Tat

I am sure nobody yet died from starvation on the trip to Europe,
however it is a big problem for me as I am a very neurotic type, so I am always rushing, no "relax" for me, so I want to know as much as possible so we sat down, I grabbed menue, ordered food, we eat and flee the restaurant to go to see some stuff we should see, not waisting a minute of 4 days in Paris that we have.
I just absolutely can't spend 2 hours eating, it is like the worst tourchere for me. I am usually the one who orders what everyone will eat and I am managing, but in French 3 meals, kid's included - forget it ! This eating will be my killjoy I know now.

But with your help I hope to get by.
I am sure some of the books will be just right on money.
Do they have buffets ? It would be a heaven, no waiting for the waiting !

rex

I have never seen on any menu, any dish prepared from testicles - - in France, nor in the Rocky Mountains.

StCirq

Tat, I have an exhaustive French Food Glossary that I helped compile with some other francophiles a few years ago. If you want me to send it to you, e-mail me at [email protected].

Underhill

I just realized we need to clarify something for Tat. In France a menu is not what we use the term for here, a list of items available. That, in French, is a "carte." A "menu" is a complete meal, usually of 3 courses: a starter, main dish ("plat&quot and dessert. Menus are offered for various prices, depending on the choices. If you wish to order something else, you choose from the carte: what here would be called à la carte. Menus are often a very good buy, better priced than choosing items separately.

Underhill

P.S. When you order a complete "menu," you say "I want the menu for 22 Euros," or whatever the price is.

Christina

Beachbum, I don't know what Rocky Mtn Oysters are, but in my experience, restaurant menus do have those terms I named, most of the time. I was saying that those are the main terms that may be used for section headings (such as Viandes or Salades), not a specific dish per se, maybe that wasn't clear. I think they generally are on the menu.

I think it used to be true that only bad or over-priced tourist restaurants had menus in English, but it seems that many decent restaurants now have menus in English, but especially those in the central area where I think Tat will be. It may be different in other towns or the outer areas of Paris in that regard, I agree, where only bad restaurants will have menus in English, but I don't think it's as easy to generalize in that regard any more. I think you can tell better simply by looking at it and its atmosphere and whether there is a sidewalk tout outside or its location (ie, obviously the ones on rue de la Huchette are only for tourists and not good).

Tat, there are actually some buffet or cafeteria restaurants in Paris and these may be a good idea for you. One of them I like very much and the food is really not bad at all, and it's very cheap. It is a good place for families with kids, and you can see the stuff and point it out. This is the Melodine "restaurant", but it is a cafeteria. There used to be a couple in Paris, but now I think there is only one across from the Pompidou Center at 21 rue Beaubourg. This is very near the Rambuteau metro stop. They have everything, hot and cold dishes, desserts, drinks and even beer/wine. This is not real cheap stuff in cellophane or prepackaged like some places. For example, they have a chef cooking omelets to order which are really good. I think it really sounds like something you'd like. They cater to families a lot and are not open real late in the evening (maybe till 8-10).

The other one is a chain called Flunch which is sort of a cafeteria style place. I haven't eaten in those, but was thinking about it as I was in a hurry for lunch in the Les Halles area, so I looked one over. My impression is they don't look as nice or good quality as the Melodine one. YOu might want to check one out, however, they could be okay for lunch. There is one up in Montmartre, but a central one at 5, rue Pierre Lescot in the 1st arr. on the street running along the side of Les Halles. That's the one I saw. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there.

There was another wellknown cafeteria over near the Arc on Wagram, but I think it may be closed (Empire). There is one right on the south side of the Champs-Elysees, also, though and I have eaten there for lunch. I don't remember the name, it's nothing special. I think it's within the first couple blocks of the Arc.

There are also some cafeteria type restaurants in dept. stores. Bon Marche has one, and some of the others do, also. I wouldn't go there for dinner, though. Ther eis a cafeteria in Galeries Lafayette, for example (Lafayette Cafe on the 6th floor).

There is a pretty good food court in the underground mall where the Louvre is (Carrousel du Louvre). There are quiet a variety of take-away ethnic restaurants there, and then tables for you to eat. It is pretty much a buffet/cafeteria. This would be another good choice for you. I go there sometimes to eat when I stay late at the Louvre on the nights it's open late as there are not crowds then.

mpprh

Hi

take a dictionary, and point !

The best food will not have an English translation.

References to English menu, tourist areas etc should tell you to eat elsewhere ?

Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com

Tat

Christina,
I've printed it out.
Thanks, you are the best

Gretchen

Rex, I assure that Rocky Mountain oysters DO exist and ARE on menus in the Rockies.

Patrick

I can't repeat enough the idea that "menu" means something different in France. A friend of mine complained because she sat and asked for a menu, then waited and waited and finally the waiter brought her a plate of food -- her starter. She had ordered "the menu" the only set menu for the day they offered. Be sure to ask for la carte!!

And since we're never in a hurry, we really like to get one French "carte" and one English one, so we can gradually learn the correct terms. Sometimes the English translations are too brutal. For example who doesn't know what a creme brulee is? Yet on an English menu, it's kind of hard to get excited about the offering of "dish of burnt cream", and yes I've seen it listed that way!

klondike

Seeing as how they use every other part of the animal, I can't believe they'd let that part go. We enjoy rocky mountain oysters, though they're kind of like escargot...it's really the sauces I like the most! Maybe down in La Camargue.

Tat- La Samaritaine dept. store had a nice little self-serve cafeteria that was fine for a quick meal if you're in the area, I'd imagine it's still there. Just remember to keep your sense of humor. We died laughing at a Scottish traveler who spoke no French and decided to try a Pizza, figuring how bad can you botch that. If you could have seen her acting out, like she did for the waiter, "no horse (a whinny), no beef (a snort and pawing the ground!), and no chicken (flapping her "wing" elbows and cackling"...she ended up with a beautiful pizza with a raw egg in the middle! The whole table just howled.

ira

Tat wrote,
>... I am a very neurotic type, so I am always rushing, no "relax" for me,...so we sat down, I grabbed menue, ordered food, we eat and flee the restaurant to go to see some stuff we should see,...<

Dear Tat,

You are setting yourself up for a very unhappy experience.

In France, eating is something to be enjoyed just as much as visiting a "must see".

You needn't endure a 2 hr lunch or dinner, but you should plan on one hour as a minimum.

The idea of buffets might be the best thing for you.

Travelnut

I have eaten at the Flunch by les Halles...for a budget meal, it was not bad at all. Full up with younger folks (students, families).

It is like a cafeteria: There's a salad/fruit bar, hot bar w/ 5-7 entrees, vegetables, and even small bottles of wine in the cooler! (along with water, sodas (ice!), etc). You circle around and fill up your plates, get bread, get drinks, pay at the cashier, and go find a table. Not gourmet but not McDonald's either.

Mathieu

Tat :

If you are leaning towards the buffet-cum-resto idea, you may try looking for the Movenpick chain of eateries. They are a swiss chain of restaurants though I'm not sure if they exist in Paris, or if they are as much of a bargain as they are in Switzerland. Anyway, among the many types of restaurants in the chain, Movenpick offers one that they call "Marche", which is a market-style restaurant with several different fresh food stations scattered around (one for beef, another for poultry, fish, pasta, salads, desserts, etc.) where you can walk around looking at the food (as you might in a market), select what you'd like to eat from the offerings and then stand at the station while your choice is cooked for you. They hand it to you on a tray with a food cover and you walk back to your table and eat at your own pace. That may relieve you of the need for French food terms, and serve your hectic pace of travel better. Again, I do not know whether Movenpick Marche exist in Paris but perhaps others on this board may enlighten us in this regard. Good luck.

Underhill

Cafeterias would definitely be a good choice for lunch but probably not for dinner, althoug French cafeterias are quite different from those here at home. You could do worse than ask for recommendations at your hotel; they will take into account your need for English.

cmt

Why not learn enough French to recognize many of the basic words for various meats and sea foods and vegetables and fruits and to know how to ask for wine and water and simple things like bread or soup and to know when the heading means cheese or salad or something like that, carry a dictionary, learn the words of any foods that you are allergic to or detest so you can avoid them, and for the rest, just wing it. It will all be FOOD of some sort, and it can be interesting to try unfamiliar things. That's what I did the first time I went to Greece, and everything I got was edible.

AJPeabody

On my first trip to Paris, with one year of high school French in my head (I think I got a B), and a menu with English and French, I ordered "steak tatare" which was translated as "Tartar steak." Couldn't be bad, I figured. Steak. Barbarians cooking on an open fire. No brainer. I was part of a group of about 12, and remarkably was the group's linguist! One travelling companion was smarter and ordered "steak american" ("American steak" ,of course).

So, the waiter comes with a steak with a sunnysideup egg on top of it, puts it in front of TC, who says, "This must be yours," and slides it over to me with a look of disgust. He gets it back when I get the raw meat platter, with a raw egg on top. TC left his egg. I ate all of my food, including the unidentifiable chopped condiment stuff on the plate, except, of course, the raw onions (I had standards back then). Not bad, actually.

So, for the last 40 years, I have remembered what I learned that day:

If it's on the menu, it's edible. If you never had it before, it's why you travel: To experience new things.


Embrace the unexpected!

Tat

AJ, I've cried ... so beautifully put, thanks.

cmt,
I am trying to learn French words, but !
There is a big BUT ... I can't even imagine how to pronounce "veau" ...
My daughter brought French Worda from school yesterday.
You should of seen us trying to say some ... you would beg me to stop

kayd

Tat: Don't worry about pronunciation; just point to the word on the carte. You'll do just fine.

rex

Veau rhymes with eau - - are you familiar with "eau de toilette"? (oh duh twah-let), thus "voh" or "voe".

Sensing that this is largely about self-confidence. If you have any interest in trying to learn some French - - and I submit that you should, but many people do NOT and they also get along surprisingly well - - then I recommend a trip to your public library, and you may be quite pleased to see what audio-visual learner materials they have. A key to using any tapes or CD's is that you have to get used to saying OUT LOUD. No mumbling, no saying it under your breath - - you have to get past (worrying about) how you sound. You won't become fluent in French in a week nor in a month, but you will add enjoyment and a greater appreciation to your trip. Ten words a day, you can do it; how many days do you have?

Today would be a good day to start.