August 9, 2016

Cocktail Talk: The Grand Banks Café

grand-banks-cafeI’ve had a few Cocktail Talk posts from George Simenon featuring his Parisian detective Inspector Maigret. Not too surprising, as Maigret’s been known to have a drink (like all good detectives, or most), with a number of favorites. I could tell you about all of them, but really, there’s already a whole site that does it so much better, called Maigret’s Drinks. It breaks them out, explains, has tons of quotes, even some tables and such, all very educational and done right. I don’t know Simenon or the Inspector nearly as well, but recently was reading The Grand Bakes Café, which takes place by the sea instead of the city, and revolves around the death of a ship’s Captain. Lots of seaside folks figure in the story, and it takes some twists and turns, and spends a fair amount of time in a café/bar. Also, it has the below quote, which I thought would fit nicely here:

‘What are you having?’
‘Not hot chocolate, that’s for sure. A kümmel.’
What was that if not a declaration of war? When she mentioned chocolate, she was staring at Marie Leonnec’s cup. Maigret saw the girl flinch.

— George Simenon, The Grand Banks Café

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