I will be in Paris in January 2006. And I would love to hear from you guys what food items I should taste/try/not miss.

I know I will have to stop at Laduree for some macaroons.

Anything else??

Honestly try a jambon beurre sandwich! :0) Very simple but very good... Also try the crepes. There's this really popular crepe stand on Blvd. St. Germain (6th district) right in front of the St. Germain church.

Pied de porc à la Sainte Menehould, andouillette à la mode de Caen, blanquette de veau, gigot d'agneau aux flageolets, tête de veau vinaigrette,...
I'm sure,- and sorry for you-, that your stay won't be long enough to taste everything you should...

Crepes with cider at a creperie and a croque-monsieur (sort of an open-faced ham and cheese w/béchamel sauce sandwich) at any cafe.MMM.

HI M,

Ris de veau, rognons de veau,....

But, seriously folks,....

>I know I will have to stop at Laduree for some macaroons.<

Go to Laduree on Rue Bonaparte. Then you can walk S on Bonaparte (toward St Sulpice) and get some more at Pierre Herme'.

The one thing I would not miss would be oysters. Wonderful with a glass of Sancerre or Chablis.

Escargots and Mussels. Pied de couchon at the restaurant Pied de Couchon. Their excellent cheeses. Go to Fauchon at the Place de la Madeleine and buy their "fruits confis" ( the strawberries are to die for) and their marrons glaces.I could go on....

Oh almost forgot, the pyramide of seafood ( includes lobster, shrimps, oysters, etc) at "Cafe de la Paix" and the excellent Bouillabaisse at "Le Dome".

The ice cream from Berthiollon (I know I mangled the name - it's well known)

Nutella crepes

All of their raw-milk cheese which we in the USA cannot get due to ridiculous import restrictions. You will realize the miracle that cheese can be once you taste in in France.

Foie gras de canard, foie gras d'oie, rillettes, andouille, saucisson d'âne, saucisson de sanglier, cuisses de grenouilles, bouillabaise, moules-frîtes, magret de canard, cassoulet, a croque-monsieur or croque-madame, gigot d'aneau, crème brulée, pain chocolat...........how long will you be there?

St. Cirq covered it nicely. Please take a pass on andouillette. You might want to take a food glossary with you. Dictionaries do not cover food adequately. Patricia Wells has one on her site.

Definitely try the chocolate crepes...heavenly! I also love the hot chocolate; very thick and rich but delicious. I had some wonderful hot chocolate at Cacao et Chocolate on Ile St. Louis.

Tracy

I will be there for 7 days/6 nights.

Being from NYC, I have tried some of the dishes mentioned like corque monsieur, cassoulet, moules-frîtes, crème brulée, pain chocolat, nutella crepes, and confit de canard.

Can you guys tell me (in English) what the other stuff are, like pied de couchon/pork (pig's feet???), andouillette à la mode de Caen, blanquette de veau, gigot d'agneau aux flageolets, tête de veau vinaigrette, etc.

Thanks for the suggestion on Pierre Herme for macaroons.

Hi ming,

In some of the posts, folks are pulling your leg, unless you are fond of organ meats, eg, rognons de veau are veal kidneys.

You can look them up at
http://www.slowtrav.com/france/restaurants/glossary.htm

De rigueur: Le Mont Blanc, a confection of meringue, chestnut puree, and whipped cream, at Angelina, on the rue de Rivoli, across from the Tuileries.

andouillette - intestines
tete de veau - calve's head
ris - 'sweet breads' meaning thymus glands
riz - rice (big difference!)

You'll need this:

http://www.patriciawells.com/glossar...d_glossary.doc

Oh yes - how did I forget Cacao et Chocolate?! They have excellent bittersweet and white chocolate!

I don't know about pulling one's leg, I quite like ris de veau. As with all things, you should just know what you are ordering.

There are only a few things I personally consider "not miss" in Paris and that would be: profiteroles, croissants aux amandes, a good cafe creme, good bread in general, and a warm chevre salad and good cheese and wine, in general. That's about it, although I like pain chocolat and regular coissants. Sandwiches are sandwiches to me, and I may like them okay, but don't consider them a must-have. I don't like a lot of these other sweet things some people do, like macarons or crepes, and I strongly dislike escargot and don't like mussels very much. Good frites are great, but hit or miss as to whether you'll get them at one particular place.

oh, and of course, foie gras, I have that several times. I also like mousse au chocolat at least once, but it's not as trendy as it used to be, so not served as often. But it's usually better there than in other countries.