KFC in Paris!

In the pictures above, we have a bucket of KFC chicken and fries....Does it look the same as in the states?

Last week, I had this craving for fried chicken. But frying fried chicken in my 200 square foot studio was out of the question. The last and only time I did that, I smoked up my apartment and smelled like fried chicken for a week.

So where does a black girl go for fried chicken in Paris – KFC! I’ll admit I’m more of a fan of Popeyes Chicken Fan, but KFC was going to have to do.

I met up with a Cameroonian journalist and told him that we were going to KFC in Chatelet.

He grimaced and said: “We are going to eat with our brothers and sisters,” he said.

Yes, we were. The smart folks at KFC put a KFC in every Paris quartier with lots of black folks. So well planned was this, that every KFC you eat at in Paris will be 75% black! And Paris is only like 5% black. Here is a list of places you can find a KFC in Paris”

Chateau Rouge (the African community of Paris)
Chateau d’eau (where black people go to get their hair done)
Chatelet (where young black kids go shopping)
Place de Clichy (a working class neighborhood)

There are about 5 more in Paris, and they are all in places where you have a good probability of seeing black people (I am serious y’all!)

There is no KFC on Saint Germain de Pres, Montparnasse, or on the Champs Elysees…

Why not I ask myself?

For some odd reason KFCs in Paris do not have the original recipe chicken (which is what KFC does best. When I visited London, the KFC did not have crispy chicken). We were so hungry, we ordered a bucket of crispy chicken.

The experience was different…..

In the states, when I eat at KFC and Popeyes, I feel like I am eating a real meal and not just fast food. I get the biscuits, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, corn. If I want fried chicken fast food, I go to Harold’s where I order fried chicken drenched in mild sauce and fries.

In Paris, KFC is JUST fast food. There ain’t no biscuits, no cole slaw, no mashed potatoes and gravy. Every meal comes only with French fries…and not even those good seasoned wedges they have in the states. You can order a quarter of a piece of corn for 1.60 Euros (about 2 dollars) but that’s just ridiculous.

Our bucket came with 9 pieces of chicken, five fries, and only three ketchups!

So how was the chicken. Greasy. In my state of hunger in the states, I could have eaten at least four pieces of fried chicken. But I could only stomach two wings and a breast. All that was left was greasy legs and thighs (which brings me to another complaint – why are Parisian restaurants scared of white meat! I hate thighs!)

  They don't even give you plates when you order a bucket!!!!

Who eats chicken like this? Not someone from the south of America....look at all that meat!

Comments

[Rachel S]

I guess stereotypes transcend continents. LOL!! But no cole saw or mashed potatoes--that's not really KFC.

[Nykeya]

from the pics, the chicken looks soggy. was it? the chicken doesn't even look good. it looked cold. was it? all they had was fries as a side dish? that is pathetic.

i think that the chicken joints in the "black areas" is incredibly interesting. that kinda pisses me off. like only black people eat fried chicken.

i hate thighs, too.

and lemme tell you what is tripping me out about the site now, the "tip jar." haha that is so funny. but i know you are so serious.

[www.40daysinparis.blogspot.com]

I came so close to eating there once. After standing in line for about 5-minutes, at the height of some sort of late night rush hour, I aborted the mission. Whenever I have tried fast food in Paris, I have been disappointed. But, I still go from time to time just out of respect for the institution and hoping that - by chance - I will one day be served a hamburger that actually contains real beef. So far...lots of filler or whatever our french friends put in those patties. (???)

[princessdominique]

I've only seen potato wedges here in the states not regular fries.

[olme]

I'm actually surprised to hear that KFC isn't a strictly fast food chain in the US... it sure is here in Montreal (and probably all of Canada) too. A meal does come with coleslaw (or you can ask for potato or macaroni salad instead), but it's so bad no one eats it, and the sauce that comes with the chicken is horrible. Plus you gotta pay an extra $1.50 for white meat on a three piece meal. I haven't noticed them being specifically located in areas with a lot of black people out here though-black people do go there, but french canadians love chicken anyway (I read somewhere that it's the most popular meat in the province.)

[Miss Tango]

The best crispy fried chicken I have ever had came from LONDON! Chicken World it was called.
We ate it everyday for 2 weeks. I haven't had KFC in 9 years, it's super nasty.

[Tina]

Get over it, you are in Paris and you are talking about fried chicken? my God, plus why do Americans have to compare everything nothing is as good as in the states, I think its sad that in the states all you can find is fast food, the different choices are not a sign of superiority but a sign of lack of culture. While you are in Paris try and eat something different from what you eat at home, thats the point of travelling, discovering something other that the American way,unbelievable. Anyway thanks for the info on the African quartiers and try to live out of the box

[Brandy]

I know I'm late, but that last comment is kind of harsh. Most people living away from home are known to crave the familiar. If sistah craved her KFC that's her. She didn't say she ate KFC 7 days a week! And there are PLENTY of good restaurants in the U.S. Fast food isn't all we offer, although the busy lives most Americans lead has been the breeding ground that's made fast food restaurants so convenient.

I find it humorous that KFC is located in the black areas of Paris. Definitely not the case in my city. lol

I'm not much of a KFC fan myself (prefer Popeyes as well), but I craved a few things when I lived in Brazil (only 3 months). The yogurt there was like drinking water. There were a few days I would've paid a couple of dollars for a little container of peach flavored Yoplait (from the U.S.).

[Kiratiana]

You lived in Brazil? Where were you? Yes, KFC definitely made me feel a little bit at home!