When they think of French food, often the first thing people think of are baguettes (Bag-ets), which are long sticks of bread; or they think of escargots (snails). Or maybe they think of wine and champagne. While these famous foods are readily-available, really, the traditional food of France varies so much by the region and even by the immigrant population that lives there. Most places in France have a blend of traditional French cuisine as well as food from any number of different countries, brought there by migrating people.
I started off eating the traditional foods of the region like gnocchi (ne-yokki), croissants (craw-sahnts), macaroons, gelato, olive dishes, and pissaladière (peace-salad-ee-air).
Gnocchi (ne-yokki) made in Nice is like a pasta but made with potatoes and swiss chard which gives it a green color. Pissaladière is a bit like pizza and is typically topped with fried onions, olives and anchovies. Macaroons and gelato are two classic sweets from this part of the world, better known in English as coconut cookies and ice-cream!
