http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/20/bu...rtner=homepage

Hi ek,

If people want to have an American Breakfast at Cafe Flore, they shouldn't complain about the cost.

Please convert long URLs to short ones at www.tinyurl.com.

Ira, I think the most important thing to take away from the beginning of the piece is how prices in the city, as well as the rest of the euro zone, have increassed recently due to the exchange rate. We all know that the Flore mght not be the best place to eat.

I guess the Times was looking for a bit of filler with its Cafe Flore exposé:

“Gee, the dollar is weak against the euro” — something we’ve known about and the Times has reported on for several years now since Bozo took office.

I hardly think the article was an expose on Cafe Flore. Did you read all of it?

Hi ek,

They are comparing exchange rates separated by 5 years.

That's not exactly a recent rise.

Remember last year when we had lots of crying about a Euro at $1.28?

I expect that the same breakfast at a similar place in NYC would be almost the same price.

Take from it what you will..I thought some people might like to read it.

Good point about the price of a similar breakfast in NYC, ira.

Maybe it's just me, but $42 is a lot for breakfast too!

I was there in September, with a very similar exchange rate, and I went to the Monoprix and the bakery and did just fine for under $5.00. The pastries there weren't too much different in price than going to Publix here.

Oh - and we found a nice Italian restaurant near us. 7 Euros for a plate of spagetti (very good!) or 10 Euros for a rib steak. Not any different - or less - than going to many restaurants here, and that includes the tax and tip.

I think Europe can still be a bargain. I do count pennies some of the time, but I'd do that no matter what the exchange rate was.

Well if you're going to eat salad for breakfast, what do you expect?

What a ripoff. We bought wonderful breakfast, lunch, or dinner ingredients at the nearby Monoprix, took them back to our apartment, found hot-from-the-oven baked goods from the marvelous bakery across the street, and dined like kings for a fraction of the cost of places like Cafe de Flore. Wise up.