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The other night in the restaurant where I work a server asked a guest if she’d like coffee with dessert. Looking down at the French press coffee offered on the menu, she replied, “I would like good old American coffee, please.”
Excusez-moi? As in, the kind made from South American beans?
Anger about France’s vocal opposition to the proposed U.S. military action in Iraq has made francophobia the latest trend in American patriotism. Along this line of thought, a handful of American restaurants have renamed their french fries “freedom fries” or “liberty fries.” Last week, three Capitol Hill House office restaurants followed suit in a decision spearheaded by Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who said, “This action is a small but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France.”
No comment from the French Embassy in Washington, except to point out that fries are actually of Belgian origin. It’s good to know our legislative leaders are staying focused during this pivotal moment in world affairs.
On an only slightly more logical note, there’s now a growing American consumer movement to boycott products actually from France — namely, cheeses and wines. Similar boycotts occurred in 1965, when the French ordered American troops off their soil; in 1985, when the French wouldn’t allow U.S. military planes to fly over French airspace on their way to bomb Libya; and in 1995 and 1996, when France refused to stop testing nuclear weapons in the South Pacific.
In a recent online poll by Wine Spectator, 31 percent of respondents said they were boycotting French wines and 25 percent were boycotting German wines, too.
At the Party Source in Newport, wine associate Steve Genetti says he’s come across a number of boycotters.
“They’re typically not very educated wine consumers and not very educated about foreign policy,” says Genetti, who supports President Bush’s actions but prefers to keep his wine separate from his politics.
He estimates that his store’s French wine sales are actually up, noting that it’s hard to maintain a good supply of the 2000 Bordeaux, recently rated by Wine Spectator as the best since 1961.
On the restaurant front, who else would lead local boycott efforts but Jeff Ruby, owner of Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, The Precinct, Carlo & Johnny, Waterfront and Tropicana? On March 4, Ruby announced his restaurants would no longer serve French wine, Champagne, bottled water or food products.
I couldn’t reach Ruby for comment, which surprised me because he seems to love media coverage. I did, however, visit his downtown steakhouse the other night for a Grey Goose martini. The bartender said they’d initially removed all French liquors from the shelves, but the bar was virtually naked.
“You don’t realize how much of this stuff is French,” he said, waving his hand past bottles of vermouth, Grand Marnier and cognac.
Most purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs I contacted see the boycott as little more than a flag-waving exercise. And while it might target the French economy, the only thing it has a real chance of hitting is the American economy.
“If everyone in America boycotted French wine right now, the French government wouldn’t feel it for two years,” says Jeff Hickenlooper, a sales rep for Wine Trends, because distributors purchase French wines two years in advance.
Hickenlooper, who holds accounts with Ruby, says he’s talked to his other customers and none plan to follow in Ruby’s footsteps.
Maisonette co-owner Nat Comisar says he’s received supportive phone calls encouraging the restaurant to “continue doing what they do.” (As if The Maisonette would considering taking wine-based sauces off their menu or Burgundies off their shelves.)
Pigall’s chef Jean-Robert de Cavel says, “Being from France, it’s a little of a different statement to make. I think boycotting is a way of protesting, but most of the people who get hurt by that are the little people. I’m not a politician, I’m a cook. At Pigall’s, we do a business where we should open our door to everyone. And if I don’t have customers because some people boycott, in the end, everybody suffers.”
I don’t think Pigall’s or The Maisonette have to worry about losing much business because of anti-French sentiment. Still, I’m baffled by the rationale behind boycotting French products. It’s one thing to stop buying McDonald’s beef because of ecologically unfriendly grazing practices. It’s quite another to boycott Brie because you’re disgruntled by Jacques Chirac’s foreign policy.
As for “freedom fries,” well, that’s just plain silly. What’s next? A ban on French kissing? Shall we spay all French poodles? Smash all French doors? What will prom queens do without the French twist?
And what about the Statue of Liberty? Do we give her back to the French people?
Well, I’m off to enjoy the 2000 Chateau La Rose Metaire, tomme de Savoie and Brie de Nangis the guys at the Party Source helped me select. Au revoir! ©
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2003.