Emily Monaco's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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holidays with a twist

The Weird, Wonderful World of Collecting French Cake Figurines

Porcelain or plastic, Harry Potter or copulating couple, fèves come in all shapes and sizes.
December 8, 2023
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road trip

How Summer Road-Trippers Put a Southern French Sweet on the Map

Montélimar nougat rose to fame thanks to vacationers' traffic jams.
August 3, 2023
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mustard

The Last Mustard Maker in Dijon

Nicolas Charvy is bringing a culinary art back to its ancestral home.
January 27, 2023
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food history

The Brewer Updating an Ancient French Beer for Modern Drinkers

Thomas Deck's cervoise-inspired brew is herbal and delicious.
December 12, 2022
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linguistics

Introducing 'Food Grammar,' the Unspoken Rules of Every Cuisine

Technically, spaghetti and meatballs is bad grammar.
January 29, 2021
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controversial cuisine

Not a Fan of Hawaiian Pizza, Processed Cheese, and California Rolls? Blame Canada

Fusion foods and innovations associated with the U.S. quietly have roots farther north.
October 15, 2020
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falconry

These French Falconers Are a Family Act

Their diverse, globetrotting work is equal parts science and spectacle.
June 11, 2020
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war fare

The Triumphant Return of France’s ‘Forgotten Vegetables’

Chefs are helping hardy roots overcome a World War II stigma.
April 27, 2020
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cheese

How Long-Ago Lava Flows Created a Unique French Cheese

Cellars chipped out of volcanic ash are the best place to age the famed Saint-Nectaire.
November 19, 2019
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bookstores

What It's Like to Build and Operate a Tiny Traveling Bookshop

A French theater director crowdsourced his dream.
October 22, 2019
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pastry

This Fraternity of Frenchmen Is Reviving the Beloved Pâté-Croûte

A foodie brotherhood launched a world competition dedicated to their favorite meaty pastry.
October 4, 2019
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grave week

In 1590, Starving Parisians Ground Human Bones Into Bread

During a siege, desperation drove people to disinter skeletons from cemeteries.
October 29, 2018
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show & tell

Why Menu Translations Go Terribly Wrong

Toward a grand unified theory of hilarious and odd foreign-language menus.
January 24, 2018
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underground cooking

The Secret History of Paris's Catacomb Mushrooms

In the 1800s, farmers cultivated mushrooms in abandoned quarries underneath the French capital.
October 31, 2017