By the way, if you're looking to do things on the cheap in Paris, there is a nice Indian restaurant in the 9th that doesn't serve alcohol - but you can bring your own wine, beer, bottles of moonshine - what ever! They will provide glasses and open the bottles for you and there is no corkage charge. It's great fun for a cheap dinner, and has lots of tables outside.

lawchick: relatives of ours reported seeing this in an Edinburgh hotel - not just packing breakfast food into their bags, but making it up into rolls first ! I'm surprised the hotel staff didn't say anything. Don't know what nationality the culprits were.

Lawchick, etc., please do not assume this is strictly an American thing or that all Americans "eat all they can" (stereotype much?). I have seen other nationalities make sandwiches or take extras from the breakfast buffet, including Irish, British, and Germans.

Taking a croissant from a bakery into a cafe is bad form. Don't do it. If you can't afford to buy a croissant at the cafe, then buy one at a bakery and eat it on a bench or in your hotel room. Better still, seek out a bakery that also serves coffee. Many do.

And even quick take-away patisseries and boulangeries in Paris will serve your coffee in an actual coffee cup, not the paper cups we're accustomed to. It really won't be a challenge to find a place that serves both.

I'm appalled at the suggestion that this practice is an 'American thing'. Boorishness is international. Charles, don't even think about it.

Before my first trip to Paris last month, my co-worker, who lived in Paris for 2 years, told me that this was perfectly acceptible practice and that she did it quite often. She actually recommend that I do it. I did find it quite weird, and luckily it was never an issue as most of the cafes that I went to sold croissants and various pastries.

Tracy

To all the posters who had replied:

I assure you that my impulse was not to do such a thing. Instead, I found this habit, if it indeed was acceptable, to be quite strange. My reaction was exactly the same as Tracey's.

In the time between my posting the question and this follow-up response, a French friend of one my co-workers has commented that many Parisians do this, it is not frowned upon, and her explanation matched Christina's almost word for word: there are some cafes where it is certainly OK and others where one wouldn't.

When I questioned her use of the cafe space, the co-worker put it this way: "In the United State, before McDonalds had nutritional salads, I thought nothing of going there to buy a drink and eat my packed lunch on THEIR table. No one was upset with me. I have eaten my own cereal with milk inside a Dunkin'Donuts because while I don't like donuts, I do enjoy their coffee. However, that does not mean I would, at lunch time, march into a sit-down restaurant and pull out my packed lunch. There are places where it's OK, and there are places where it's not."

I can see her point.

Even so, I do not think I am inclined to do such a thing while in France.

With appreciation for insights offered,
Charles

If I may make a distinction, this question has little to do with buffet stuffing, carrying away napkins and condiments, stealing bread, etc.

If it can help, here is a sample taken from nukesafe's trip report :

<Coco had called the owner of a very nice bistro the night before and had told him about educating Americans in the art of French overindulgence, and asked if we could bring our bakery goods into his place, monopolize a big table for the seven of us, and only order coffee while we scattered crumbs all over his establishment. “Of course”, was the reply.

We went in, met the proprietor, and proceeded to demand coffee, knives, forks, napkins. We each cut our pastries into small enough pieces for all to sample, and dove in....>

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34686300

Well, a call ahead of time from a local customer is quite different from me or your heading into a café with a bakery-bought croissant. While I can see that there might be a certai few places where that might be acceptable, this is one of those things where I think you should just know instinctively that it's not the right thing to do.

Patrick, your frontier comment made me spill my tea on the keyboard - hilarious! :)

Dear cocofromdijon,

What an paradox! Out of context, your quote seems to be a spoof of a travel report. How fascinating to find that in context, your snippet is part of a witty and colorful description of true events.

Thank you for a delightful nugget.

Charles

I'm glad you liked it Charles :-d
nukesafe will be happy to read your comment!
corinne

A funny thought just crossed my mind.
Buy fish and chips, the greasy type, have them in a paper bag, go into the Ritz, and order a cup of tea or coffee. Then pull out the fish and chips and start munching loudly.

The modern day equivalent of Alan Funt could be there with his cameras.

I am not sure I would try that in restaurants where the waiters tend to be more volatile.

I ran into an excitable type in a little place just off Raspail at Montparnasse once. When my credit card would not pass muster, the waiter came back making noises like an over heated tea kettle.
Not sure I want to try the croissants on him!!

(Fortunately, the backup credit card worked, which was indeed beneficial because when my wife got up to go to an ATM a few blocks away, the waiter really did let off steam. I was seated, with my credit, debit, and ATM cards spread on the table along with a few AE travler's checks.

When the waiter saw the checks he calmed down. I never figured out why he was so agitated to begin with. I guess he had been burned in the past.)

No of course it is not OK. What posters said that it was? I don't recall any such discussion.

We have a funny thing here in Brussels -in Place Jourdan where there is a famous "friterie" - all the bars around the area have signs up saying "Frites Welcome" complete with a picture of a smiling chip bag - so you buy your frites from the friterie and then you go inside to a bar, buy a beer and they will give you napkins, ketchup (or mayo rather here) etc. and you can enjoy your frites in the warmth.

Last year while staying in Paris, the woman we rented the apt. from recommended a bakery for our morning croissants and suggested buying our croissants there and taking them to the cafe just one door down on the corner for our coffee or hot chocolate. She said she does this all the time and while we were at the bakery, we saw others doing the same thing.I was a little embarrassed doing it at first, but no one seemed to care and I assumed it was the norm. I don't think this particular bakery served coffee and the cafe was a small place with tables outside.

You are allowed to bring your own croissants only if you've baked them yourself.

Charles,

I am shocked (and appalled). You don't bring your own food to a cafe or restaurant. Period. Especially to a coveted outdoor table.

Can I ask where you are from? I am an American and have travelled some in Europe and throughout th US. It is not an "American thing". Here or anywhere else, it is just.......not......done.

CharlesIII,

Thanks for the comment on that bit of my report you read. What Cocofromdijon did not mention was how wonderful she was in hosting our exploration of French pastries while we were in Dijon.

Without having to wade through my report, Corinne (Coco) had said she would be happy to help some of us Fodorites clear up the confusion about those lovely pastries we had all drooled over in the windows of French pastry shops. She met our party of four, and also invited a young honeymoon couple, who had rented her flat, at our hotel the morning after our arrival and then led us to two incredible pattiseries where she and the proprietors educated us in the names and differences of the fancy displays.

After we had each picked out and paid for a selection, she led us up the street to a large and busy bistro. None of us, even though we were boorish Americans, would have thought of going into an establishement and consuming food we had brought in from outside. Corinne had, however, called the owner beforehand and told him of how she was "educating" us on the wonders of French food.

When we arrived, each clutching our bulging paper bags, Coco introduced us to the owner. He was utterly charming as his staff put together a large table and brought us coffee, napkins, and utensils while we made pigs of ourselves and a mess of his restaurant. (My memory fails as to the name, but I think it was called the "Concorde" -- help me here, Coco.)

Whatever the name, you can be sure all of us would go back there tomorrow if we could. We certainly will always be grateful to our ever cheerful Cocofromdijon!

I still wouldn't try to bring outside food into any French restaurant -- without Corinne running interference.

:-)

nuke, give us the url for your report. Pictures???

Cigalechanta,

Here is the link to the first of the six reports: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...safe&fid=2

You could search for the other parts using the search function or my name, but the threads are WAY down on the list of messages I have posted. If you wish, I could put them all together and email them to you along with the pictures I never did get around to posting.

My email is [email protected].

:-)