Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
dessert and after that, café. If this all sounds like too much
food, don't be concerned about ordering less. It is no longer
frowned upon to order two courses instead of a three-course
meal, and it is acceptable to share an appetiser or dessert,
or to skip the cheese or dessert altogether. The French drink
coffee after dessert, not with it, and except for breakfast, they
do not drink café crème with meals, just small and potent café.
Remember that 'doggy bags' do not exist in France.
How Do You Like Your Food?
When ordering, understand that the French generally like their
food cooked minimally.
bleu is hardly warm.
saignant is browned on the exterior and warm on the inside.
à point is medium.
bien cuit is well done—although perhaps not well done enough
for foreigners.
Specify in advance if you insist on having your meat well done.
Veal may be rosé (pink) and poultry may also remain pink toward
the bone. Also, if you like fish but hate the bones, ask to have it
préparé , and your serveur will debone it for you.
THE AGREEABLE SEARCH
Bookstores carry an array of guides devoted to dining in
Paris. The Guide Michelin awards up to three stars to the best
restaurants; when a three-star restaurant loses a star, the
scandal makes news all over the world. News of restaurants
also appear in the daily newspapers and Parisians keep
track of the opening and closing of restaurants, and when
a famous chef leaves one establishment for another or
opens his own.
Reading the descriptions and reviews of restaurants
can become addictive. Start
with your tourist guidebook. All
guides recommend restaurants,
rating them according to their
readership—some concentrate
on inexpensive establishments
In 2003, celebrated French chef
Bernard Loiseau committed
suicide, not long after the
influential Gault Millau restaurant
guide had downgraded his Côte
d'Or restaurant in Burgundy.
 
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