I use only French lentils, which are dark green and smaller and harder than regular lentils, and hold their shape much better after cooking.

But I have also tried the belugas, which are similar in taste and performance, although they are smaller still, and black (they are so named because they look like caviar). I would use them but they are much harder to find (even the French ones, when I find them, I buy 10 lbs).

Anyhow, I planted about 20 seeds of Beluga in well amended sandy soil in Michigan in June, I think 3 yrs ago. They came up but performed pitifully. Lentils, like chickpeas, come from the Fertile Crescent and they might prefer summers warmer than our summers (just like chickpeas). It is possible that the French ones, being from France, may be more adapted to cool summers.