Chestnuts

I saw some chestnuts for sale in Safeway the other day and it reminded me of one of my fond memories of Paris.

First, I should explain that the chestnuts mentioned in Chestnuts roasting on an open fire were all wiped out in the United States many decades ago due to some kind of tree fungus.

But when we lived in Paris we found chestnut vendors all over the place. They had huge roasting carts, probably 3 feet across, with big metal wheels and handles so they could move them. The chestnuts roasted on a bed of coals.

When you bought some they took a piece of newspaper and rolled it into a cone, then filled it with the (very) hot chestnuts. In my memory that cost 1 new franc, which was about 20 cents. The smell was heavenly and the taste divine.