He takes her back home and delivers her to Mamita, then walks away. As Gigi comes back from the powder room, Gaston grabs her arm and pulls her out of the restaurant. While Gigi is gone, Honoré congratulates Gaston for getting Gigi to reconsider, but Gaston has had enough. When she tries to put it on, Gaston tells her that the clasp is tricky and suggests that she get the lady in the powder room to help her with it. Of course, Gigi makes all the appropriate comments for everyone to hear. After they have danced, Gaston presents Gigi with an emerald bracelet. When they walk in together, all heads turn and then the tongues begin wagging, but Gigi plays the role of courtesan quite well, calling upon everything Aunt Alicia taught her about pouring coffee, choosing cigars, and acting like a lady. However, Gigi decides that she'd rather be miserable with Gaston than without him, he takes her with him to Maxim's. Angrily, Gaston seeks advice from Honoré, who suggests that he toss himself back into the gay life and party with him tonight at Maxim's. Gaston realizes that he is in love with Gigi and offers to make her his courtesan and keep her "beautifully", but Gigi refuses, not wanting to live a life hopping from bed to bed whenever her "keeper" gets tired of her. The diner then slowly chews the ortolan, including the bones while letting the ambrosial fat cascade freely down the throat. Tradition has it that the diner places a handkerchief over his head before stuffing the whole bird into his mouth with only the head sticking out, which is bitten off and discarded. It requires blinding the ortolan or raising it in a lightless box for a month to gorge on millet, grapes, and figs, then drowning them in Armagnac brandy, stripping the feathers, removing the feet, and baking them whole for eight minutes before serving. The method of preparing and eating an ortolan is considered by some to be barbaric. Considered an extreme delicacy, the ortolan was named an endangered species in 1999 France, but the laws that were passed meant to protect the bird were not well-enforced until 2007 when French restaurants were forced to take ortolan off their menus and a fine was set at 6,000 francs if caught. Those were ortolans, small songbirds in the bunting family Emberizidae, similar to finches and sparrows.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |