In case you didn’t know, Ciboulette served French cuisine and sold high-end groceries. Jose, its owner, closed the store down and now the space is occupied by Orzo. But why did Ciboulette close down? Was it lack of money? No, it was a “French Asshole with Principle.”Jose puts it nicely: he’s “Tired to see those snobby ladies eating a steak with Iced tea, asking ice to put in a delicious glass of Sancerre.” Well, I’m tired of snobby ladies too!
Rule #1 of Business: The Customer is Always Right (even in Charlotteville)
I know chefs around the world (asshole or not) are sick of snobby ladies, “hockey puck tuna,” and only selling one order of “not a question of price” rabbit. But, Jose, why did you have to close down? Charlottesville needed people like you. Maybe we didn’t need to hear that we aren’t “in the league of any bigger city,” but you could have educated us.
Shutting down was a cop out
Ciboulette was a fantastic restaurant and I’m sorry snobby ladies had to spoil it for the cooks, but couldn’t we have reached a compromise? Ciboulette’s pricks fixey course dinners were superb and the wine was ALWAYS cheap because bottles were sold for retail prices, not 200% markups. Maybe accepting that snobby ladies are covering your rent payments would have behooved your business. Next time, instead of taping this rant to your door and shutting down, find another way to vent.
Now for the NOTE!!!
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Ah, the French….they cook as well as they rant; come to think of it, they don’t do much else!
As a girl who has spent some time in France and has a French father, I find Jose’s rant hilarious and the fact that anyone misses his business even more so. The average French person doesn’t eat sweetbreads for lunch, nor do they object to sandwiches. They most certainly aren’t snotty about food, either. One of the post popular places to get a quick lunch in upscale Cannes is a simple, no frills place that puts fresh vegetables and cheese on nice, crusty baguettes and sends them through a panini grill. Sweetbreads for lunch? Pas de tout! Someone fancies himself a resident of the George V.
The first time I went into Jose’s shop, I was so excited to see chocolates from a European chocolatier that I love. My boyfriend took note and bought me a box as a gift. Well, the chocolate had bloom on it and was stale. Talk about a faux pas! If only his anal attitude extended beyond cheese to the other products he offered.
Upstart– hilarious. He probably should have played his chef card, not his French card. Are we that bad about stereotyping the French that he’s bought into it, too?
Every team has its cheerleader, and Jose must have been one!
Well I don’t really care for Jose but he does have a point that c-ville wants to be a big city but it still eats like a red neck town.
I’m an American living in Paris (yeah, I know; cliché) and people queue up here every day in the boulangeries for delicious sandwiches made on freshly baked baguettes with ham, tuna or roast chicken, chevre or emmenthal, and topped with crudités (lettuce and tomato). They’re wonderful, and in fact I had one myself on Tuesday. You can also order them in many restaurants as well. OK, so maybe you can’t get a BLT down, but the French are as much on-the-go at lunchtime on a workday as in America and grabbing a nice, fresh sandwich is preferable to eating at “McDo’s” any time. Makes me wonder what part of France this chef was from?
Yup- I publicized C’ville’s La Ciboulette flap on my blog on Paris, so watch out – you may have more people weighing in from the source. http://pollyvousfrancais.blogspot.com/2007/06/french-chef-in-states-is-fed-up.html
Charlottesville deserves good French food, but not “a-holes” on either side of the counter!
Funk this guy.
Jose, you were being taught a lesson by your customers but you were not learning it. We eat what WE wanna eat, HOW WE wanna eat it. We are your customers, not your charm school students. Thank Goddess there aren’t a whole bunch of aristocratic rules in America on how to eat properly. Slop it all together, baby. The escargot washed down with grape kool-aid. Wine with lotsa ice and yes free refills, please. Well-done steak that’s cooked till that mug is…well…done! Then slopped with A-1. Ain’t that America for you and me?
Ze…go teach in culinary school. You obviously don’t have the temperament to be a businessman, which you must be if you are to be in the restaurant BUSINESS.
Why has this been buried comment wise since September of 07? This is hilarious. Anyone know this guy and can get him to comment on cvillain? I think it would take cocoNUT to the next….umm…french level.
Ate their once. Stopped by with daughter after swim team and ordered….sandwiches. Really expensive grilled chicken things on baguette. Waited 19 minutes after order, without anyone else in the joint to get the sandwich. Took it home. Daughter bit into it and it was dripping raw in the middle. Perhaps he was trying for the sous vide sandwich?
Snotty attitude…check.
Overpriced….check.
Long wait….check.
Must be a cheese eating surrender monkey running the joint.
@16: Um, maybe because it’s ancient news? And I used to go there and always liked everything just fine. He once made me the most amazing cheese plate ever. But then again I have lived in France and understand things like cultural differences. And I am a snotty elitist bitch.
You can almost hear his accent in the rant.
You can almost feel the curses coming to you.
You can almost taste that wine or dish.
/But no, he won’t let you. I wish Jose would make a come-back.
We tried to eat there once. Walked in – it was quiet – early evening – waited 15 minutes. Nobody acknowleged us and so we left. My husband was a restaurant manager for 15 years and will not accept bad service. I exect this was part of the problem.
You have to accept where you have your business. Most Americans, myself included, despite growing up in Europe (for 18 years) will not east sweetmeats. Ick.
egoodell
Man, I’m always late with these articles! Don’t seem to ever have time to sit at the computer and read – but when I do, I always enjoy the reparte (keep it up you guys!).
I totally agree with Upstart – I was only in Ciboulette once; a culinary student friend from Paris had raved about it, so moving to Cville, I went. Sacre Bleu! At first I was excited to see the french products, then like Upstart, I noticed the slimy mold (not the kind that’s supposed to be there) on the cheese, the bloom on the chocolate. AND, as several of you have noted – NO ONE in the store who even acknowledged my presence. I left. And never went back.
lol jose is my dad no kidding i am just bored and looking at random article
i dont live with him anymore
Isn’t Jose an odd first name for a frenchie?
he is portugese and spanish of descentant
aha
Anyone know if Jose is still cooking at HotCakes. If so, has the kitchen staff quit yet? Working with him is, um… challenging.
@22: You’re the kid who eats tartare! Your dad may be thought of as an a-hole but damned if he didn’t teach his boy how to eat.