2. Qe2 makes frenchies angry. They can't play their treasured d5 which makes the move even better. Follow it with c3, g3, and Bg2 planning f4 gets into a traditional attack on the kingside.
A gambit option is the wing gambit. 1. e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3. e5 c5 4. b5!?. This is what I play in tournament play and have had good results with it.
I've dabbled with the French as Black. Here's my two cents on White's main choices:
The simplest solution is to play the Exchange (3. exd5). You won't get any theoretical advantage, but there's a full game to be played. There's always the option of opposite side castling + pawn storming to liven things up. You can also try the IQP idea of an early c4. This also has the small psychological advantage that you're no longer playing a typical French Defense game where Black is looking to whack at your pawn chain. This is a perfectly fine practical choice, but obviously this isn't the most testing approach.
Don't play the Advance (3. e5). It's playable if you really know what you're doing, but if you start to improvise with White you'll get into trouble fast. Black's plan is easy: hammer d4 until the center collapses, while White's isn't as clear. It sounds like you found this out the hard way. Seriously, you're better off playing the Exchange than the Advance if you want a simple solution.
3. Nc3 is the real test of the French, but it also requires the most work. I don't have much experience with the 3. Nd2 variations, but it's reputation is almost as good as 3. Nc3, and you avoid the Winawer (3. Nc3 Bb4). I would think hard before playing something other than 3. Nc3/3.Nd2 against the French because that is definitely where the bodies are buried.
Guys these are good options. However, the best option recommended by GMs such as Gufeld is the Tarrasch defense
Lasker was a firm believer that 3. Nc3 was the way to go. And if the main line Winawer isn't your cup of tea you could try 4. exd5 and play the Exchange Winawer. Which i think gives you more of a game then the ordinary Exchange Variation. See the game to get an idea.
Thanks for your suggestions, everyone! I think I'm definitely going to start capturing on d5 when appropriate. I like the Steinitz game: he makes it look so easy! =P
Try the this variation Aaron Nimzowitsch came up with, I play it against the french defence, and never lost yet.
http://www.chess.com/games/view.html?id=20328#
yes black can counterattack d4 but you have a fantastic pawn at e5 stopping black to put a knight on f6 where it should be to defend the king properly. it also splits blacks army in half. its hard for black to get the pieces on the queenside over to protect the king when its needed because they all have to squeze through e7 so sacrificial play often works very well. perhaps you already know this but are you using it?:)
its kind of a race. you go for the king and he go for the d4pawn. if you play defensive against the french you will lose and that also goes for all other openings. against beginners you can just wait until they hang pieces but once you are over that you have to create oppourtunities yourself. before you decide to not play the normal french i also strongly recommend taking a look at the greek gift sacrifice. search for it on this side or in google and you find it straight away:)
and yes im not a good explainer:P
As a french player myself it warms my heart to see people struggling against it... 
You don't need a defense to a defense.
The French gave Fischer fits. You just have to keep pressure up and try not to drop anything...standard chess advice.
I play the French Defense as black most of the time, and I do not appreciate playing against it. The French has a lot of resources (c5, f6 pawn pushes are standard) and the strategy is simple. As white, I play the Exchange (3.ed) because having a French player play an open game is already an advantage for White. Black is on his own in an open and most likely a tactical game, quite a deviation from the intended French.
If playing an open game is a disadvantage to french players then why has black been historically more successful in the exchange variation than white has, despite white's engine advantage?
Take a look at these games: Fischer-Darga, Berlin, 1960 and Fischer-Larsen, 1st match game, 1971. There are some great attacking ideas for white in these games where you attack black's structure--ideas you may be able to borrow from when in similar positions in other variations. Another place for research is the games of Smyslov and Botvinnik from the 1950's, where so much of the theory in the Qg4 lines was written. Myself, I like playing both sides of the Winewar, because the resulting positions can get imbalanced and crazy, where both sides have to be precise in order to survive--my kind of chess.
A defense to a defense? Yes! I lose to the French defense pretty much every time =( It seems to be the one opening where it's virtually impossible for White to hold on to the center. Black's attack on the Queen side is quick and swift, way way way faster than my King side counterattack. c5 is just killer because the white center is often overextended. And the d4 pawn becomes weak. I inevitably find my pieces tied up in knots protecting my pawns, and once the first pawn falls the rest go down like dominoes.
What's the best way to take the sting out of the French defense? Preferably while still holding onto the advantage. Right now, it seems like my best bet is e4xd5 and just be done with it, but I would like something better. Thanks!