May 12, 2021 • 22 mins
When you mix culture, art, history, geography, flavors, cuisine, and people in everything you eat and drink, you get Paris! For all you food lovers out there who are going to Paris, you need to savor this episode. Get the culinary experience of a lifetime in Paris.
[01:43] Paris-Food Capital of the World
[02:52] Understanding the Language of the French Food Scene
- Bistro
- Brasserie
- Bouillon
- Boulangerie
- Patisserie
[07:36] The Ultimate-Michelin Star
[09:01] When to eat in Paris
[10:05] Finding a Nice Restaurant
[16:21] Be Respectful of the Culture-Know Some Phrases
[19:36]Bouillon Chartier
Dream. Learn. Plan. Prepare. Go to Guidester/Virtual-Vacation
Season 1: Episode 10
#Paris #France #Frenchcuisine #cuisine #bistro #brasserie #boulangerie #bouillon #patisserie #chef #cafe #wine #sidewalkcafe #Eiffeltower #Louvre #croissant #Bouillonchartier #culture #French #Language #travel #europe #vacation #traveleurope #travelguide #tourguide
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Arnold (00:09):
When our family was in Paris last summer, Jack, we had
a great time enjoying the food.
We love to eat.
We love good food.
We woke up in the morning and one of thethings that woke us up was the smell of
the croissants coming from a bakery...
Jack (00:26):
I like your French accent.
... Arnold (00:27):
across the street.
Our daughter went down and got some,she brought them back, we sat out on
the little porch, outside the window,looking down the street, sipping a cup
of cafe au lait and having a croissant
Jack (00:40):
Beautiful.
Arnold (00:41):
It's wonderful food.
So what's the food scene,like from your perspective?
You've been over there quite a bit.
Jack (00:46):
Yes.
I have been to Paris a couple oftimes and I have a good friend
that lives in Paris, so Morgan ifI say something wrong, I apologize.
But I'm gonna do my best.
Arnold (00:54):
Morgan, I'll try to help direct him with my junior
high and high school French.
Jack (00:58):
I give him crap for his American accent or English accent, but he
speaks several languages fluently.
I speak none.
I'm learning Italian, but I have no reasonto judge, but I do like to poke fun at
the French it's good fun; all in good fun.
Arnold (01:16):
Bonjour and welcome to the 10th episode of the podcast Virtual
Vacation with Guidester where each weekwe explore European destinations with
host Jack Baumann, founder of Guidesterand travel enthusiast Arnold Stricker.
We're obviously talking about food inthis episode, the Paris Food Scene.
What is it like?
What's the difference between abistro, a brasserie and a restaurant?
(01:36):
What time do Parisiennes eatand why that's important?
Those and more so let's join our host,the Guidester himself, Jack Baumann.
Jack (01:43):
So the food scene.
Paris is the food capital of the world.
It certainly is thefood capital in Europe.
It has some of the best food in Europe.
Paris doesn't necessarily have itsown cuisine so to speak; Paris is
the epicenter of all the cuisinein all the regions of France.
So if you want something fromProvence or Bordeaux, or the Loire
Valley or the North, the West yougo to Paris and you'll find it.
(02:06):
You will find whatever you want inany type of French cuisine, style
of dish you'll find it in Paris.
So it's boldly reclaimed that titleas the best food city in Europe.
It really has a good mix, a brilliant mixof new restaurants , by talented young
chefs from all over the world, all overEurope with a diverse array of dining
options that are constantly changing.
(02:26):
But you still have your customlong established places, your
traditional bistros, yourbrasseries, your stylish restaurants
serving a classic French cooking.
And then you've got, the typicalFrench or the classic haute cuisine.
Haute is like the high levelestablishment, gourmet restaurants
and luxury hotel establishmentscharacterized by that meticulous
(02:48):
preparation and careful presentationand of course, a very high price.
Arnold (02:52):
Now you mentioned bistros, brasserie and a restaurant,
so what's the difference?
Jack (02:57):
Great question.
The French love to designate anddifferentiate and when it comes
to their language, the Frenchlanguage is the most sophisticated
sort of language in the world.
There's more layers to theirdesignations of everything, but food.
They take it to a crazy level
. Arnold: Different than fast food and a sit down restaurant and in a place
you're going to see, white tablecloth?
(03:17):
We're just going to barely touch on a few of the designations.
You go to this place for this styleof food and experience, and if you
want drinks with that, you go here.
So let me get to the basics,the brass tacks, if you will.
Bistro is usually a very casualneighborhood restaurants,
your neighborhood restaurant.
It offers typical French cuisine.
These can be trendy andthey vary greatly in price.
(03:38):
So that's your neighborhood place.
A brasserie, which brasserie comes fromthe French word brewery, it's usually
pricier neighborhood restaurants.
A little bit more formal, but theyserve beer and wine and simple food
all day and night like an informal barrestaurant combination . It's also very
popular with your business professionals.
Then you have your restaurant, which issimply any eating establishment in which
(03:59):
diners are served food at their tables.
Okay.
So if you're served food atyour table, that's a restaurant.
But then you have further designations aBouillon is traditional late 19th, early
20th century spacious restaurant thatusually serves traditional French cuisine.
So you think , Jack, thatsounds like a restaurant.
There are subtle differences.
The bistro is your neighborhood,small neighborhood restaurant.
(04:21):
Your brasserie is goingto serve beer wine.
Your restaurant is going to be yourcatch all name for a lot of other eating
establishment and then your Bouillon.
Then we can get into, what some otherdesignations of what Paris is known for.
Arnold (04:35):
What are they known for?
Jack (04:36):
So the really important thing they're known for anywhere in France,
especially Paris, the boulangerie.
They're known for theirbread and pastry dishes.
Arnold (04:42):
And their croissants.
Jack (04:44):
That's bread based, so their bread based dishes is
really what France is known for.
In addition, Paris isthe epicenter of that.
So key thing to understand here, aboulangerie is a bakery that focuses
mainly on baking breads and apatisserie is a bakery specializing in
pastries and headed by a pastry chef.
So that's really important.
Arnold (05:03):
Let me tell you what; the pastries over there in one place that
we went to, they were absolutely crazy.
They melt in your mouth.
They had just a great flavor.
Jack (05:12):
Oh, absolutely.
So one worth mentioning, if you want toput one on your patisserie itinerary,
Gerard Mulot Patisserie is consideredone of the best in the city; offers a
wide range of pastries colors, kind.
From what you mentioned, thetraditional croissant my personal
favorite is a pain au chocolat, whichis basically a chocolate croissant.
Gerard Mulot is definitely a must-seeand of course you can't do Paris.
(05:36):
You really can't do France at all, butparticularly Paris without a crepe.
Now we'd say crepe but crepe isthe more accurate way to say that.
The street creperies; it's someof the best street food on earth.
They have all these little vendors, acouple of places to go to get a really
good crepe is under the Eiffel tower.
There's food trucks andother local vendors.
But really just finding a nice littlestall walking the streets of Paris
(05:59):
is a great way to get a local crepe.
And if you like chocolate again,one of the personal favorite the
Nutella and banana filled crepe.
Arnold (06:06):
Oh, yeah.
Jack (06:06):
It's beautiful
. Arnold: Magnifique.
Delicieux is what you want to say if you're describing, some dish.
Arnold (06:11):
You're right, when you're walking around Paris a lot and we walked 10 miles
a day, just going from place to place.
You would look for a placeto sit at a corner...
Jack (06:22):
Corner bistro.
... Arnold (06:23):
and you would sit down, you would get some coffee, you would get a
little pastry and if you needed to usethe restroom, you could do that then.
And then you were on yourway and it was a nice break.
Jack (06:34):
Yes.
Thank you for sharing that because Idid forget to mention, of course, and
this is a unforgivable, but the cafe.
That's a staple when you thinkabout Paris and France in general.
You're envisioning a romantic couplesitting in a cafe, eating a pastry and
drinking some coffee or maybe some wine.
So the cafe scene is absolutely astaple, a feature of the Parisian
(06:55):
food scene and the culture.
Arnold (06:56):
It is.
It's great people watching.
Jack (06:58):
It really is.
It's a great way to get a beadon the locals, so when I try to
speak French and this was told tome by my German friend and he said,
picture the most stereotypicalperson in that language to speak it.
So when I speak French, I actuallyenvisioned a Parisian sitting in a
cafe, smoking a cigarette, drinking alittle coffee and having a croissant.
Arnold (07:21):
With a beret on?
Jack (07:22):
Of course he's got a striped shirt and a Stripe horizontal striped
shirt, the sailor shirt with the beret.
But I do think of the sort of disgruntledParisienne sitting in the cafe judging
everybody is the envision that I havewhen I start to go to speak French.
Arnold (07:36):
Those restaurants over there, some of them are internationally known
and they carry Michelin star ratings.
Jack (07:42):
That was created in France, that's now global.
The Michelin star is something everybody'sheard of but for those that don't
know, Michelin star, it's the ultimatehallmark of culinary excellence,
awarded to restaurants, judged tobe of particularly high standard.
So it's a rating system used by thered Michelin guide to great restaurants
on their quality, which was originallydeveloped in the early 19 hundreds
(08:05):
to show French drivers where localamenities and restaurants were located.
So it was just a practicalneed at the time.
And it's just evolved from there.
So it's a three-star rating systemand the star system was first
introduced in 1926 with a single stardenoting, a very good restaurant.
Two stars, meaning excellentcooking -that's worth a detour.
(08:26):
The third star, exceptionalcuisine worth a special journey.
So one star is very greatrestaurant, two stars excellent
cooking, worth a little detour.
And then the third staris you got to go here.
That's, it's a destination onto itself.
Unlike other rating systems,the Michelin stars are not based
on customer reviews at all.
But it's undercover inspectionsby anonymous food experts
(08:49):
known as Michelin inspectors.
So it's really the culture of the Michelinstar restaurant and the inspectors.
It's an industry onto itself.
Arnold (08:56):
It's a big deal.
Jack (08:57):
It's a very big deal and people take it very seriously.
Arnold (09:01):
They do.
So if we're going to sit downand eat and we want to avoid the
crowds when do Parisiennes eat?
What times, so maybe we have to makereservations if we're going to be during
those times, or if we're outside ofthe times, maybe we do maybe we don't?
Jack (09:16):
The French are very meticulous and cultured in the way they do
things and food is no exception.
So they do have designatedtime blocks, if you will.
Americans, it's a foreign conceptcause Americans, we go to New York
City, restaurants open all day long.
That's how it is.
Europe is not that way, butparticularly France and Paris.
Paris is a touristy city so you'regoing to have exceptions to this
rule, but generally speakingthere's two distinct service times.
(09:40):
Lunch typically served from12:00 to 2:30 and then dinners
typically serve from 7:30 to 11:00.
If you're hungry in between, youcan always step into a patisserie
or a boulangerie, or a cafe.
Those are usually openthroughout the day.
Cafes are a great place to go to if youwant those in between times, but , if you
want to go to a set place you do it likethe French do, like the Parisians do.
(10:00):
12:00 to 2:30 for your lunch andthen 7:30 to 11:00 for your dinner.
Arnold (10:05):
What's a good way to find some of these nice restaurants.
Jack (10:09):
It's a great question.
Avoid the restaurantswith laminated menus.
You can get good restaurants in touristyareas because really the whole city of
Paris is a tourist trap if you will.
There are definitely localareas not around the Louvre and
not around the Eiffel Tower.
But geography is not as important asthe menu and the style of restaurant.
(10:32):
A tip that I was given that Ithink is, it makes a lot of sense
to me is avoid laminated menus.
And why is that?
It tells you something veryimportant about a restaurant.
It means they never, or very rarelychange the menu because why are you
going to laminate if you're changing it?
The changing menu is a hallmark ofFrench cuisine of Parisian style food.
It gives the.
(10:52):
Chefs creativity and thisability to be flexible and try
new things and new flavors.
So an ever-changing menu is a good sign.
That means it's local.
That means a chef knows what he's doing.
You've got a good, conscientiouschef that wants to try new things and
explore, and then you not only tryhis own thing, but other influences
that come in from outside Paris.
(11:14):
So the laminated menusis is an important thing.
. At every restaurant the menu was eitherwritten in chalk or a giant chalkboard
or when the waiters told you orally.
So again, that's verycounterintuitive to an American.
I want to set menu and I wantthat menu outside the restaurant.
Be open and be flexible if there's nota set menu or if the set menu, is said
(11:34):
varied; to change, give it a shot.
But the menus that are on thechalkboard or that are given
orally, those are usually goingto be good, local restaurants or
establishment that you want to try out.
Arnold (11:43):
So what are we talking price wise; I imagine some of
these high-end restaurants prettyoverpriced, pretty high priced?
Jack (11:49):
Yes.
Paris has definitely overpriced ineverything and the foods no exception.
But not always if you know where to look.
It really depends where you go.
We mentioned earlier about the sidestreets and the smaller neighborhoods
away from the very major touristattractions are the way to go.
Relaxing evening meals off the beatenpath joints, they're reasonably
priced, and you can get authenticParisian culinary experience.
(12:12):
You don't always have to go to theMichelin star restaurants to get
the Parisian culinary experience.
You just don't have to do it.
Some of them are well worth going.
As we mentioned the three stars area destination onto themselves, but
just look for the off the beaten paththe grungier sometimes the better.
Paris does not have the bestreputation for being the cleanest
city in the world but you look down analleyway and it looks a little dirty
(12:35):
grungy, that might be a good sign.
Don't do it at night but during theday; take that little small street, go
down that little pathway and see whatbecomes of it because it's, in central
Paris it's full of as little neighborhoodkind of bistros and brasseries that
you would never know is there, unlessyou walked in and explored yourself.
Arnold (12:55):
And we should probably get reservations at these places.
Jack (12:58):
Yes.
Reservations are anabsolute must in Paris.
They have very limited seatingcapacities, and that's before COVID.
Dinner service hours are shorterthan America so they have
to pack more in less time.
And the best restaurantsalways book up very fast.
The top places getting hundreds ofreservation requests every single day.
One more thing regarding the reservations.
(13:19):
You don't have to show up on time.
In the US, if you have a 7:30reservation, it's customary
to come a little early, 7:15.
In Paris it's quite a bit different.
You don't have to arrive until at leastthe reservation time if not a little later
.If you've got a 7:30 reservation time, you're not going to sit at 7:30 so if you
showed up at eight, that might be okay.
I would probably show up at 7:30-7:45just to be safe, but you don't have to
(13:42):
show up early, they're going to be runningbehind because the French, do you like
to sit a little longer than Americans.
I dated a French gal from Provence whenI was living in Wales and her father came
and visited and we went out had dinner.
Arnold we were there four hours.
Arnold (13:57):
Yeah.
Jack (13:57):
We were there four hours.
He wanted to meet me and talk to me andstuff, but that's not out of the norm.
A minimum dinnertime for a Frenchgroup of friends or family it's
going to be two hours to three hours.
You and I we'll go to dinner with a friendand we could be in and out in an hour.
Now it might be an hour and a half butif we have a dinner reservation in
America, let's say a Tucker's here in St.
Louis at 7:00, we're goingto be home by 8:30, or maybe
(14:19):
at least walking out at 8:30.
You won't even be getting your mealuntil 8:00 so just keep in mind that
the dinner time, they don't follow thereservation times because people do
linger and they stay a little bit longer.
All the more reason to make areservation to make sure you
do get seated at some point.
Arnold (14:34):
That's a great point.
As we experienced and as youexperienced the French culture,
they do like to take time.
They do like to talk, converseand get to know other people
or find out about the day.
It's not the rush that wehave here in the States.
So they really do take their time.
It's great to find a place nearthe rivers too so you have a view.
(14:58):
Or maybe you're over at theLouvre or by the Eiffel tower.
You don't want to be in a place whereyou're going to get a lot of traffic
and hear noise and get a lot of fumes.
So you pick a place; good view,good vibe, good vibe you're patient
with the chef, because chef'sdoing their thing in the back.
(15:18):
There's no rush.
We're not going anywhere.
You're taking in the culture.
Jack (15:23):
Absolument.
I think you're absolutely correct.
The dining experience in Parisis part of the local culture.
It's part of the whole feel.
In the Northern part of central Parisis a really cool neighborhood-y vibe.
That's where Sacre Coeur.
Arnold (15:36):
Right.
Jack (15:36):
Very famous, beautiful church...
Arnold (15:38):
Big art area,
Jack (15:39):
But that whole neighborhood around Sacre Coeur is beautiful.
It's worth going to just walk around,but as you said, just picking a
little local brasserie or bistroor a Michelin star restaurant.
But sit down, take your time.
The idea is not to getfood, get in and get out.
The idea as you said you're takingin the ambiance of the neighborhood.
(15:59):
You're people watching, you're talkingto the waiter you're getting some
advice and tips on some wine pairings,how should I pair this dish with a
wine that you've got on your menu?
Tell me about the new flavors thatyou have and what are some of the
cool things that the chef is doing?
Don't be afraid to engage.
The garcon, the waiter.
Excusez-moi, garcon Ihave a question for you.
Arnold (16:21):
And they all speak English.
Jack (16:23):
Yes.
In Paris.
Yes.
That's actually anotherthing worth mentioning.
If you want an Englishmenu, you go earlier.
Not every restaurant's going to have anEnglish menu, so that's really important.
Even in Paris, you're gonna get a lotof restaurants that do not have English
menus and the French are not the bestat English, but they're not the worst.
Italy is very difficult outsideof Rome and Venice and Florence,
(16:44):
some of the major cities.
But the French; it's actually funnyand it's a generational thing.
The young people,everybody speaks English.
But they don't like it.
The French want you to speakFrench in France and I get it.
It makes sense.
You're in our country.
You don't have to speak itat least, s'il vous plait,
bonjour; it's the basic things.
Merci , thank you.
The meal was good.
Just some basic phrases and that'sagain, going to the Guidester guide.
(17:07):
If you get a Guidester guide,we're going to give you a couple
of pages of common phrases.
So you don't need to know anyFrench, but a few phrases and
words really help go a long way.
So if you need an English menu, do yourresearch or show up early because it will
take the waiter a little bit longer totranslate or to get you the English menu.
And when it gets later in theevening they don't want to do that.
You don't want to slow up the garconlater in the evening with a lot of
(17:30):
these questions if you don't have to.
That's another way to find areally good local establishment.
If it doesn't have an English menu, that'sa good sign and just stumble through it.
Getting back to whether they speakEnglish, they should speak some the older
generations, not as good as the younger,but if they're under 40, certainly
under 30, they will speak English.
Now one tip I will say if a personthat's younger, someone that's
(17:53):
under 40 if they say they don't speakEnglish, they're probably lying to you.
I've watched this happen because theyjust don't want to engage with you
and there's just this concept; youshould speak French and I just don't
want to speak English, I don't want totranslate, so I'm just going to pretend.
This happens particularly in Paris, butit happens in other places in France.
I watched them say this to it, travelers,don't understand, they pretend they
(18:15):
don't understand and then they'respeaking English a few minutes later.
The same guy.
So it is something you be awareof, but here's what changes that
if I walk up to you as an American,where is this or where can I find
this and I don't even, excusez- moi.
If all I said was, excusez-moi, versuswhere can I find this that automatically
(18:38):
lowers the draw bridge if you will becauseParis is the most visited city in Europe.
It literally is the mostvisited city in Europe.
They get millions of Americans.
Sometimes people are rude and many timeswe don't respect their local culture.
So they're going to make an assumptionabout you as being an American.
Break down that barrier breakdown that assumption and just
excusez-moi s'il vous plait.
(18:59):
Excuse me, please.
Then ask your question in English.
Or how about parlez vous Anglais?
If I walk up to you and say, do you speakEnglish versus parlez vous Anglais and
I've watched this happen from waitersto street stalls and shop workers and
just people that I've met out and about.
Parlez vous Anglais, oui or yes andthen you've now engaged , their facial
(19:22):
expressions change from, I don't wantto be bothered to I'm interested.
Arnold (19:27):
Like good morning, good afternoon.
Jack (19:28):
Yeah.
Arnold (19:29):
And then followed by that.
Jack (19:30):
But in their language.
Arnold (19:31):
Exactly.
Jack (19:31):
Parlez vous Anglais really goes a very far way in lowering that Drawbridge.
Arnold (19:36):
I agree with that.
So favorite restaurants of yours?
Jack (19:38):
I did go to a restaurant that was really exceptional.
Last time I was there, I think2018 worth mentioning Bouillon
Chartier,remember bouillon is justa designation of a restaurant.
It's a great place to discover authenticfrench cuisine with all your typical
cliches without breaking the bank.
So it's classy historic place.
It's over a hundred years old, Iguess for France it's not that old.
(20:02):
It's a very well-known establishment.
It has a whole lot of Frenchculture in a single dose.
When I went there, I gotthe escargot, the snails.
Worth doing I'm not an escargotguy I'm not a snails guy...
Arnold (20:12):
But if you're going to get them- in Paris.
Jack (20:13):
You're going get it- in Paris exactly.
It was quite delicious, themeat, the actual texture of the
meat was good, but the sauce!
Whatever sauce they puton, this was just amazing.
Delicieux, it was really top-notchand that's really what made it.
And just the presentation, theescargo comes out in a little dish and
then there's like little pockets ofsauce and you dip it in that, in the
(20:36):
sauce, it gives it really good flavor.
It's a laid back atmosphere, thatyou might find it a higher end spot.
So you get the quality of the bestFrench cuisine without the pretentiousness
that accompany some of the toptier of Michelin star restaurants.
It feels like a local vibe.
It's quite big for a Frenchrestaurant or Paris restaurant.
It's not small.
I was up on the second story so youget all the best bits and bobs of
(20:57):
the Paris food scene without thepretentiousness of some of the other,
sophistic K sort of restaurants.
Arnold (21:03):
I know when people go to visit Paris, many times people want to go
to see museums or they have specificsites that they want to see, like the
Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe.
But you must also take in the food scene.
That's a whole nother venue that youneed to prepare and take time for
. Jack: Absolument.
I think if you go to Paris without someeffort to engage and immerse into the
(21:26):
food culture, you've missed something.
Agreed
Jack (21:29):
You nailed it.
Me personally, food doesn't motivate me.
I love good food.
I don't travel for food, but I made aneffort to go to a nice bouillon, to a
nice brasserie and bistro and some cafes.
The way that I think about foodestablishments in Paris is how I would
probably think about pubs in England.
You cannot go to England withoutexperiencing some cool local pubs.
(21:51):
It's the same way with the food in Paris.
Arnold (21:52):
That's a great, great analogy.
And I like the sign, will travel for food.
Jack (21:57):
Exactly.
Will travel for food.
Arnold (22:04):
appreciate you listening to this episode of Virtual
Vacation with Guidester.
If you enjoy this episode,please consider letting us know.
The best way to do this is by ratingus on Apple Podcasts; reviews are
always welcome and encouraged.
Virtual Vacation with Guidesteris produced by Motif Media Group.
For Jack Baumann and Virtual Vacationwith Guidester I'm Arnold Stricker.
When our family was in Paris last summer, Jack, we had
a great time enjoying the food.
We love to eat.
We love good food.
We woke up in the morning and one of thethings that woke us up was the smell of
the croissants coming from a bakery...
Jack (00:26):
I like your French accent.
... Arnold (00:27):
across the street.
Our daughter went down and got some,she brought them back, we sat out on
the little porch, outside the window,looking down the street, sipping a cup
of cafe au lait and having a croissant
Jack (00:40):
Beautiful.
Arnold (00:41):
It's wonderful food.
So what's the food scene,like from your perspective?
You've been over there quite a bit.
Jack (00:46):
Yes.
I have been to Paris a couple oftimes and I have a good friend
that lives in Paris, so Morgan ifI say something wrong, I apologize.
But I'm gonna do my best.
Arnold (00:54):
Morgan, I'll try to help direct him with my junior
high and high school French.
Jack (00:58):
I give him crap for his American accent or English accent, but he
speaks several languages fluently.
I speak none.
I'm learning Italian, but I have no reasonto judge, but I do like to poke fun at
the French it's good fun; all in good fun.
Arnold (01:16):
Bonjour and welcome to the 10th episode of the podcast Virtual
Vacation with Guidester where each weekwe explore European destinations with
host Jack Baumann, founder of Guidesterand travel enthusiast Arnold Stricker.
We're obviously talking about food inthis episode, the Paris Food Scene.
What is it like?
What's the difference between abistro, a brasserie and a restaurant?
(01:36):
What time do Parisiennes eatand why that's important?
Those and more so let's join our host,the Guidester himself, Jack Baumann.
Jack (01:43):
So the food scene.
Paris is the food capital of the world.
It certainly is thefood capital in Europe.
It has some of the best food in Europe.
Paris doesn't necessarily have itsown cuisine so to speak; Paris is
the epicenter of all the cuisinein all the regions of France.
So if you want something fromProvence or Bordeaux, or the Loire
Valley or the North, the West yougo to Paris and you'll find it.
(02:06):
You will find whatever you want inany type of French cuisine, style
of dish you'll find it in Paris.
So it's boldly reclaimed that titleas the best food city in Europe.
It really has a good mix, a brilliant mixof new restaurants , by talented young
chefs from all over the world, all overEurope with a diverse array of dining
options that are constantly changing.
(02:26):
But you still have your customlong established places, your
traditional bistros, yourbrasseries, your stylish restaurants
serving a classic French cooking.
And then you've got, the typicalFrench or the classic haute cuisine.
Haute is like the high levelestablishment, gourmet restaurants
and luxury hotel establishmentscharacterized by that meticulous
(02:48):
preparation and careful presentationand of course, a very high price.
Arnold (02:52):
Now you mentioned bistros, brasserie and a restaurant,
so what's the difference?
Jack (02:57):
Great question.
The French love to designate anddifferentiate and when it comes
to their language, the Frenchlanguage is the most sophisticated
sort of language in the world.
There's more layers to theirdesignations of everything, but food.
They take it to a crazy level
. Arnold: Different than fast food and a sit down restaurant and in a place
you're going to see, white tablecloth?
(03:17):
We're just going to barely touch on a few of the designations.
You go to this place for this styleof food and experience, and if you
want drinks with that, you go here.
So let me get to the basics,the brass tacks, if you will.
Bistro is usually a very casualneighborhood restaurants,
your neighborhood restaurant.
It offers typical French cuisine.
These can be trendy andthey vary greatly in price.
(03:38):
So that's your neighborhood place.
A brasserie, which brasserie comes fromthe French word brewery, it's usually
pricier neighborhood restaurants.
A little bit more formal, but theyserve beer and wine and simple food
all day and night like an informal barrestaurant combination . It's also very
popular with your business professionals.
Then you have your restaurant, which issimply any eating establishment in which
(03:59):
diners are served food at their tables.
Okay.
So if you're served food atyour table, that's a restaurant.
But then you have further designations aBouillon is traditional late 19th, early
20th century spacious restaurant thatusually serves traditional French cuisine.
So you think , Jack, thatsounds like a restaurant.
There are subtle differences.
The bistro is your neighborhood,small neighborhood restaurant.
(04:21):
Your brasserie is goingto serve beer wine.
Your restaurant is going to be yourcatch all name for a lot of other eating
establishment and then your Bouillon.
Then we can get into, what some otherdesignations of what Paris is known for.
Arnold (04:35):
What are they known for?
Jack (04:36):
So the really important thing they're known for anywhere in France,
especially Paris, the boulangerie.
They're known for theirbread and pastry dishes.
Arnold (04:42):
And their croissants.
Jack (04:44):
That's bread based, so their bread based dishes is
really what France is known for.
In addition, Paris isthe epicenter of that.
So key thing to understand here, aboulangerie is a bakery that focuses
mainly on baking breads and apatisserie is a bakery specializing in
pastries and headed by a pastry chef.
So that's really important.
Arnold (05:03):
Let me tell you what; the pastries over there in one place that
we went to, they were absolutely crazy.
They melt in your mouth.
They had just a great flavor.
Jack (05:12):
Oh, absolutely.
So one worth mentioning, if you want toput one on your patisserie itinerary,
Gerard Mulot Patisserie is consideredone of the best in the city; offers a
wide range of pastries colors, kind.
From what you mentioned, thetraditional croissant my personal
favorite is a pain au chocolat, whichis basically a chocolate croissant.
Gerard Mulot is definitely a must-seeand of course you can't do Paris.
(05:36):
You really can't do France at all, butparticularly Paris without a crepe.
Now we'd say crepe but crepe isthe more accurate way to say that.
The street creperies; it's someof the best street food on earth.
They have all these little vendors, acouple of places to go to get a really
good crepe is under the Eiffel tower.
There's food trucks andother local vendors.
But really just finding a nice littlestall walking the streets of Paris
(05:59):
is a great way to get a local crepe.
And if you like chocolate again,one of the personal favorite the
Nutella and banana filled crepe.
Arnold (06:06):
Oh, yeah.
Jack (06:06):
It's beautiful
. Arnold: Magnifique.
Delicieux is what you want to say if you're describing, some dish.
Arnold (06:11):
You're right, when you're walking around Paris a lot and we walked 10 miles
a day, just going from place to place.
You would look for a placeto sit at a corner...
Jack (06:22):
Corner bistro.
... Arnold (06:23):
and you would sit down, you would get some coffee, you would get a
little pastry and if you needed to usethe restroom, you could do that then.
And then you were on yourway and it was a nice break.
Jack (06:34):
Yes.
Thank you for sharing that because Idid forget to mention, of course, and
this is a unforgivable, but the cafe.
That's a staple when you thinkabout Paris and France in general.
You're envisioning a romantic couplesitting in a cafe, eating a pastry and
drinking some coffee or maybe some wine.
So the cafe scene is absolutely astaple, a feature of the Parisian
(06:55):
food scene and the culture.
Arnold (06:56):
It is.
It's great people watching.
Jack (06:58):
It really is.
It's a great way to get a beadon the locals, so when I try to
speak French and this was told tome by my German friend and he said,
picture the most stereotypicalperson in that language to speak it.
So when I speak French, I actuallyenvisioned a Parisian sitting in a
cafe, smoking a cigarette, drinking alittle coffee and having a croissant.
Arnold (07:21):
With a beret on?
Jack (07:22):
Of course he's got a striped shirt and a Stripe horizontal striped
shirt, the sailor shirt with the beret.
But I do think of the sort of disgruntledParisienne sitting in the cafe judging
everybody is the envision that I havewhen I start to go to speak French.
Arnold (07:36):
Those restaurants over there, some of them are internationally known
and they carry Michelin star ratings.
Jack (07:42):
That was created in France, that's now global.
The Michelin star is something everybody'sheard of but for those that don't
know, Michelin star, it's the ultimatehallmark of culinary excellence,
awarded to restaurants, judged tobe of particularly high standard.
So it's a rating system used by thered Michelin guide to great restaurants
on their quality, which was originallydeveloped in the early 19 hundreds
(08:05):
to show French drivers where localamenities and restaurants were located.
So it was just a practicalneed at the time.
And it's just evolved from there.
So it's a three-star rating systemand the star system was first
introduced in 1926 with a single stardenoting, a very good restaurant.
Two stars, meaning excellentcooking -that's worth a detour.
(08:26):
The third star, exceptionalcuisine worth a special journey.
So one star is very greatrestaurant, two stars excellent
cooking, worth a little detour.
And then the third staris you got to go here.
That's, it's a destination onto itself.
Unlike other rating systems,the Michelin stars are not based
on customer reviews at all.
But it's undercover inspectionsby anonymous food experts
(08:49):
known as Michelin inspectors.
So it's really the culture of the Michelinstar restaurant and the inspectors.
It's an industry onto itself.
Arnold (08:56):
It's a big deal.
Jack (08:57):
It's a very big deal and people take it very seriously.
Arnold (09:01):
They do.
So if we're going to sit downand eat and we want to avoid the
crowds when do Parisiennes eat?
What times, so maybe we have to makereservations if we're going to be during
those times, or if we're outside ofthe times, maybe we do maybe we don't?
Jack (09:16):
The French are very meticulous and cultured in the way they do
things and food is no exception.
So they do have designatedtime blocks, if you will.
Americans, it's a foreign conceptcause Americans, we go to New York
City, restaurants open all day long.
That's how it is.
Europe is not that way, butparticularly France and Paris.
Paris is a touristy city so you'regoing to have exceptions to this
rule, but generally speakingthere's two distinct service times.
(09:40):
Lunch typically served from12:00 to 2:30 and then dinners
typically serve from 7:30 to 11:00.
If you're hungry in between, youcan always step into a patisserie
or a boulangerie, or a cafe.
Those are usually openthroughout the day.
Cafes are a great place to go to if youwant those in between times, but , if you
want to go to a set place you do it likethe French do, like the Parisians do.
(10:00):
12:00 to 2:30 for your lunch andthen 7:30 to 11:00 for your dinner.
Arnold (10:05):
What's a good way to find some of these nice restaurants.
Jack (10:09):
It's a great question.
Avoid the restaurantswith laminated menus.
You can get good restaurants in touristyareas because really the whole city of
Paris is a tourist trap if you will.
There are definitely localareas not around the Louvre and
not around the Eiffel Tower.
But geography is not as important asthe menu and the style of restaurant.
(10:32):
A tip that I was given that Ithink is, it makes a lot of sense
to me is avoid laminated menus.
And why is that?
It tells you something veryimportant about a restaurant.
It means they never, or very rarelychange the menu because why are you
going to laminate if you're changing it?
The changing menu is a hallmark ofFrench cuisine of Parisian style food.
It gives the.
(10:52):
Chefs creativity and thisability to be flexible and try
new things and new flavors.
So an ever-changing menu is a good sign.
That means it's local.
That means a chef knows what he's doing.
You've got a good, conscientiouschef that wants to try new things and
explore, and then you not only tryhis own thing, but other influences
that come in from outside Paris.
(11:14):
So the laminated menusis is an important thing.
. At every restaurant the menu was eitherwritten in chalk or a giant chalkboard
or when the waiters told you orally.
So again, that's verycounterintuitive to an American.
I want to set menu and I wantthat menu outside the restaurant.
Be open and be flexible if there's nota set menu or if the set menu, is said
(11:34):
varied; to change, give it a shot.
But the menus that are on thechalkboard or that are given
orally, those are usually goingto be good, local restaurants or
establishment that you want to try out.
Arnold (11:43):
So what are we talking price wise; I imagine some of
these high-end restaurants prettyoverpriced, pretty high priced?
Jack (11:49):
Yes.
Paris has definitely overpriced ineverything and the foods no exception.
But not always if you know where to look.
It really depends where you go.
We mentioned earlier about the sidestreets and the smaller neighborhoods
away from the very major touristattractions are the way to go.
Relaxing evening meals off the beatenpath joints, they're reasonably
priced, and you can get authenticParisian culinary experience.
(12:12):
You don't always have to go to theMichelin star restaurants to get
the Parisian culinary experience.
You just don't have to do it.
Some of them are well worth going.
As we mentioned the three stars area destination onto themselves, but
just look for the off the beaten paththe grungier sometimes the better.
Paris does not have the bestreputation for being the cleanest
city in the world but you look down analleyway and it looks a little dirty
(12:35):
grungy, that might be a good sign.
Don't do it at night but during theday; take that little small street, go
down that little pathway and see whatbecomes of it because it's, in central
Paris it's full of as little neighborhoodkind of bistros and brasseries that
you would never know is there, unlessyou walked in and explored yourself.
Arnold (12:55):
And we should probably get reservations at these places.
Jack (12:58):
Yes.
Reservations are anabsolute must in Paris.
They have very limited seatingcapacities, and that's before COVID.
Dinner service hours are shorterthan America so they have
to pack more in less time.
And the best restaurantsalways book up very fast.
The top places getting hundreds ofreservation requests every single day.
One more thing regarding the reservations.
(13:19):
You don't have to show up on time.
In the US, if you have a 7:30reservation, it's customary
to come a little early, 7:15.
In Paris it's quite a bit different.
You don't have to arrive until at leastthe reservation time if not a little later
.If you've got a 7:30 reservation time, you're not going to sit at 7:30 so if you
showed up at eight, that might be okay.
I would probably show up at 7:30-7:45just to be safe, but you don't have to
(13:42):
show up early, they're going to be runningbehind because the French, do you like
to sit a little longer than Americans.
I dated a French gal from Provence whenI was living in Wales and her father came
and visited and we went out had dinner.
Arnold we were there four hours.
Arnold (13:57):
Yeah.
Jack (13:57):
We were there four hours.
He wanted to meet me and talk to me andstuff, but that's not out of the norm.
A minimum dinnertime for a Frenchgroup of friends or family it's
going to be two hours to three hours.
You and I we'll go to dinner with a friendand we could be in and out in an hour.
Now it might be an hour and a half butif we have a dinner reservation in
America, let's say a Tucker's here in St.
Louis at 7:00, we're goingto be home by 8:30, or maybe
(14:19):
at least walking out at 8:30.
You won't even be getting your mealuntil 8:00 so just keep in mind that
the dinner time, they don't follow thereservation times because people do
linger and they stay a little bit longer.
All the more reason to make areservation to make sure you
do get seated at some point.
Arnold (14:34):
That's a great point.
As we experienced and as youexperienced the French culture,
they do like to take time.
They do like to talk, converseand get to know other people
or find out about the day.
It's not the rush that wehave here in the States.
So they really do take their time.
It's great to find a place nearthe rivers too so you have a view.
(14:58):
Or maybe you're over at theLouvre or by the Eiffel tower.
You don't want to be in a place whereyou're going to get a lot of traffic
and hear noise and get a lot of fumes.
So you pick a place; good view,good vibe, good vibe you're patient
with the chef, because chef'sdoing their thing in the back.
(15:18):
There's no rush.
We're not going anywhere.
You're taking in the culture.
Jack (15:23):
Absolument.
I think you're absolutely correct.
The dining experience in Parisis part of the local culture.
It's part of the whole feel.
In the Northern part of central Parisis a really cool neighborhood-y vibe.
That's where Sacre Coeur.
Arnold (15:36):
Right.
Jack (15:36):
Very famous, beautiful church...
Arnold (15:38):
Big art area,
Jack (15:39):
But that whole neighborhood around Sacre Coeur is beautiful.
It's worth going to just walk around,but as you said, just picking a
little local brasserie or bistroor a Michelin star restaurant.
But sit down, take your time.
The idea is not to getfood, get in and get out.
The idea as you said you're takingin the ambiance of the neighborhood.
(15:59):
You're people watching, you're talkingto the waiter you're getting some
advice and tips on some wine pairings,how should I pair this dish with a
wine that you've got on your menu?
Tell me about the new flavors thatyou have and what are some of the
cool things that the chef is doing?
Don't be afraid to engage.
The garcon, the waiter.
Excusez-moi, garcon Ihave a question for you.
Arnold (16:21):
And they all speak English.
Jack (16:23):
Yes.
In Paris.
Yes.
That's actually anotherthing worth mentioning.
If you want an Englishmenu, you go earlier.
Not every restaurant's going to have anEnglish menu, so that's really important.
Even in Paris, you're gonna get a lotof restaurants that do not have English
menus and the French are not the bestat English, but they're not the worst.
Italy is very difficult outsideof Rome and Venice and Florence,
(16:44):
some of the major cities.
But the French; it's actually funnyand it's a generational thing.
The young people,everybody speaks English.
But they don't like it.
The French want you to speakFrench in France and I get it.
It makes sense.
You're in our country.
You don't have to speak itat least, s'il vous plait,
bonjour; it's the basic things.
Merci , thank you.
The meal was good.
Just some basic phrases and that'sagain, going to the Guidester guide.
(17:07):
If you get a Guidester guide,we're going to give you a couple
of pages of common phrases.
So you don't need to know anyFrench, but a few phrases and
words really help go a long way.
So if you need an English menu, do yourresearch or show up early because it will
take the waiter a little bit longer totranslate or to get you the English menu.
And when it gets later in theevening they don't want to do that.
You don't want to slow up the garconlater in the evening with a lot of
(17:30):
these questions if you don't have to.
That's another way to find areally good local establishment.
If it doesn't have an English menu, that'sa good sign and just stumble through it.
Getting back to whether they speakEnglish, they should speak some the older
generations, not as good as the younger,but if they're under 40, certainly
under 30, they will speak English.
Now one tip I will say if a personthat's younger, someone that's
(17:53):
under 40 if they say they don't speakEnglish, they're probably lying to you.
I've watched this happen because theyjust don't want to engage with you
and there's just this concept; youshould speak French and I just don't
want to speak English, I don't want totranslate, so I'm just going to pretend.
This happens particularly in Paris, butit happens in other places in France.
I watched them say this to it, travelers,don't understand, they pretend they
(18:15):
don't understand and then they'respeaking English a few minutes later.
The same guy.
So it is something you be awareof, but here's what changes that
if I walk up to you as an American,where is this or where can I find
this and I don't even, excusez- moi.
If all I said was, excusez-moi, versuswhere can I find this that automatically
(18:38):
lowers the draw bridge if you will becauseParis is the most visited city in Europe.
It literally is the mostvisited city in Europe.
They get millions of Americans.
Sometimes people are rude and many timeswe don't respect their local culture.
So they're going to make an assumptionabout you as being an American.
Break down that barrier breakdown that assumption and just
excusez-moi s'il vous plait.
(18:59):
Excuse me, please.
Then ask your question in English.
Or how about parlez vous Anglais?
If I walk up to you and say, do you speakEnglish versus parlez vous Anglais and
I've watched this happen from waitersto street stalls and shop workers and
just people that I've met out and about.
Parlez vous Anglais, oui or yes andthen you've now engaged , their facial
(19:22):
expressions change from, I don't wantto be bothered to I'm interested.
Arnold (19:27):
Like good morning, good afternoon.
Jack (19:28):
Yeah.
Arnold (19:29):
And then followed by that.
Jack (19:30):
But in their language.
Arnold (19:31):
Exactly.
Jack (19:31):
Parlez vous Anglais really goes a very far way in lowering that Drawbridge.
Arnold (19:36):
I agree with that.
So favorite restaurants of yours?
Jack (19:38):
I did go to a restaurant that was really exceptional.
Last time I was there, I think2018 worth mentioning Bouillon
Chartier,remember bouillon is justa designation of a restaurant.
It's a great place to discover authenticfrench cuisine with all your typical
cliches without breaking the bank.
So it's classy historic place.
It's over a hundred years old, Iguess for France it's not that old.
(20:02):
It's a very well-known establishment.
It has a whole lot of Frenchculture in a single dose.
When I went there, I gotthe escargot, the snails.
Worth doing I'm not an escargotguy I'm not a snails guy...
Arnold (20:12):
But if you're going to get them- in Paris.
Jack (20:13):
You're going get it- in Paris exactly.
It was quite delicious, themeat, the actual texture of the
meat was good, but the sauce!
Whatever sauce they puton, this was just amazing.
Delicieux, it was really top-notchand that's really what made it.
And just the presentation, theescargo comes out in a little dish and
then there's like little pockets ofsauce and you dip it in that, in the
(20:36):
sauce, it gives it really good flavor.
It's a laid back atmosphere, thatyou might find it a higher end spot.
So you get the quality of the bestFrench cuisine without the pretentiousness
that accompany some of the toptier of Michelin star restaurants.
It feels like a local vibe.
It's quite big for a Frenchrestaurant or Paris restaurant.
It's not small.
I was up on the second story so youget all the best bits and bobs of
(20:57):
the Paris food scene without thepretentiousness of some of the other,
sophistic K sort of restaurants.
Arnold (21:03):
I know when people go to visit Paris, many times people want to go
to see museums or they have specificsites that they want to see, like the
Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe.
But you must also take in the food scene.
That's a whole nother venue that youneed to prepare and take time for
. Jack: Absolument.
I think if you go to Paris without someeffort to engage and immerse into the
(21:26):
food culture, you've missed something.
Agreed
Jack (21:29):
You nailed it.
Me personally, food doesn't motivate me.
I love good food.
I don't travel for food, but I made aneffort to go to a nice bouillon, to a
nice brasserie and bistro and some cafes.
The way that I think about foodestablishments in Paris is how I would
probably think about pubs in England.
You cannot go to England withoutexperiencing some cool local pubs.
(21:51):
It's the same way with the food in Paris.
Arnold (21:52):
That's a great, great analogy.
And I like the sign, will travel for food.
Jack (21:57):
Exactly.
Will travel for food.
Arnold (22:04):
appreciate you listening to this episode of Virtual
Vacation with Guidester.
If you enjoy this episode,please consider letting us know.
The best way to do this is by ratingus on Apple Podcasts; reviews are
always welcome and encouraged.
Virtual Vacation with Guidesteris produced by Motif Media Group.
For Jack Baumann and Virtual Vacationwith Guidester I'm Arnold Stricker.
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