RESTAURANTS AND WINE—FRENCH ESSENTIALS - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette: France - page 137

LE CAFÉ —EVERYDAY FARE IN PARIS
The café in France is something a part of the culture, as the
pub is for an Englishman or a tea house for a Chinaman. Here
the French can sit and talk for hours, and they are welcome
to do so. Weather permitting, many French people will opt
to sit outside, on the sidewalk.
With a little cup of café and a cigarette, one can observe the
world. Even without the cigarette, the French are i nding this
possible. A new law passed in January 2007 upholds a non-
smoking ordinance on the topics for several years, and now
people really do seem to be obeying the law. They can still
smoke on the sidewalk, but not inside eating establishments.
This makes life much pleasanter for us non-smokers.
Café, Thé, or
The French normally drink their coffee in little cups, very strongly
brewed and black. This can be browned with a little milk and
called a noisette , or doubled by adding an equal amount of hot
milk and called a crème . It can also be watered down and served
in a large cup as an allongé . If these powerful little brews are too
much for you, try a citron pressé , freshly squeezed lemon juice to
which you add sugar and water to suit your taste, or any number
of non-alcoholic sirops , l avoured concentrates (already sugared)
you dilute with water. Otherwise, try the lovely herbal teas called
infusions that come in many different benei cial l avours.