France's dirty little frozen food secret

Picard: like a culinary autopsy lab. Lindsey looks for the ice cream

Picard is a chain of stores in France that sells only - gasp - frozen food. You name it, they've got it: solid as rock and ready to pop in the microwave. All kinds of foods - vegetables, seafood, soups, meats, desserts, even sushi, are available in ready to take home boxes - and the prices ain't bad either. Walking into a Picard is a bit like working into a culinary autopsy lab - very sterile and row after row of freezers. Who knew the French could lower their gastronomic standards to a food preparation style that seems so fast-food American-ish?

But it works, although it's quite a departure from the sensory overload of colors, sounds, smells and tastes you get at the traditional French markets, some of which even sell live animals - talk about the other end of the food chain spectrum. In fact, Picard was just voted the most popular store brand - of any type - in France. Lucky for us there's one right up the road. Pass the thawed out shashimi.