What do
you do when you have champagne tastes and a beer budget (although a
glass of beer can sometimes cost more than a glass of champagne in France)?
And you
like to eat, not necessarily quantity (because reducing calories and
cholesterol is forever on your mind).
But want quality
(because you can't stand to waste a single meal on a mediocre one)?
It pays to
be creative, inventive and resourceful - an idea we (Americans) don't even
realize has been ingrained in us from birth, for which I am eternally grateful.
When I was
a "lowly" tourist here in France, our travel budget was spent more
on dining than lodging, going from one restaurant to the next, savoring
every morsel of authentic French cooking.
We perused
dozens of guide books, made lists of possibilities, then tested zero,
one, two and three-star restaurants, until we were saturated in fats and
downing Alka Seltzers.
All that changed
when I became a bona fide resident of France and my budget moved down out
of the "luxury vacation" category and into "making - ends - meet."
Of course,
we all know that "necessity is the mother of invention," but even if saving
money isn't your goal, maybe just getting a bargain is a "high" for you...
and you empathize with my deep satisfaction of finding a really great meal
for a ridiculously low price.
So,
what's the secret? Do I dare give away my formula for dining success? I'll
start you off with the top five, then after that, you're on your own. Here
goes...
Formula
one. Define your goals. Are you looking for quality? Ambience? Inventiveness?
Friendly service? In my humble opinion, there is only one reason to patronize
a restaurant: food.
All the ambience,
creativity or friendly service in the world will not replace that which
hits your palette and your stomach. Face it: décor costs, top notch
waiters cost, and you pay for it. So, if what you want is great food, stay
away from the restaurants which have put money into everything but.
Formula
two. Get off the beaten path. Restaurants on major streets are paying
higher rents and those costs must get passed on to the consumer. Restaurants
in high tourist traffic areas cater to one-time patrons and don't have
to worry about ever seeing these customers again, so quality could suffer.
Formula
three. Be cautious of inexpensive restaurants you have seen in more
than three guide books.
If too many
people/critics/books are promoting it, then it may already be overrun with
non-French diners, leading back to formula number two - restaurants who
cater to the one-time patron. Of course, this does not universally apply,
but is still a fairly good index. Besides, if what you want is a truly
French experience, then sitting among mostly tourists isn't likely where
you're going to find it.
Formula
four. Eliminate restaurants that offer coupons in advertising flyers
or coupon books. If they're discounting their meals, there must be a reason.
Maybe they're new, maybe just not very good.
Formula
five. Take recommendations from people you trust to have good taste!
Good old fashioned word-of-mouth can be amazingly successful!
You're ready.
Hit the streets. Read up. Ask friends. Make reservations. Savor every morsel.
Have fun. Feel accomplished.
I do all these
things just about every day and love every minute. You can, too.
