Thanks for all the great feedback.

I think I'll try a slightly different approach this time; eating cheap half the time and upscale the rest of the time. This middle of the road approach as someone called it earlier is not very exciting.

I keep a handy list of food when I eat out in different countries but sometimes I've been faced with menus that are way beyond my little list.
Then I just order something.

I've gone out of my way to eat snails and wild boar and wasn't disappointed. Snails were good but the wild schwein wasn't quite what I'd expected.

There are things I've eaten that I wish people wouldn't have explained what was in there. Menudo and Chitlings come to mind. Unfortunately, it's the idea more than the taste that bother me.

The only things I'm sure I don't want to eat are dogs and cats.

Wild boar tastes great in Tuscany.

I have found that if a place is in the mainstream guidebooks it's usually disappointing, especially in France. In many cases these places can trade on past glory safe in the knowledge that if you're not impressed then it really doesn't matter as you weren't likely to come back in any case.

I tend to try to go to the places that are listed in the guides for locals. For example here in London I have found Time Out's guide pretty reliable, so I use the local equivalent (where I can read the language).

And without wishing to be accused of anti-Americanism I think that anywhere that is popular with Americans is usually disappointing (for the same reason as above - no need to build repeat custom).

You also need to get into your heads that Europe is not cheap. Someone above said they pay $20pp for a meal without wine. Twenty rebel dollars is 10 quid or 15 euro roubles. Frankly you aren't going to get anything for that - double it and you're looking at the lower ends of edibility.

In London you need to think in terms of £40-50pp at least for anything decent (there are exceptions but not many). In Paris €40-50 will get you something decent. About the same is true across Northern europe.

40-50E as a minimum per person??! I don't think so.

Not as a minimum (you can get decent prix fixee grub for 20-25€), but if you want something that is going to impress you I think that's about the minimum, including wine, a kir and cognac.

€50 is only thirty five quid.

I would have to agree with that figure if you plan to eat more than just a main course (plat). Most of my solo meals in Paris, cost about 45-60 Euro and that was with a half bottle of wine and usually without coffee.

You can get a very nice dinner of moules frites at Leon de Bruxelles for 15E, with a Belgian waffle for dessert.

You can get an appetizer/plat or plat/dessert at hundreds of Paris restaurants for under 25E.

40-50E pp is more than adequate for good dining.

((I))

Ira, different people have different ideas on what constitutes a good meal. Here is what 40 Euro bought me recently at a ChezDenise lunch:

1 frisee salad
1 skate with butter and capers
1 glass of wine

Excellent and memorable but not what some would regard as a full meal for dinner.

Ira, the Leons chain isn't exactly what i would call decent dining. You might as well go to Flunch.

I'm talking about a half way decent meal in a reasonable place (bear in mind you're on your holibob so you're splashing out a bit)

I's reckon:

Kir - about €5

Wine - at least €10 (ie a few glasses)

starter - around €7-10

main course (not extravagant) - €15-20

Pud/cheese - €6-8

coffee - €3-4

You're easily into €40-50 territory.

Anyway - you yanks are all rich, so what are you bothered about!

<i>Anyway - you yanks are all rich, so what are you bothered about!</i>

Yes, we're all rich and proud of it. We work hard and share in the American dream. Get your visa and come on over and join in the celebration!! Happy New Year!!! :-) ((b))

I couldn't cope with the awful beer. No amount of money could compensate me for drinking that dreadful stuff.

Sort the beer out (and the guns and god nonsense) and i'll be right over.

Suggestion: Read, a Julia Child cookbook. List the entrees that appeal to you. Match them against the Paris menu entries. Choose one! Note, her texts also suggest compatible wines for each.

&quot;Ira, different people have different ideas on what constitutes a good meal. Here is what 40 Euro bought me recently at a ChezDenise lunch:

1 frisee salad,1 skate with butter and capers, 1 glass of wine&quot;

Good Lord, you must have been shocked to see such a puny amount of food for such big bucks. Did the waiter bring it out with a straight face?

Seriously, I know you are a foodie who would enjoy that kind of meal: taste, texture, and color, not heaping portions.

Well, maybe I 'differ' because there is no way I can (or want to) eat/drink an aperitif, wine, entree, plat, dessert and coffee!!
At the brasserie on the corner near our hotel we once had dinner:
Large bowl of moules w/frites, nice veal with mushrooms and potato, 2 glasses of wine (and yes, 1 coke) - don't think we had any dessert... check was under 40E TOTAL and it was good food. &quot;Divine&quot;? no. &quot;Delicious&quot;? yes.
Had a nice meal at Chez Charles Victor - 1 entree, 2 plats, 1 dessert, 1/2 bottle of wine for under 60E TOTAL.

I thought the question was whether you could get a decent meal without 'wasting money on poor choices' and my thought is 'absolutely' and it doesn't have to cost 50E per person. (but is CAN if that if you want special/unique cooking and/or a larger meal).

doh! &quot;IT&quot; CAN, not is can.

Good night.

It always amazed me how cheap everything was in the US.
From that $20 per person, the restaurant has to buy food, pay people to cook and serve it and light and heat the place.
They probably have to pay rent and local taxes.
How on earth can they do it?

Flanner, you can get decent beer over there if you look for it.
There are quite a lot of good small breweries.
I agree about the guns and religion though.

It wasn't Flanneur it was me. People are always telling me that there are good yank beers, but i've yet to come across them. Apart from the mass produced brand name stuff (which is rank) all the micro-brewery stuff i've tasted has been too malty/yeasty and thick.

&gt;&gt; It always amazed me how cheap everything was in the US.
From that $20 per person, the restaurant has to buy food, pay people to cook and serve it and light and heat the place.
They probably have to pay rent and local taxes.
How on earth can they do it? &lt;&lt;

They barely pay people to serve, for starters. The customer pays. It's called tipping.