Three foods of France: the ubiquitous tartare de bœuf enjoyed France-wide, the alpine favorite raclette spanning several regions, and the dauphinois-locals-only ravioles.
Tartare de bœuf [tar-tar du buff]: Raw beef sometimes mixed with capers, onions, or the like. I thought it had to be cured by first soaking it in wine or vinegar, but there are no special preparations of the sort. The same goes for that egg they sometimes crack on top of it.
Now that you know, what you can get away wit, you can: a) bare-hand an uncooked hamburger patty at the next Labor Day cookout, and/or b) try something a little less adventurous with salmon, dill, and breadcrumbs.
Raclette [ra-clet]: One of the heavier foods you can imagine, a heating element melts the surface of a cheese wedge, which is raked in all its gooey, shameless gloriy onto baked potatoes and slices of meat. A staple within the French Alps, it is a perfect winter comfort food after a day in the snow, though I just went to indulge.
Ravioles [rav-ee-ol]: Like ravioli, except pronounced without the “ee” sound at the end, it’s basically the same concept except ravioles don’t have meat inside and are a bit smaller; think cheese-filled postage stamps. The five or so manufactures legally able to market the name “ravioles”, are all within short distance from Grenoble. This is likely the city’s most region-specific food and if not, is certainly the most popular. To make it more regional feeling, it’s often garnered with oil from walnuts (Grenoble’s contribution to French cuisine), or as in the lower picture, baked with a layer of St. Marcellin atop, a local cheese too pungent for most to enjoy solo-dolo.
De-Frechifying your English