Paris Restaurants Where they don't serve everything swimming in cream sauce, drenched in butter or stuffed with cheese?
 

Can't wait for our 20th anniversary celebration in Paris in September, but after reading the raves about favorite restaurants, I am nervous that my husband won't find one thing he can eat -- he can't tolerate cheese, cream, butter (or any other richly prepared foods). Will we be able to find simple but tasty grilled fish and meats, or if we ask for them without cream or butter sauce, will they look at us like we are crazy (or worse, ugly americans)?

I think you'd find that a lot of, shall we say, "ordinary" French folks do not routinely eat the sorts of "rich foods" that travelers seem to rave about...at least not to the extent that might be suggested by trip reports, etc.

Nobody is going to perceive you to be an "ugly" anything but I suspect you are on the right track by trying to find out the kinds of places where a wide(r) variety of food preparations and types might be employed.

I'll be interested to read the sort of reactions you get to this one.

We just came back from France in the beginning of July. I am also sensitive to fat and cream, but not lactose intolerant. Almost the entire time I had indigestion. The food was very rich and high in fat.....tasted good though. If you ask for no gravy when ordering, that may help. But we ordered a grilled steak and it came with a huge glob of butter sitting on top. ICK. Don't worry about looking stupid, just ask for what you want. Salads were good.

Thanks! I am also going to contact the concierge at our hotel, for advance recommendations of restaurants where we will find the types of food that my husband can eat, and I'll post if I get any recommendations from them.

Hi Barbara,

Where will you be staying? Perhaps we can help with suggestions.

Keep in mind every ethnic food known is available in Paris. I already have on my list for possible choice a Tibetan, Eygptian and Morrocan restaurant, for our trip this fall.

Look for restaurants that specialize in the cuisine of Provence (and therefore more use of olive oil than cream or butter), such as Bastide Odeon in the 6th and Chez Janou in the 3rd. Avoid any place that focuses on the cuisine of Normandy or the Auvergne.

Places that have the word "Rotisserie" in their names (such as "Rotisserie D'en Face) will have dishes that are grilled or spit-roasted and not too complicated. And there are plenty of places that specialize in simple preparations of seafood (Le Dome, L'Arbuci, Fish).

If it's a spontaneous visit, not a restaurant that you need to reserve ahead of time, check out menus before you enter. You will almost always be able to find a simple roasted chicken or steak. A lot of restaurants have sample menus on the Internet now (Auberge Nicolas Flamel, L'Impasse) so you can check them out before you go and see if there's anything your husband can eat.

This is great, thank you. In fact we love almost every type of ethnic food, and in my email to the concierge at our hotel, the D'Aubusson (chosen at the recommendation of contributors to this board), I asked for ethnic restaurant recommendations, as well as those serving grilled fish and meats.

If your husband must avoid certain ingredients, and you don't speak French, you might want to ask the concierge at your hotel to write an instruction to the waiter that you can show when ordering. It can be as simple as "no sauces, please".

If you're not planning to reserve in advance of your arrival, you can make your dining choices by reading the menus posted outside each restaurant to be sure there's something that will work for you.

In very general terms, brasseries will have seafood platters with no sauces and less elaborate preparations than will restaurants. Traditional bistros will serve richer foods than more "modern" ones. Grilled meats may come with butter on top, but again, you can ask that it be left off or removed. Cafés will have salads, sandwiches and omelets.

French people also have dining preferences, restrictions, and diets, and asking for a reasonable accommodation isn't crazy. Just do it politely. You'll be fine and will enjoy your trip.

If you let us know where you'll be staying and some of your favorite foods, we might be able to offer specific suggestions.

Hi Barbara,

Not far from your hotel on the Rue de Buci, the Rue Seine and the Blvd St Germaine are uncounted Greek and Italian restaurants.

Vesuvio, 1 Rue Gozlin (Across Boul St Germain from the church) is a very good Italian restaurant with a wood-burning pizza oven.

If you like mussels, go to
Léon de Bruxelles, 131 bd St Germain

Also look at the Flo Brasseries. If you reserve online you get 20% off your total bill.

http://www.flobrasseries.com/en/

Wonderful, thank you so much.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a plat in Paris that was creamy and cheesey--EXcept, of course, onion soup. Roast meats, braised lamb, foie gras, cassoulet,roast chicken, duck confit, eggplant, salade, mussels, fish, skate, calves liver. La Florimond, Bistrot du 7eme, Clos des Gourmets, La Fontaine de Mars, La Coupole.

By chance we ate at a lovely place called Bouillon Racine off St Mich, where their specialty preparation was fish, poultry, etc. in broth in a bowl with vegetables (maybe obvious to some from by the name of the place, but I didn't realize until after the wonderful meal).

Also, keep an eye out for places serving meals in the "Montignac" style--this means no sauces, simply prepared and lots of steamed veg (no pommes frites), named after chef and author Michel Montignac. Sounds similar to Atkins to me, although I imagine there might be some differences.

We agree about the richness of French food, and generally prefer Provencal or Italian. For a good Italian meal, go to Mezza Luna in the St. Germain area (I think it's on Boul' St. Mich). We especially loved their arugala pizza.

Well my dear as for being perceived as an "ugly American", if you're ugly that's a label that cannot be shaken off regardless of race.

As for being American - stop being so tied up about it, people really couldn't give a damn about your race - most people in France and indeed the entire European continent, aren't racist!

I agree with Gretchen, few restaurants serve the rich creamy sauces anymore.
Those were popular way back;time have changed French cooking.

Its great to know that my husband will be able to find plenty to eat, but frankly, I wasn't so sure of that as I read a lot of the trip reports posted on this site, raving about the creamy this and that. So I am glad I asked, and thanks for the constructive replies. And MKingdom, sorry if you twisted my statement -- that was a bit of a stretch of what I said, wasn't it. Guess you just had to blow off steam and vented it in my direction.

If your husband can't tolerate rich foods, things like foie gras and cassoulet should be on the "not!" list. I second the recommendation for searching out restaurants that do Provençal food, which tends to be on the light side--rarely do you see cream and butter. A good restaurant for that is Les Olivades, in the 7th.

Barbara, I wonder if your impression might be due in part to what people choose to post about? For instance I might rave over a creamy rich something French I'd had 1 night, but less likely to bother mentioning the nice roasted chicken or broiled fish I had the other 9 nights.