La Crème de La Crémaillère

Contemplating all things France lately (or, mostly, Joan of Arc as I read Kathryn Harrison’s 2014 biography of the Maid of Orléans), I glide on the arm of the Brawny Sherpa into La Crémaillère in Bedford, N.Y. one gray, soggy evening wondering what medieval maidens ate. I am quickly transmogrified from the 1430s to the 1970s. La Crémaillère is the sort of restaurant my parents would patronize, a place where women wear dresses and their hair looks done, where men drink martinis, and waiters wear jackets.

Trying to be grown up, I still find myself wondering about all sorts of things French. What exactly is “French Provincial”? Do people in small farmhouses from the 1750s really eat as well as I am about to? Could this possibly be considered “country food” in France? What did Joan of Arc eat?

The woman who saved France from England and then burned at the stake for her efforts— thanks to her direct conversations with higher powers without any priestly intermediaries— didn’t seem to care much for conventions, so I imagine she wasn’t overly focused on her diet.

I decide I won’t be this evening, either. I order a martini and contemplate dairy. Not exactly vegan, but I figure vegans aren’t exactly French. I am glad I indulge in the cream of cauliflower soup, terrine of artichokes, goat cheese and arugula ravioli, vegetables, and Grand Marnier soufflé. I wish I had paid closer attention in all of the French language classes in high school and college. I am wondering how cuisine in the French countryside differs from menus in Paris even though I’ve been to both places. Like Joan, maybe, when I was in France, I wasn’t so focused on food, either. Cheese, wine, a croissant, a macaron, I’m done.

Back in Bedford, I enjoy this old farmhouse, the formal service, the food (the food!), the martinis. I marvel at the walls decorated with drawings of French provincials in historic attire. This place is worth a visit no matter which era you prefer.

—Lori Tripoli

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Interested in Bedford, N.Y.? You might like these posts:

• 7/11/1779: Feeling Bedford Burn
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