Judy, I think that is a plan. Both are handy for us, and we can get some supplies and freshen up before the ballet.

Despite the naysayers, I am grateful for all the help here.

>>you are setting yourself up for certain disappointment as people rave about their favourites to convince you.<<

That is just as true if the recommendation is from Michelin or your neighbor or sister or your favorite chef. I dont know a single person who doesn't keep an open ear to restaurant recommendations. It is a weird minority of people who don't care about eating something tasty. ("Any old onion soup oughtta do or go get a packaged sandwich!") Even people who eat at McDonald's like that food and make choices!

I don't look to Fodor's for restaurant recommendations, but I do look for them. The risks are inevitable, but so are the rewards. France at least at one time felt that its food really expressed the demanding nature of its culture. It was interesting to eat in France. Now? Grab a sandwich is the answer. Even if that is the trendy way to be, I can't blame somebody for preferring to eat well, if possible.


>>I can't see getting fussed about food in Paris, but that's just me. If I have to skip a meal, I just do. Days go by and life goes on->>

There really is a great wisdom to the Italian approach (shared by some other European countries) of first and foremost making sure you stomach feels good and you are not unhappy from eating too little food or wrong food, etc. Taking care of your stomach is the prelude to the enjoyment of a HUGE part of life. People who are cranky and angry from skipping meals never get this. They think feeling that was is normal. It is not (at least not once you've lived in Italy).

Anyway, I don't think many thoughtful French people feel that if they have to skip a meal, that's okey dokey. And they lament the rise of the supermarket sandwich.

tuscanlifefeedit: I once planned a two-week trip all over northern California with almost EVERY single meal--dinner, lunch, and yes, breakfast--planned according to cross-referenced restaurant recommendations. Oftentimes, the next meal dictated our next 200 or so miles stop.

My husband and I had only been married about one year at that point, and he thought I was flat-out nuts. But to this day, the man who remembers nothing somehow remembers all the meals on that trip.

I TOTALLY get your point.

My stomach will absolutely never rule my holidays. In fact, food comes pretty far after the quality of the hotel mattress or the hotel bathroom for me. I know this is a minority opinion, but I have had more (extremely cheap) fabulous meals in my hotel room after a trip to the local market than at any kind of sit-down well rated restaurant in most cities. I do understand that wonderful restaurant meals are a must for a lot of people, but that is not the case for me, even though I love a good restaurant meal as much as the next person.

Beyond recommendations, what I'm most often reminded of on forums is how different we are, one from another, and how wrong we can expect some answers to be for us individually, as well as getting some right. Maybe obvious, but I need to remind myself from time to time to avoid frustration. Fodor's has sufficient numbers so everyone is usually offered some right. The trick, of course, is knowing which are which.

We plan and reserve most of our meals in Paris well in advance, especially when traveling with others. I HATE standing outside restaurants looking at menus and someone saying "So, whaddaya think?" and no one making a decision.

We have, at times, had a change of plans and had to cancel a reservation but not that often.

"So, whaddaya think?"

Traveling alone has countless benefits.

I'm completely in line with kerouac's priorities.

MmePerdu, we no longer travel with that person but it is a vivid memory.

But the point is still valid in general, Judy. A no-compromise style of travel. And whenever, wherever I like, for as long as I can manage.

Some of the people who plan every meal become total prisoners of their meal reservations and miss out on so many other things. Of course, in most cases, they will never know that, so I guess it is good for the economy.

kerouac, I do plan and reserve most of our dinners. I've been to Paris well over 20 times, follow your posts and have visited/walked most of the neighborhoods you photograph and discuss online.....thank you for that. I guess I am also grateful for boosting your economy as I love Paris.

People who enjoy excellent food and people who want to experience all a city has to offer are not mutually exclusive groups.

Well said, Judy.

I do realize that food is not a major interest for many people. It is for me.

An interesting discusion. I suspect the the working hour directives are going to be the issue here and a brasserie will have to do :-)

Food is one of the main reasons we travel. We book most meals in advance and plan the rest of the day around that. Some do this around museums...to each their own :)

I will certainly not denigrate the French restaurant industry. I am even pleased that 80% of the restaurants use the excellent products sold by Metro to make their meals even better.

I am not even being cynical because last year I went to the Montmartre food festival which was excellent, but one of the main sponsors was Metro, and the samples they provided were by far the best items at all of the stands.

The new law that requires restaurants to say whether they prepare things themselves or if they use industrial assistance should be a total eye opener. Something like 95% of the restaurants have already admitted that they do not make their own desserts and have no intention of doing so.

Why does it matter what people like to do...some like to prioritise food, some prioritise art, or history or hotels or......?

Is one better than the other? Not in my opinion.

It seems to me that those who travel longer might be more relaxed about how they spend their time and willingness to make the occasional "mistake", as opposed to those with a short amount of time so feel a need to know every possible moment is accounted for in a way to not waste time or "go wrong".

My guess is for those lucky enough to have extended travel time, the more experience one accrues, the more casual the arrangements in general. Along with giving up the required expenditure of energy to plan one's self into the allotted time, one learns that most unplanned time is likely better spent than going from one appointment to another. Sort of the same mechanism as enjoying retirement. In fact maybe those of more relaxed inclination do better in retirement and in long-term travel. And those who die 6 months after retirement are those for whom the tightly planned holiday is the only kind they'll ever do.

MmePerdu, I admit we retired early but have been retired for several years. Amazingly, though preplanning meals when we travel, we are still alive!

Not everyone fits into anyone's preconceived ideas of what is right. Even with planning, we still make the occasional mistake and we survive it and laugh about it.

Judy, it isn't a question of right or wrong. What I do suits me, what you do suits you. I may very well miss out on some fabulous destination meals and others may miss out on walking along a canal for a week. We're all different, not right or wrong, as long as we each find what suits our individual temperaments. And maybe the people who die 6 months after retirement are also doing what suits them, a life not worth living without one's life-long occupation. I can't say what's true for anyone else and just because I tend to introduce what seems around here to be a minority opinion, you won't often hear me say the word "wrong" unless followed by "for me". All in the name of information.

Well we get 6 weeks vacation a year and still plan meals but not much else. It's all down to priorities.

Exactly, jamikins.

Priorities, and and all things being relative. To someone who travels 6 months a year, 6 weeks seems like not much. I'm not arguing here, we all get smart about what we do as we do it more. No one can get smart for anyone else when it comes to style. For logistics, yes. But for what makes us happy, no. And that's the greatest shortcoming of forums, there's no way to know if a thing will make you happy until you do it yourself.

For those who have recommended Les Editeurs, it has closed without any notice and construction is going on there at the moment. No idea what will open in the spot. For those who have recommended Pied de Cochon, the quality of their previously not bad onion soup has deteriorated so much that it is clear they no longer make their own but simply serve previously frozen product. Nothing else there was ever worth eating IMO.

Comptoir de Relais does serve all day from 11 AM. Da Rosa on rue de Seine offers good charcuterie and some cooked food. Peres et Filles across the street is not bad.

If you want to go directly to the Right Bank and eat before the ballet, you might try Brasserie Vaudeville or Terroir Parisien at the Bourse. The 5th arrondissement Terroir Parisien also serves good food all day.

Thank you, shellio.

I do have Brasserie Vaudeville on the list, and had Terroir Parisien floating around in my mind.

It appears that we should have some fine choices no matter which direction we go in.

tuscanlifeedit - I like this local place a lot, and always go when I'm in the neighborhood. It's about a 15 min walk from the Opera Garnier. Continuous service, nice people, really good food that doesn't cost a fortune...

www.saotico.com

Try Chowhound message boards next time. No arguments about the joy of planning and eating great food in Paris. Just good advice about good places to eat. We stay on right bank every year, but I second Terroir Parisien and Little Breizh and have heard good things about Le Comptoir.

Les Editeurs:

"Closed for renovations from June 1st to August 1st" on their website.

ps. And as far as planning - some of us really, really enjoy the planning part - savoring in advance! Sometimes what I have planned never happens (many times, actually) but it's fun to research and good to know options.

I've traveled a fair amount and when I hit the ground running I don't stop for long. Although I will say I have greatly enjoyed the times I've plunked at a cafe for a few hours, too. We need more of them in the USA!

I think Les Editeurs is a spectacular place to have a drink or two and for people watching. As far as the food, I have found it mediocre at best, and certainly not a good rapport qualité/prix.

I have never had a problem finding a good hot meal at any time of day. (I have plenty of experience in getting into Paris at odd hours when all I wanted in life was a nice, hot meal.)

Some of the suggestions are wonderful, but I question, when someone has been traveling and is hungry (possibly tired) and with plans for the evening, why send them to the Right Bank when there are probably at least a hundred equally good options between where she is staying and there?

tuscan, I agree with those who recommend a brasserie. From where you're staying, I'm sure you'll find a number of places just by walking around the block. If that fails, there is always the Flore or the Deux Magots.

I don't know of anyone who ever went hungry in the 6th arrondissement.

I am reviewing a charming little food-focused guide to Paris right now. The woman has a blog, http://knifeandforkintheroad.wordpress.com/. She writes well and has done her research, and shehas lived in Paris. I also find Alec Lobrano a good source.

Recs on Right Bank are because OP is headed to Garnier.

Yes, I got that, but OP also said they would be hungry. Arrival at 1:00, check into apartment, and ballet not until 7:30. I thought they might like to get something to eat, then change for the ballet.

macdogman: I always begin my food searches on chowhound.com but in this case, others who have asked the same question there (where to eat outside of lunch and dinner hours) haven't had any luck. In fact, some posters got clobbered for that very question.

It seems that it isn't very chowish to disrespect the rather stringent dining hours in Paris.

I'm also sure that we "can find a number of places just by walking around the block" but I'm not sure that always works. In fact, I've eaten not good meals in Paris, especially when I didn't have names and recommendations.

So I thank those that came up with specific recommendations. I now have a very good list and feel confident about our first meal in Paris.

I'd probably like to ask about after theater snacks... but I'm not sure that I will.

Sorry, Tuscan, for the interrupt, but maybe you will find it of some use in the future:

macdogmom, I can get a table early at Le Mary Celeste next week--but very early, earlier than I am accustomed to dining in Paris or even at home. I recall you have eaten there and enjoyed it. Would you recommend it for someone who is reserving chronically late?