Le Camion qui fume (pas pour moi)

So abstinence makes the heart grow fonder, but does delayed gratification make the hype grow stronger?

Last Thursday, when I thought it was Friday I managed to go to entirely the wrong bit of Paris in my attempt to furnish myself with burger goodness. You can read what happened after that.

This Tuesday I took myself down to Place Madelainemy ten euro note gripped in a palm sweaty in anticipation. There was the burger van, there was a small crowd of people by the front but no discernable queue, I worked my way through the waiting people, and stood, quite possibly looking a bit gormless.

No one spoke to me, the people cooking had the dead eyed look of people just finishing a crazy service (I know the look, I’ve had it myself). They were finishing their last 3 patties, it was just before 2pm.

Yesterday, third time lucky?

I set off at 12am for Place Maillot, on the edge of the city, surely there’d be no one that close that’d want burgers, sadly we weren’t that far from La Defense, there was a television crew filming the admittedly huge queue of smartly dressed bankers and diplomats.

Not to be dissuaded I stood and waited, within five minutes there were another ten or so people behind me. Twenty minutes later. ‘Desole, on a plus burgers pour au jour d’hui’.

The less spoken of what I then had for lunch the better. Still it was a short hop back into town for a late second lunch at Racine (2), then I popped into the Spring wine shop, to be reminded that today (the 15^th) they have @lecamionquifume serving burgers for a book signing.

Fourth time lucky? I only hope the delayed gratification won’t have created expectations that the burgers wont be able to match.

In the words of the French/American diplomat I was chatting to in the queue.

‘Oh, yes, they really are worth the wait’

Consolation crab..

Booby prize boudin noir

I did make it to the hallowed van a couple of days later finalment il fume pour moi