Death by "flunch"

Yeah, you heard me: flunch. Last night Paul, french guy I'm staying with, took me to what can only be described as a classier, French version of Home Town Buffet. This magical place is called flunch. Flunch is an equally meaningless word in both French and English. Of course, the first thing I thouht was "f*&! lunch," but seing as how the "f" word doesn't really exist in French and lunch is "déjeuner," I'm probably one of only a handful of Americans who have made that connection.

We met up with some friends, Marion and Julien, and went into the cafeteria-style establishment. First you get a tray and utensils then you pick from a myriad of starter plates and desserts before selecting your main dish: some form of fried meat and potatoes. I filled a small bowl with fruit and grabbed some chorizo. Why not? Marion and Julien strongly suggested that I choose the "Super Tennessee" as my main dish. I've never been to Tennessee, but I'm guessing they don't serve the "Super Tennessee" there. I looked at the picture on the menu and it appeared, like every other choice, to be some form of meat and potatoes. It sort of looked like a cheeseburger without vegetables or bread. So I went for it.

The "chef" threw a couple of beef patties on the grill, cooked them a little, threw on some cheddar cheese, and then threw on a thin slice of unidentified meat (I think pork). Then he grabbed a breaded pattie, which I assumed was chicken because that was the only main meat not included thus far, and slopped the burger, cheese, and ham on top of it. Voila! I asked Marion what the unidentified patty was and she informed me that it was potato, not chicken.

My plate now contained some sort of cheeseburger (sans bun) with ham on a hashbrown. Time to select a sidedish. The choices were: french fries, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, breaded potatoes, something that looked like it was supposed to be a green vegetable, and another potatoe dish. Who knew potatoes were so versatile? So I grabbed some french fries and, for good measure, threw in some mayonnaise and ketchup to wash it all down.

My meals thus far in France have consisted mainly of meat, potatoes, cheese, and bread. I don't eat a lot of meat at home so usually by the end of a meal here, I feel like throwing up. Flunch was no exception. By the end of the meat and potato extravaganza I felt awful. Then we had ice cream. I know what you're thinking. Don't judge me. It's Flunch!