Kerouac - Someone on another thread posted a link to a site that lists non-expensive resistants in Paris: http://www.restos-pas-chers.fr/ Is that the kind of place you are talking about when you mention good deals? Some of the writeups on the site make the places seem pretty good; though of course they were probably written by the owners.

I certainly will give some of them a look for lunch if I'm nearby in May.

I'm just saying that unless I need to find a place for a super special occasion, I almost never spend more than 20-25€ for a good meal(including wine but rarely including dessert, because it doesn't interest me).

Kerouac - I'd be interested in your list of favs. Are they mostly in your quartier?

If you are staying in the St. Paul area, L'Excuse has a menu enfant and is quite good. La Perla for Tex-Mex choices.

Certainly not, Michel_Paris -- I almost never eat in my neighborhood. If I am in my neighborhood, I prefer to eat at home.

I had great dreams is spending all my time in Paris cafe's drinking coffee and watching the world go by.

I was shocked at the how average the cafes were in Paris not to mention the awful, UHT milk coffee that they serve.

The cafes here in Sydney leave the Paris ones for dead, even more so, the ones in Melbourne are better again. Agreed the scenery might not be as nice :)

Maybe going out for breakfast isnt a big thing in Europe, however all we could find at any cafe was exactly the same menu - a baguette, jam, juice and a yogurt - this was standard everywhere !

We tried lots of places around the 5th and 6th arrondissements and was consisently disappointed.

We found much nicer cafes in Amsterdam and Bruges believe it or not.

Just based on my experience of course ! :)

a baguette, jam, juice and a yogurt - this was standard everywhere !

That is a standard French breakfast.Though you can get eggs at Paul and if you want to go whole hog there is always Breakfast in America, sveral locations

This forum is amazing! Thanks so much for all the information, I'll get a trip report up when we return.

Charlie

Kerouac, I think the point is that for many of us, every meal in Paris is a super special occasion. But I too would be interested in your list of reasonably priced favorites.

<<Maybe going out for breakfast isnt a big thing in Europe, however all we could find at any cafe was exactly the same menu - a baguette, jam, juice and a yogurt - this was standard everywhere !>>

Right. It's been that way for centuries.

Not sure why a croissant, cafe creme and OJ would be a disappointing breakfast, that is what I would expect if I walked into the local cafe.

We tried these 3 on our recent trip to Paris and just loved them:

Chez Janou
A La Petite Chaise - 36, rue de Grenelle
Moustache - 3, rue Sainte Beauve (Notre Dame des Champs metro)
La Rotisserie d'en Face - 2 rue Christine (Odeon or St. Michel metro)

Moustache has only been open a few months -- not to be confused with another place with similar name

Your "experience" would be the "French way". What else would you have? It is what I MOST look forward to when in Paris, and always forget how crusty the bread is and abrade my mouth!! If you wanted something more for breakfast then you would have looked for a cafe that served an "american breakfast". Knowledge is everything--or nothing.
SO, the cafes in Melbourne are more "French". What square do they overlook? Stay home.

Gretchen, i expressed my opinion from my own experience, which I believe is the point of forums.

Plus, I did say that the scenery in Paris was far nicer than anything I will see from a french cafe.

I was very disappointed in the quality of coffee in Paris - again, the UHT milk was awful!

French breakfasts are small and standard. Croissant, special long thin baguettes, jam, butter, juice, coffee. That's the way it is and that's the way the locals like it.

Local cafes in Paris usually serve good coffees, much better than the chain junk places. Personally I prefer a noissette to a cafe au lait.

If you want an American style breakfast, then try hotels where they have the buffet settings.

I am always surprised the travellers don't find out what to expect before they go and are then subsequently surprised when their destination isn't just like home or some other city they have been to. I do think there is a place called Breakfast in America and I agree a hotel that caters to American tourists are most likely to have all the extras that we are used to. I just use the smaller breakfast as an excuse to get another yummy pastry mid-morning. I absolutely love a still warm pan au chocolat with a cafe creme every morning!

Everywhere in the world, I have noticed that breakfasts are the most difficult item for many people to adapt to different things. Perhaps, upon awaking, many people require a familiar food item.

While this happens to me sometimes, I can generally appreciate the local offerings, and have had shrimp soup, bread dipped in cold curry sauce, kippers, beef noodle soup and many other strange items for breakfast, and I have eaten them with gusto. On the other hand, things like eggs or sausages generally disgust me, so many 'American' breakfasts do not appeal at all to me.

Nevertheless, since many Americans don't mind a breakfast of coffee and doughnuts or rolls, I don't see why coffee with croissants or tartines would pose a problem.

The poster who did not like the Parisian breakfasts in cafes said he or she was from Sydney, so I don't think the issue is American breakfasts or American tastes.

No, nothing to do with American breakfast at all!

What about un pain aux raisins for breakfast. YUMMY!!!!!