RESTAURANTS AND WINE—FRENCH ESSENTIALS - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette: France - page 139

Variations on the Café
There are several varieties on the café theme in France. They
each work slightly differently, so here's a general rundown:
La brasserie will be similar to a café, but larger or smarter,
with a dining area featuring a wider selection of food. You can
stand at the bar for coffee at one price, or be served at a table
for a little more money. The main business is for lunch (and
sometimes dinner) and the better places will be packed, but
between lunch and dinner, the staff gets a break.
Le bar in France is usually much smaller than a café. You pop
inside for a quick drink and often stand for service. Excellent
for a quick express and vocal political discussions but not for
long, intellectual conversations. The clientele is mostly older
men of working class and the conversation will usually revolve
around French sports. Perfect, if you are a soccer fan.
Le bar à vin . The atmosphere here is more along the lines
of a café, but with wines from a specii c region featured
by the glass or the bottle. The food will also be regional—
plates of meats ( charcuterie ) and cheeses with i ne bread to
complement the wines. Here the interest in the wines creates
a particularly friendly ambience in the best café tradition.
A wine bar is also an excellent place to learn more about the
nuances of the many wines regions of France. The employees
will all be enthusiasts. ( See Chapter 7: The Greatest Arts of
France . )
Le salon de thé is a calmer, more rei ned version of the café.
Sweet pastries and little savoury canapés will be on display,
often for sale to take away for some elegant event at home.
There will be small tables for small meals en place as well.
Here, coffee is available but tea is offered a great selection,
and of course, as in any café, alcohol is an option, though
there will be no bar. Service runs through lunch, and usually
through English tea time. One particularly elegant example is
the Ladurée chain of teashops .
Fast food chains abound in France, from MacDo as they call it,
to their own brands of cheap, bad food with too much fat and
starch and too little vegetables. Open all day, brightly lit and
loud, tourists and students l ock to them.