanksgiving! A true American at heart....

On Saturday night, Marco, Peter, Kevin (the two Rhos in Nantes) and I went out to eat together. Marco has been talking about this traditional French plate for years which I had never tried. So we decided on this cold rainy night, that it was the perfect opportunity to go for raclettes. We hesitated at first because it was a bit more pricey, but we finally decided it was one of those opportunities that we couldn't pass up....of course Marco was for it the entire time :).

The restaurant is decently popular and most people make reservations, but fortunately we were able to get a table. And then the adventure began.....we each ordered our raclettes (potatoes, pickles, cheese, and you can pick your type of meat) and then the waiter came out with this metal contraption and sat it on our table. Kevin, Peter and I just looked at each other like "What in the world IS this thing!?" The waiter then proceeded to explain to Kevin how to use it since he was closest to it. One problem. Explaining how to use a machine that can burn you, in French, when you've studied French for 2 months is probably not the best idea. Fortunately the waiter knew English and was kind enough to explain it in English. Next, he brings out a HUGE block of cheese. Not something the size of a round of brie....I'm talking a small wheel. He placed the chunk of cheese on the heating machine and turned it on. We were then served the most perfectly cooked potatoes with little pickles and different types of meat. Kevin's job was to then scrape the melted cheese onto each plate....it was a time consuming job and it made it hard for him to eat! It was AMAZING. It was very heavy so unfortunately we weren't able to meet our goal of eating the entire block of cheese....I think we made it down the block about an inch :). The cherry on the top was hearing Rick Rolls serenade us while eating. Pretty much made it a magical evening!

Here is Rick Rolls...a must listen 80;s song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI&feature=fvst

More info about this traditional dish and its origins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette

Maybe you should try it back in the US - it's worth it!