“An incredible experience! The thread posted this week on Twitter by an American tourist literally propelled
The Pataterie, a restaurant chain that has existed in France for more than twenty-five years, in the spotlight.
“We were on vacation in France and were looking for a place to have dinner tonight, and Melissa found the most amazing place… La Pataterie, a French chain specializing in potatoes as a main course. And it was incredible, ”wrote on Twitter on Monday Steve Olson, an American tourist passing through the Arles region with his wife.
🧵ok, so, we’re vacationing in France, and were looking for a place to grab some dinner this evening, and melissa found the most amazing place… @La_Pataterie, a french chain focused on potatoes as a main course. AND IT WAS AMAZING (cc @darth) 1/8 pic.twitter.com/yIZ2WYqdWl
– steve olson (@steveolson) September 6, 2021
“I peed on myself when I bit into it”
The American from Oakland in California then recounts his meal in detail, describing with many superlatives the dishes he tasted. “A gloriously baked potato,” “garnished by angels,” “the best potato ever made by human hands,” he explains on Twitter.
“I don’t know the variety, maybe it was a giant Yukon Gold, steamed and then baked to perfection, creamy, tender, but with structure. I peed on myself when I bit into it. A choir of angels came down from heaven, the angels sang Bonny and Clyde by Gainsbourg and Bardot, ”he adds. “Words fail me to express my amazement”, he wrote again, conquered by “the herb crème fraîche sauce, I can’t believe it”. It didn’t take much more for Twitter to get carried away and thousands of people to share
its thread.
It was our first time, so naturally i had to go for “Pom’s Classics” (sic, i think ?!). I got the Pom ‘Au Four Savoyarde (i am just realizing the apostrophe is for a contraction so maybe that’s not a typo). ANYWAY. BEHOLD. 3/8 pic.twitter.com/F4wwXy93kl
– steve olson (@steveolson) September 6, 2021
“We take it as a big gift”
The long thread, embellished with photos, greatly amused French Internet users, surprised by this American’s passion for a chain of restaurants not really famous for its gourmet cuisine. Within hours, the thread was shared thousands of times, garnering over 25,000 likes.
An unexpected publicity stunt for the boss of the restaurant chain. “This tweet is a ray of sunshine (…) We take it as a big gift”, responded to the Parisian the CEO of La Pataterie, Sébastien de Laporte. A spotlight which “restores energy” after difficult months linked to the health crisis and which will help attract new customers. “We realized that 20-40 year olds discovered La Pataterie this week on social networks. This allows us to target a new population! », Added the CEO of the restaurant chain, who had to create a new account on Twitter to cope with this new visibility.
Steve Olson, the American tourist behind this buzz, decided this Friday to take advantage of this new visibility to help the Restos du cœur. “Ok, French friends, since we can have different tastes on restaurants (and potatoes), we all clearly love food and feeding people. I just gave 100 euros to the Restos du cœur. Who will be with me? Comment or retweet with your giveaway, ”he tweeted. La Pataterie responded to its initiative, announcing that it will also make a donation to the charity.