Hot Dogs & Croissants: The Culinary Misadventures of Two French Women Who Moved to America, Got Fat, Got Skinny (Again), and Mastered Eating Well in the USA—With Recipes

by Natasha Saulnier

When the Saulnier sisters suffer one disappointment too many in their native France, they decide to pack up and try their luck in America. As journalists they have the run of the country, following stories that take them to places where most Americans have never been—from the back roads of Appalachia to an underground village of homeless people in the New York City subway system.

And along the way they dine on:

• Nathan’s Famous hot dogs at the annual hot dog–eating contest in Coney Island
• Snapping turtle soup as prepared by the Native American elders of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe
• Cheesy grits from the Armadillo Diner in Texas
• And burgers, burgers, burgers everywhere!

As the Saulnier sisters adopt the American way of eating, their relationship to food shortly changes. They gain weight—and lose their self-esteem. This new diet is especially hard on Victorine, who temporarily abandons her vegetarianism. It’s not until they meet a couple running an organic farm in upstate New York that they realize how far they’ve strayed from their native food values—and learn that you can eat well in America, too.

Genres: Travel, Memoir

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 3, 2015

Reviews

[Bookworm · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not what the book proports to be. Based on the book jacket and summaries, I thought I was going to read a book about two French journalist sisters who would travel around the country and eat their way through US cuisine. Instead, we are treated to a road trip of sorts, but it is really not about hot dogs and croissants. It's a memoir of their travels through New York and Texas and Virginia (with some other stops here and there) talking to the people and eating some of the local cuisine.
 
I thought it was going to be pretty darn fascinating to see what these two French women thought about Tex Mex, Native American foods, grits and the like. Unfortunately it's really more about the people and places they meet. Food is secondary. It's not a culinary adventure.
 
This really should have been a blog or at least worded so that it wouldn't make people think they were going to treated to descriptions of church preachers (plus snakes!), views on the death penalty, and the like. Interesting perhaps through the eyes of non-Americans, but ultimately disappointing and tedious to read.
 
Thoroughly disappointed. I don't think the recipes are anything to write home about either. Borrow from the library for sure if you're that interested.

[Pennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors of 'Hot Dogs and Croissants, Victorine and Natasha Saulnier, are accomplished journalists whom paint an out-of-the-box scenario for a nontraditional cookbook with both American and French flavor. They waste no time with a devotional introduction to recipes that start off with 'Maman's Leek Potato Soup'. Two authors, and both sisters, combine stories of their new adventures with coming to America from there native land of France.

A refreshing cookbook that combines personal story telling with delicious home-made recipes - And you can't have a title such as this one without "Dogs" in the inner pages of the subject matter. The first recipe being 'Murray Handwerkers Cheese Hot Dog Roll-Up Recipe'... Yummy.

Chapter two talks about 'Deep in the Heart of Texas' and how these European siblings got acquainted with New York City whilst finding an apartment in Queens. Recipes are thrown into the mix throughout the book as both Natasha and Victorine tell there story.
With all the cook books I have read, this one is at the top of my favorite list with a very different approach to cuisine. They adapt to the American way of eating as they stray from there own native food values.

An array of offbeat humor makes for an enjoyable and well written association to dining in there new found world as they test new and exciting flavors. An entertaining read.

[Lindsay Nixon · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF.

As others have said, the book I got is not the book that is advertised. I was expecting to read the culinary adventure of two French women traveling around the US, eating various USA cuisines (I expected something akin to many foodie travel TV shows we have here in America with the American host going to Italy or wherever). OR maybe a flip version of "Why French Women Don't Get Fat"

Instead this is a 'memoir' (hard to call it that; the writing is more like blogging) about a trip two French sisters took to Texas and Virginia. While they did discuss the food somewhat, it was very secondary, and mostly lost with all the talk about the people they met (a tryst with real cowboys is included) and their various political opinions about things (e.g. the American prison system).

I quit somewhere along the way to Virginia (after the Texas trip). Even the charming accents the narrator provided couldn't save this book. There are a few recipes included but nothing special; very dull and lame.

I think I grabbed this during an audible sale but whatever I paid for it was too much.

[KieraK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is absolutely nothing like the title but gives an outsiders perspective on American things like snake dancing Christians, Texas ranching, the 6000 people that live in the tunnels of NYC, death row, the KKK, reservation living, and how we have gotten away from understanding where food comes from. It's from 2015 but still holds up. It's just not a book about food tourism like I thought it would be.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun memoir about time in America. It is enjoyable to look at “yourself” from another POV. A book more enjoyed by “foodies”.

[Dee Dee Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ughhhh. This book is completely misleading. If you go into this book expecting great tips on getting your weight down then you will be greatly disappointed. This book is more about interviews on random subjects by a journalist. The subject material isn’t that bad but that’s NOT why I bought this book.

Also, the narrator is awful. I think the author did the narration. Bad move. I pushed through on this book but only because I wanted to see if they ever share information about the weight gain and lose. At the beginning of each chapter a recipe is shared. Some are as simple as guacamole. I didn’t notice that the recipes were all that healthy. They are probably good and worth trying but I didn’t see any rhyme or reason to them.

Summary:
Basically, the girl is a vegetarian, comes to American and starts eating poorly including lots of meat, then goes back to being a vegetarian and looses weight. The end!

[Michelle Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to on Audible. I enjoyed the reader and her ability to do the French accent for Natasha, and then various accents of the Americans she and her sister encounter.

I plan to look these two up and see the actual articles they've written, despite being in French and get to know their body of work a bit better. They had quite the adventures and did report on very diverse things.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous read! I adore the sisters and feel like I know them. Their adventures were exciting and drew me in. I hope they have more stories to share.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad I didn't let other reviews scare me away. I do agree it's not the light-hearted food adventure I was expecting it to be. However, it was a well written, deep journey into parts of America I have never experienced myself. I liked seeing all of the recipes that were included. My only complaint is that even though they had mentioned that including their pictures from their travels was suggested to them, they didn't actually do it. I would have loved to see the pictures.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

This book was not at all what I expected, and it was a very pleasant surprise! Seeing North America through the lens of French journalists was refreshing. Their horror some of the stuff we eat was pretty funny. And their brash innocence as they talked their way into interviewing death row inmates, KKK and NYC mole people was always entertaining. I found the French accented narration a perfect fit.

[Lesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the tales of these two sisters as they traveled America —along the way a lot of great recipes — the underpaying story of food culture in America hit home —during this pandemic. Food can be misused

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and unusual glimpses of America, Americans, and American food through the eyes of two visiting young French journalists.

[Jordan Jancz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two French sisters travel to America to work as journalist while recovering from individual crushed dreams. Don't judge this book by it's cover. While food ties the story together, it's an interesting look at parts of America few Americans know, as seen through French eyes.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Quick, fun, interesting read. Not quite as food focused as I was expecting. A bit more on the political side, which is fine, but unexpected.