I find that people seldom go out to lunch or dinner when at home, unless it's for business, or there is something happening like 'restaurant week' when you can find a reasonably priced lunch and dinner menu. There are exceptions of course, especially in northern Spain and southern France where it is quite common to go out to meet your friends several times a week, and prices are fairly reasonable.

Of course the older generation in such places just goes out for a very extended apéritif time. They still go home to eat.

Love the 'Plat de Jour' dishes - excellent value!

Love the fact that I can eat in a restaurant and be less likely to be affected by artificial preservatives than I am at home in Australia.

We don't eat out in large cities - more in regional towns & villages.

Can't wait to get back there in a few months time, Di

"The butter is the world's best."

Well probably "better", along with NZ, Oz, Irish, Danish and British.

When we were in the Dordogne we ate at less expensive places for lunch which were often frequented by local workers but not business lunches. And last time I stayed in the Marais and just wondered into a bistro which was filled with local workers. But when I did have a better quality lunch at Bistrot Vivienne, that was filled with business types.

Hi Stephen,

Glad you enjoyed your visit.

> it’s a good thing since they offer healthy meal, but what I appreciated the most was the terrine of foie gras with bottle of Sauternes, <

Well, foie gras isn't exactly healthy, but it is very good.

On your next visit you might want to go to the Dordogne for the duck.

((I))

I thought the food in Normandy was the best. We had great meals at reasonable prices with fresh seafood. Pastry and bread was the best in Paris. My fav,
http://www.stohrer.fr/?lang=en

Well do love those cidres from Normandy! And fresh Camembert from there too!

It's all about the bread.....the texture of a baguette.....the grains in pain au cereale and oh my the apple tarts but as far as meals it is hit or miss but they do make a mean Kir Royale!

Today's newspaper published an interesting study by the Ifop consumer study institute. It might update the misconceptions that a lot of people have about French drinking and eating habits. Here are the two most striking findings:

-- Only 10% of the French drink alcohol every day (down from 14% two years ago).

-- The French go to bars, cafés and restaurants less than the neighboring countries. They make only 20 visits a year, compared to 48 visits by the Spanish and 33 visits by the British. Less than 50% of the French order any sort of alcoholic beverage when they do go out.

Nevertheless, 96% of households buy alcohol from time to time and have it in stock at home.

compared to 48 visits by the Spanish

This can be misleading since some just go for tapas and many times it is social affair more than just eating.

I don't see how that is any different than most countries regarding reasons why people may go to a bar or cafe. Certainly French people go to cafes or bars just for a drink and for social reasons.

Those results are really astonishing, basically in that the avg is only 20 visits a year to a bar, cafe or restaurant. Now I realize it is very different in small towns and the country vs. the city, but given how many people in the cities seem to go several times a week, at least, to a cafe, I'm surprised. I don't really go out that much at home and don't live in a cafe culture, but I go more than 20 times a year to one of those.

Less than 50 pct ordering alcohol doesn't surprise me if that includes any visit to a cafe all day. I never have alcohol in the morning or afternoon, myself.

Yes the attitude about alcohol is changing - when I first started spending a lot of time in France I always loved to go to cafes - for a grande creme and to take in the often lively atmosphere.

And there were often older men drinking glass after glass of cheap wine in the morning - getting quite intoxicated.

I even used to see a postal carrier on a bike who regularly came in around noon and drank a lot of wine - he then got on his bike and went about his route - now I think that would never be tolerated in France today -

same with the old lunch hour for business folks where they would drive and get smashed and drive again. Severe crack downs on drunk driving have put a damper on that and also I think companies realize that workers who get bombed at lunch hour may not be so productive when the come back.

So I am not surprised at how few French drink anymore - I guess my in-laws are typical in being largely tee-totalers except for an occasional glass of wine with the Sunday meal.

kerouac's stats show that the overwhelming number of French households stock alcohol but it is used mainly on special occasions.

Yes, frankly it is for possible guests in most cases.

Considering the number of people who never set foot in a café or restaurant -- even in big cities -- I am not surprised by the 20-visit average. For every person who goes out 500 times a year (and there are plenty of them in Paris), there are hundreds of thousands of others who have been to a café or restaurants less than 10 times this century.

Welcome to Fodors Genoveva

Personally, I'd avoid the andouillette.

<I>Personally, I'd avoid the andouillette.</I>

I order it on purpose whenever I am hosting a timid visitor from abroad, although last time it was a <I>steak tartare</I> which was just as effective in this particular instance.

Boudin works well for that purpose, also. As does saucisson d'âne.

I couldn't answer you one by one but thank you all for replying .There are great opinions but what Jade especially said caught my attention, "opinions differ from one person to another". I think, French cuisine is always worth trying,yet either regional or international be sure that you won't forget its taste, smell... I personally love Italian and Chinese cuisine too.

Funny, I like saucisson de ane ( donkey, folks) just fine and have enjoyed donkey stew and horsemeat in Verona, where it is a specialty. Steak tartare? Delicious! Liver, sweetbreads, kidneys? Bring 'em on!
Boudin noir? Sure, with extra onions and mashed potatoes.

But I don't like tripe or andouille. You can have mine.