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!!!
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tagged as: Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Gripes, Rants, Raves, Restaurants, Reviews
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!
[…] Thor’s post about Ciboulette owner Jose’s temper-tantrum reminded me of a news story from this fall. […]
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.
[…] French A-Hole with Principal: Or, just read the note. […]
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!
[…] French A Hole with Principal […]
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.
[…] French A Hole with Principal […]
[…] I’m pretty sure the fine folks of Staunton aren’t ordering too much of that entrée (Cville’s lack of appreciation for sweetbreads was one reason cited when one local Frenchman go…, so even the sophisticates here aren’t fond of […]
[…] Hot Cakes. “Getting tuna sent back because a lot of you like to eat it in a stage of a hockey puck.” Where’s the love, baby? Did you forget little old cVillain deserves credit for that comment? Next time, give us some kudos! We have the full note posted! My favorite line: “Tired to see those snobby ladies eating steak with Iced Tea, asking ice to put in a delicious glass of Sancerre” … You can the full French A-Hole with Principle RIGHT HERE! […]
[…] Image from Flickr…could be from our French A Hole With Principle. […]
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.