Ceci n'est pas un Croque

@9 Haha, awesome. Now I see it. Menus are rife with error in most restaurants, it's a favorite past-time of my cold cold heart to find them and laugh about them while I wait for my food.

Thanks Ronald and the guest @10 for the suggestions regarding Monte Cristos/Reubens... Happy sandwiching to you both.

Had a lovely croque madame at Tilth. Also, my favorite reuben in seattle is at Essential Baking Company.

Did no one catch that they offer a "Grilled Vegetarian" ? I'm guessing they went with a vegetarian because the vegan had less fat on him.

Seriously, though. I'm vegetarian with a French boyfriend, I'm always happy when there's an option for me on a French menu. --Except when the option implies cannibalism.

"Croques-Monsieur"...that's rich. As brilliant as that antique shop over on 25th Ave. N. & 65th St. that advertises "objects d'art".

Gawd, a restaurant puts an extra "s" on a word on its sandwich board. Yep, sure deserves our scorn, Ronald. What a pinhead.

The menu item is "Croque Monsieur" in the singular, just like "Burger" or "Apple Pie." You get only one sandwich. We ordered, photographed & ate the sandwich depicted on Seattlest.

On closer study, the virtually identical panino shown on the Boulangerie Nantaise is in fact identified (in the jpg's filename) as a Provençal. Seattlest regrets the error.

I would hardly take this as a sign that they know "squat" about sandwiches. I went on their web site and only saw a 'grilled sandwich' subsection. No direct indication that the croque-monsieur was paired with the picture of the above panino. Did the reviewer actually order a croque-monsieur and receive something that did not have bechamel sauce on top? I know there is definitely a most proper way to make a croque-monsieur, but I've had slight variations on that even in France.

Otherwise, the picture issue notwithstanding, all they seem to have done incorrectly was fail to write the cedilla on provençal and not hypenate croques-monsieur. The plural form keeps the monsieur singular, and while they should not have pluralized it, it is nevertheless not incorrect technically speaking. i've seen a lot worse.

Actually your vow of plurality is lifted in the comments and you're free to refer to yourself, and only yourself, to your heart's content. But I know it can be hard to let go.

Ah, yes, the Monte Cristo. For a while, there, we were in search of the best Reuben. Got as far as Hilltop Ale House when we ran out of gas (literally). For the Monte Cristo, on the other hand, you need eggs. The Stranger's stranger, Thadius Van Landingham III, actually found several places last year that made such a thing. Not sure we've ever actually had one.

Note to Editor: please notice that we're adhering to the Seattlest Third Person voice.

@1 It's a hot sandwich that usually has ham in it. The Croque Monsieur gets ham on the inside, and bechamel sauce ladled over the top, then a slice of gruyere over that. Then it all gets broiled until it's heated through and the cheese gets browned. If you're curious, Cafe Presse on 12th and Madison does a good if inconsistent Croque Monsieur. (I've had ones there that were stone cold on the inside! Gross!) Croque Madame is basically the same thing, with an over-easy fried egg on the top. They're both good if done correctly, piping hot, and every ingredient is high quality. Otherwise it can taste like gluey ham.

Ronald... speaking of sandwiches, do you have a favorite place for Monte Cristo sandwiches in town?

So what is a Croque?