FRED & CO

I HAVE READ WONDERFUL REVIEWS ON THE FINER RESTAURANTS AND BISTOS IN PARIS/LATIN QUARTER-BUT WE EAT FAR MORE SIMPLEY.ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR MORE BUDGET MINDED W/ A 15YR OLD BOY.ROME WAS PACKED W/ THEM.WERE NOT LOOKING FOR MCDONALD AND PLEASE NO COMMENTS ON THE ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCES WE WILL MISS.

Beth

My friends and I last August just walked the streets, read the menus and prices, and had wonderful luck. We did couscous one night, crepes another, Italian. We rented an apartment so many days lunch was our larger meal, and we bought dinner at the street market on the way "home" from the metro. There are so many choices that you should be fine.

Bob Brown

I suggest you look at a book entitled<BR>Cheap Eats in Paris by Sandra Gustafson.<BR>It may give you some ideas.<BR>I found a place on Boulevard Montparnasse called Bistro De La Gare.<BR>It keeps a fixed menu most of the year, in fact we ate twice a year apart, and the menu was the same. Some people say they don't like it because it seems like a glorified fast food place, but the prices are ok for Paris, the food did not disagree with us, and the desserts are passable. The French style potatoes were ok, and the salads for salad lovers were big and fresh.<BR>I don't think anyone will mistake it for Bofingers, but I thought it was not bad.<BR><BR>However, let me suggest that there are a lot of good small restaurants in Paris. You can check out the prices because they are posted outside where you can see them. Just look around, and you will find quite a few places to eat, particularly around the University.<BR>However, I will be one of the ones to tell you that just because it is a Parisian restaurant does not mean it is good! I have eaten at a couple that I would classify as poor.<BR><BR>

c

When we were in the mood for just sandwiches or simple things, we would eat in small cafes.There you can get an omelete or a hamburger,ham and cheese sandwich and some onion soup! The atmosphere is nice also, they don't mind how long you sit and talk and relax, or just watch the world outside the windows.Have fun, check Access Paris-there are lots of ideas for eating "simple" or "swell" have a great time!

Book Chick

Fred, another option you have is buying stuff from the markets (rue Cler, in the 7th er, for example) and assembling your own picnic, either outdoors or in your hotel room. This will not in any way hinder you from experiencing some of the very best "tastes" of France, and is economical in that you can purchase just what you will be consuming, quantity-wise, and obtain foods you know you'll enjoy.<BR><BR>Also, in restaurants, you do not have to order all the courses listed on the menu. I assure you it is as common to see someone NOT take all the courses as it is for someone to do so.<BR><BR>Beware of certain places near the University that have folks outside, exhorting you to come in & try the menu--these are usually not good values, and not good food, either.<BR><BR>Bon Voyage & Bon Appetit!<BR><BR>BC

Auleen

Fred & Co. You won't have any trouble if you visit the markets and buy deli type foods, go to the closet park or square and have a picnic. Or go back to your room (maybe a balcony?), put your tired feet up and enjoy your "street food". <BR>We often picked up a "Roti Poulet", spit-roasted chicken (1/2 of one for the two of us), a baguette, tomatoes, cheese, fruit, drink........Yum!<BR> You might want to go over to the Marais district (a Jewish district and very interesting to stroll through) across the Seine from the Latin Qtr. and make your way to Rue de Rosiers. We stayed a week there in an apartment and loved it! The street has two wonderful Mid-Eastern restaurants (with take-out windows) where we purchased Schwarmas about 3 times. They were wonderful and only about $6 for two. They are huge. A great Jewish bakery there also plus some restaurants we did not find pricey. You will also find yourself near the Place du Vosges which is great fun to sit in and stroll in the arcades listening to the various small musical groups playing here and there.

Ronda

Fred, what area will you be staying in? Perhaps people will have specific recommendations for you if you tell us.<BR><BR>I found that Cafes have "plat du jour" which are very reasonably priced decent meals. For lunch, my teens liked "walk away sandwiches" which are everywhere. They don't come with mayo or mustard so if your 15 yr. old is really picky, you might want to bring along some mayo and mustard packets. I always bring some plastic utensils and either kleenix or paper napkins. Sometimes I even tuck in a couple of paper plates and a cheese slicer or small knife (not in my carry on). There are good ethnic eats as well - Chinese, etc.<BR><BR>I like the department store MonoPrix. It is like an upscale (forgive me) K-mart. Good buys on just about everything but I do like their grocery department. The one I went into in the St. Germain area had the groceries in the basement. Great selection, good prices. You can buy inexpensive good wine, cheese, sodas, sandwiches, etc. I always enjoy seeing what is in the grocery store in other countries.

Sherry

In the Rue Cler neighborhood, there is a cafe with the name Marche in it. They have plats and which are very reasonable and the food was wonderful.

Betsy

Hi Fred,<BR>Goo adice from all and here's my 2 cents:<BR>Try the Rue Moufftard and Place Contrescarpe for dinner at least for one night. Its interesting. There are very typical Parisian cafes as well as ethnic fare and the prices won't break you. Plat du jours as others have mentioned are the best value in restaurants and can also be less intimidating for some.

Cleringthings

Sherry:<BR>I think you are thinking of the Cafe<BR>de Marche on rue Cler.

Sherry

That is it and we had lunch there and the food was wonderful. <BR>I also picked up things from Monoprix. <BR>In the bookstores there is a book on eating in Paris, written in French, which my brain refuses to remember the name of. The restaurants are listed divided by cost. I think the title translates Paris Cheap. A friend we met in Paris had a copy, but I found it easily enough. YOu could just go into one of the large bookstores, pick it up and leaf through it. <BR>We stayed in the 6th and it mentioned a very tiny place one block from our hotel that had pizza, crepes and pasta. A meal was about $7 complete. It was delicious.And perfect for a 15 year old.

clairobscur

Just to disagree on two points : <BR><BR>-IMO, the restaurants with people advertizing outside in the Latin quarter (actually a couple of streets in the Latin quarter) indeed don't serve good food, but certainly have a good value, given their very low prices (it used to be 50 FF for a complete meal...don't know how much is it now in Euros..probably around 8). For people who're on a tight budget (say students), it's a good deal.<BR><BR>-I don't recommand the rue Mouffetard. Plenty of ethnic restaurants, indeed, a peculiar athmosphere, sure, low prices, but I've been dissapointed each time I ate there (That said, I didn't check all the restaurants, of course..and there was an odd exception..a cheese restaurant where I was satisfied by the food served).

parislover

Fred: The "plat du jour" (daily special) is usually a good deal. Almost every cafe offers that.<BR>Stay away from too touristy places and try to discover small family run places in little streets. Price differences can be huge between cafes like "Les Deux Magots" or "Le Flore" on Blvd. Saint-Germain and a small place nearby.<BR>Have fun!

Nyna

There is an alleyway in the Latin Quarter which has lots of restaurants catering to tourists. Most of them have very affordable fixed price menus and the food is pretty good. In my opinion, that would be your best bet since you can read the menus outside before going in.

elaine

I agree with the suggestions above, the Latin Quarter is student country and there are lots of inexpensive places.<BR>Quality of food varies, as in some cases you get what you pay for.<BR>I also have bought hotel room picnic supplies and groceries in shops on rue de Buci, and in Monoprix. You might want to pack your own paper plates, plastic utensils, napkins, etc because I never see any. Most people are taking that food to their homes.

elvira

There are lots of pizza places, usually with wood-burning ovens for some of the tastiest pizza you've ever had. Ditto Asian restaurants - Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine is common, and quite good. You can actually find American food, like Tex-Mex - there's a Hardrock Cafe and a chain of restaurants called Indiana. Many boulangeries nowadays have sandwiches for sale - be aware they are different from U.S. sandwiches - example: tuna is just that, chunks of tuna, it's not tuna salad. Egg sandwich is slices of hardboiled egg, not egg salad. But, I'm like Joey Tribianni - my favorite food is sandwiches so I've never found one I didn't like (but a 15yearold needs to know ahead what he's getting). There are also lots of sandwich shops, especially in areas with lots of stores and offices (the shopgirls and office workers eat at them). Finding hamburgers is tough - I've not found a Chili's- or TGIFriday's-type restaurant in Paris, so it's pretty much MickeyD's or Quick or Flunch for burgers (or the Hardrock). If anyone has found a good burger place, I'd love to know about it (as Porscha says "sometimes, a girl just needs a little grease"). Just south of the river, just east of Boul'Mich are the cheap restaurants everyone is talking about - there are also gyro places in the same area; can't beat 'em for a hit of grease that's actually quite tasty. Oh and the Brioche Doree chain - sandwiches, soups, muffins. <BR><BR>I love good French food, but there's no way I can eat restaurant food lunch and dinner, every day, so I indulge in pizza, sandwiches and the such for most lunches and dinners.

topping

Topping for Fred

wendy

My first rule of thumb is to eat where I see a 'wait' taking place... there are a lot of reasonably priced cafes/bistros, with great tasting food (no where resembling McDonalds)... when you are out walking around, take note of places where you see locals lined up at lunch, and go back for dinner. If you see a place crowded at dinner, put your name on the list. Fancy/Pricey or cheap eats... a full house is a tasty respected house!

StCirq

Fred:<BR><BR>Our kids love the Croque au Sel, 131 rue St-Dominique, in the 7th. They have very resonably priced "plats du jour" AND if you order before 8 pm (which is when most Americans want to eat anyway, and certainly most 18-year-old boys), there are several plats available for what used to be 59F, which is under $10. These are three-course meals with entr&eacute;, main dish, dessert, and a glass of wine. Very tasty, typical French food. A definite bargain.<BR>There are also chains like Hippopotamus and the Bistro de Something or Other that serve decent French food at low prices. And as others have said, Paris is full of little places where you can grab a sandwich or pasta or Chinese food or something simple and inexpensive.<BR><BR>I have to agree with whoever said that the food at a lot of the restaurants in the Latin Quarter, while cheap, is not of great quality. Same thing for the restaurants around the rue Mouffetard - at least the ones I've tried. The street food from the market on the rue Mouffetard has always tasted better than anything I ordered in a restaurant there.<BR>At any rate, Fred, you won't starve or break the bank.

lisa

We went to Paris last October and ate very inexpensively the whole time we were there. Our tastes are simple, and we enjoyed our food sitting on steps on a church, park benches along with one time of just leaning up against a building watching people as we munched on our sandwich we got at the Monoprix....yogurt from the Monoprix in the little glass jars was excellent! Their meringues are spectacular!<BR><BR>We bought day-old croissants at the end of the day at Monoprix for breakfast the next morning.<BR><BR>The absolutely BEST grilled cheese sandwich I ever had in my life was at a little cafe close to the Louvre - across the street from the Greyline tours - we got it as "take away" and ate it in the Jardin Tulleries - I can still smell the cheese! My husband got a "french" hotdog! It was like a footlong hotdog on a loaf of french bread smothered with cheeses! oh yum...<BR><BR>We certainly did not feel that we missed a thing by not eating in an expensive restaurant - have wonderful memories of our trip. Hope you have a wonderful time - food is just something you need to keep you nourished so that you can see all the wonderful things Paris has to offer!...you'll still be experiencing the culture no matter how much you spend on food.