If you’ve ever been to Paris, or simply seen pictures of the iconic city, you’ll likely be familiar with the French capital’s café culture. Parisian cafés are for socializing, relaxing, people-watching, and enjoying coffee and good food, but they are also an important part of the city’s culture and history. French revolutionaries met in cafés in the 17th century, and they were a favorite haunt of the French feminist activist and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. And on top of all of this, Parisian cafés were also the birthplace of the iconic French sandwich, the croque monsieur.
Croque monsieurs, which are hot sandwiches filled with cheese and meat, similar to American grilled cheese, were first served in French cafes in the early 1900s. The name translates loosely to “gentleman crunch,” likely because the dish was seen as a refined, elegant snack, filled with simple,…
Read the full article originally published at vegnews.com.