mdtravel

We speak no French. We don't eat seafood or internal organs. We do eat chicken and beef. This is our first time to Paris and it looks unlikely we will be able to return in the near future.

I would like to treat my wife to a nice evening / meal, but is it possible given all of the above?

If it is possible, are there some suggestions on non-French speaking friendly restaurants? Something with tasty chicken or beef dishes? We'll be staying around the Arc if that is useful for helping.

Thanks folks. I think I have two more posts on Paris. One will be my itinerary asking for feedback, and the other will be our trip report upon our return.

francophile03

There are many nice restaurants around and some neighborhoods are abundant with many types of restaurants. Chicken and beef dishes are very good and there is no need to worry about looking for non-French speaking restaurants. Servers speak English-at least all of ours did and we ate at random places.

Budman

The French only drink wine and eat organs. (Just Kidding)

You'll find beef and chicken in almost all restaurants in Paris, and a lot of the restaurants will have English translation menus.

Bring a restaurant translation dictionary. Additionally, most of the restaurants will have someone who will speak some English if you need menu translations.

You will enjoy your Paris dining experience.

ninasdream

I just returned from Paris, where I chose my hotels restuarant and walks based largely on my research here - why not look up restaurants by arrondisement here, or in travel guides? My favorite casual meal was entrecote au poivre, a ribsteak with pepper sauce. For finer meals, the waiters will be more than happy to guide you. Contrary to popular advice, I did not have good luck with house wines, I would step it up to a nice bordeaux. Enjoy.

BDM

Dear Mr. Mdtraveler,

You will find everything you need in Paris. If you are unlikely to get there again soon then you should try to make the most of your upcoming trip (IMHO)!

I don't speak French but have taken the time to learn the basics, please, thank you, good morning, good evening, etc. I am able to read the menus since I've cooked for a living in a prior life but that can be easily accomplished with a good food dictionary.

You will eat GREAT chicken in France since they don't have the Purdue philosophy of hormones and extra fat and yellow skin and if you are even slightly adventurous, try the duck which you'll find even more prevalent than chicken.

Also, what is your reference for a "nice" restaurant? You will find the entire gambit in Paris from a great meal at $50US at a simple bistro up to $500US at a Michelen *** place. My suggestion, and I know I may get hammered on this site for saying so is to wander into a place and see what happens. We always stay away from the places with menus in 6 languages and have always had a great time and a great meal, even when traveling with out 8 year old. One word of caution, learn the words for the things you absolutely won't eat (no matter how good that bistro chef may prepare them) and then go from there.

My advice is always " when in Paris. . ."

Good luck and have a great trip!

Brian

mdtravel

Thank you for the replies everyone. You are bolstering my confidence. I so much want to spend a few hours just talking and hasing over the day or week.

A nice restaurant to me would be a $200 US including wine. Any particular recommendations would be appreciated.

Travelnut

Familiarize yourselves with some preferred dishes, and those you particularly wish to avoid:

http://www.intimatefrance.com/glossary.html

nytraveler

while I'm not such a picky eater as you I also do not like organ meats - nor will I eat bunny. I simply memorize the local names for the items i do not want and then know I'm safe with anything else.

A menu reader is also useful - but in fact in both France and Italy you'll find that the names of most foods are familiar from menus in the US.

indytravel

Hey BDM, Perdue is the chicken company. Purdue is an excellent university known for engineering in the state of Indiana.

Where else would I go except a school whose mascot is the same as the name of a drink? Boilermakers.

Gretchen

On your budget of $200 you could have a truly memorable meal at Jules Verne at lunch and see Paris.
You can eat MANY places for that. I would not just wander in some place and hope--there are too many good recommendations on this board for excellent fare. Do a search for rue Cler restaurants, for example. Most of those are in the $30 each range.

Gretchen

Oh, and do take a translator specifically for food. A French dictionary will not do the trick. And many things are just not intuitive.

StCirq

mdtravel:

If you do a search here on Fodors for Paris restaurants, you will find literally hundreds of suggestions. At your price range, you can eat fabulously!
You should have absolutely no concerns about not eating seafood or internal organs - I can't think of a single restaurant I've eaten at in Paris that wouldn't have other choices, including chicken and beef. If you do like food other than French, there are also innumerable, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, African, etc. restaurants all over the city. One small note, though: The area around the Arc is not exactly a restaurant mecca.
If you want a comprehensive food glossary, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

suze

Steak and french fries are very easy to find, especially at lunchtime! I agree with as already mentioned - copy or tear the couple pages out of a phrase book that list all the restaurant words (figuring out what you want and what you want to avoid) in case your menu is only in French. Although certainly seafood or internal organs are a part of the cuisine for sure, they are not central to every dish! (Although I did find something liver-like in my salad one time

stormygirl

I have a book I ordered off of Amazon for a friend who only eats chicken. It's called Eating and Drinking in Paris by Open Road Publishing and it is fantastic.

Also I'm not sure if your eating particulars are of moral or habit but I also generally don't do organs. However I am addicted to pate and fois gras so you may be surprised at what you like if you try a little

elaine

La Rotisserie En Face, on the left bank, in the 6th, has a simple menu, good roast chicken among other dishes, and it's considered moderately-priced, and they are English-speakers friendly. They get a lot of tourists, but that's not to say the food isn't good. Rue Christine, I think, but do a web search, it's a popular place.

Peteralan

Hi mdtravel...We tried Perraudin (157 rue St Jaques in the 5th arrondisement) .Traditional french fare and you will find things you like.It has a nice French ambience, the staff are friendly, there's no problem with English and it is reasonably priced.The one thing you need to know is that they don't take credit cards.I can recommend the place for a nice night .Have fun!

SalB

We speak quite a bit of French so that's not a problem, but we noticed on our last trip (Nov.) that absolutely every restaurant had English speaking wait staff. We noticed if there was only one English speaking waiter, he was brought out to help in a linguistic emergency. In other words, someone will help you so don't worry.

As mentioned above, we've never been in a restaurant that doesn't have a variety of foods and chicken, steak, duck, lamb, pork and turkey are omnipresent. There is one restaurant that seems to serve mostly mussels but the menu is out front so just avoid the place. It never looked particularly appealing to us anyway!

I suspect you'll have a wonderful time. It is Paris!!!!!!!

mmr41

I would recommend la Petite Chais on rue de Grenelle in the 7th. Very good food in one of Paris' oldest restaurants. Also very friendly staff, in case you are worried about hte infamous "Parisian attitude".

Bon appetite!!!

SalB

Please don't worry about the "Parisian attitude." It simply doesn't exist. Parisians are polite, helpful and usually cheerful. Like anyone else, they can get upset . . . and usually with excellent reason.

If you get stuck on a problem, just tell any Parisian you have a problem and (s)he will stay with you until it's solved. Parisians are great.

RachelG

You should have no problem at all. We don't eat organs at all, my husband and sons eat about anything else ( including horse and bunny, neither of which I would ever touch), and I am mostly vegetarian. We have never had a problem eating in any nice restaurant in France.