Auberge Ravoux, photo Hazel Smith
Despite the fact that I found ordering and eating out alone in Paris the most daunting of tasks, I did manage to have the requisite crepe, Berthillon ice cream, macaron, and onion soup and chocolat chaud on my trip to Paris in 2010.
There are many reasons to love Paris - food is only one of them. When my husband and I were younger and on a shoestring budget we were downright afraid to enter Parisian restaurants. Especially after he ordered a andouille sausage and the pungent chitlins and tripe slid over his plate after the initial cut. One day I ate nothing but chestnut crepes from a hole-in-the-wall window and Mentos for the train trip to Amsterdam. We found a dozen other things to do in Paris besides concentrating on food.
I like good, innovative food but, akin to drinking good wine, after the third glass it all tastes the same to me. For me, it's the surroundings, and the ambience - the way that the waitress had to cross the street and fill up her canvas bag with bread from the bakers so I could have a Croque Monsieur - or that I could sit and people watch at the end of the school day as little girls, Madeleine-like, with their swinging coats and satchels hurried home with their Papas. Some people care about their food a lot. Here's an article from Travel and Leisure. The first 12 pages detail cool and classic foodie destinations in Paris.
Insider's Guide to Paris - Articles | Travel + Leisure
