Foodie Going to France

Your dining choices in Paris will be, in part, a matter of which area of the city in which you are staying. Crossing town at night should not be necessary as each area is well provided with restaurants.
Just to get the ball rolling, a popular place in the 14th doing decent hearty rustic fare - La Regalade. With a decent house red, it won't break the bank either.

I posted my thoughts on some Paris restaurants from our trip in Nov/Dec http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/a-mostly-food-paris-trip-report.cfm We tend to dine in different neighborhoods and don't limit our choices based on where we're staying. I haven't been to Avignon.

Be sure to check out the Chowhound forum too!

Without knowing exactly what you want/like, here are my favs:

Reed (7th)
Les Cocottes (7th)
Le Comptoir (6th)
Marco Polo (6th)
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (6th)-two locations

You will get tons of suggestions here! Also check Trip Advisor and Chowhound.

There are probably a thousand threads about this.Why not search and then ask for faves of what you think will interest you.

I agree with Gretchen. Random suggestions about the 40,000 or so restaurants in Paris can't be all that helpful. Search here and then come back and ask about specific places. We have no idea what appeals to you or what budget you've got.

You could start here:

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurants

or get the Red Guide and other restaurant guides to see which restaurants would fit your bill. I would not dare to offer suggestions to a "foodie" unless I knew him personally.

Thanks everyone! I'll do a search and come back here for specific questions.

I second using the Michelin Red Guide. One trip I used it for restos in my area (5th). I did not go to star'ed ones, just ones they identify as good value.

They don't have to be the most high end places, just with the best food. I'm looking to totally immerse myself in the culture - then FLUNCH cafeterias are for you - a place where only French go as few tourists would 'lower' themselves to go to such places - Plat du Jour for 5.5 euros and except for meat it is all you can eat - and drink except for booze which is low-priced as well.

My French relatives love FLUNCH restos which are all over Paris and all over France - one place to immerse yourself into French culture and down-home French foods at a great great price - no tipping or service charge either (though can't remember exactly about that!

http://www.flunch.fr/restaurants/carte-restaurant.aspx

Oh the official FLUNCH site.

Never heard of FLUNCH. Does it say FLUNCH on the restaurant? How do you find them (other than the official site, which is in French)?

Yes, they say FLUNCH. It's a chain. It's like TGI Fridays.