What are the "down sides" to Paris?

[rssilverandlight]

What I hate about Paris is that the beautiful light in
September only stays up long enough for me to
shoot 300 images a day !

[Anne]

amy321 said:

On the other hand, I've read several of Peter Mayles' Provence books and he often talks about being painfully full after French meals. Maybe the "European sized portion" is just a myth!

I don't think that it is a myth, only one has to keep in mind that people in the countryside traditionally eat more than in big cities . Older people in the countryside will treat Parisians as wimpy nibblers as far as food is concerned .

I vividly remember my first Sunday lunch at my father-in-law's brother, in the South-West countryside . First, we had the usual local starters of cantaloup + raw ham followed by larges slices of homemade foie gras . Then came the cassoulet (for those not familiar with this, the main ingredients are white beans, sausage and confit) . It was so yummy that I couldn't resist having a second helping of it, much to the delight of my hosts (this is a serious girl, man ! ) . But then came ...the main course : a duck roasted with olives and garlic + sauteed cèpes (mushrooms) and green beans (both with garlic and parsley) and sauteed potatoes too . I thought I would die . Then of course came the cheese and dessert but I can't remember those, I must have been half comatose by then ...

[Anne]

Gitte, when food is so good, I simply cannot resist

Plus, not being able to eat part of the meal is bordering rudeness when you are invited, it is not as if you are eating in a restaurant ... Skipping cheese is perfectly OK, skipping any other dish that the host has lovingly cooked is much more difficult .

[Anne]

Dearest Gitte - Of course you are right, only in that specific case I had now idea that there would be "much more delicious food" to be served after the cassoulet : I had actually assumed that cassoulet WAS the main course . Hence my second (and generous again ) helping, which I thought that I would compensate for easily enough by just skipping the cheese ...

[joan1]

wow this bord is interesting, you learn so much about different attitudes and customs here.
Here it is not considered cheap or miserly to ask for a doggy bag, and it is assumed it is NOT for a dog.
Often the waiters if they see you did not eat much will ask if it was ok, and if you say yes, you are just full they will ask if you would like it wrapped up,, and if you say no, sometimes they look a bit surprised. Seems like a waste to throw away 1/2 a pizza or 3/4 of a steak, or a pile of shrimp fettucini etc.

Now, one does not do this at a really nice place , but it is common practice at many middle of the road type eateries ( steak houses etc) .

Whenever I have eaten at a relatives or family friends house in France I am stuffed, even the simplest meal seems to consist of a entree , a salad , bread and either a cheese or dessert course, and this is the simplest meal in the kitchen..
The difference seems to be no snacking. I have never seen a bowl of chips put out, or a plate of brownies, or even a bowl of peanuts, in between meals in the houses I have stayed at LOL . This may not be true of everyone and everything, but, to me MUCH food is always offered, BUT, Parisienne ladies seem to take very small portions of everything, which can be filing if you make our mistake of taking "bigger portions" of first two courses, not realizing the meal never ends..LOL

I am hungary just thinking about all this food stuff. LOL

[phread]

Parisienne ladies clean their plates! In France, it is rude not to, even in a restaurant. I have often had a comment or two from a waiter when i did not conform to this rule. What we do, however, is skip the entree, or order two entrees instead of an entree and a main. If you are dieting, you simply do not eat out, or skip the next two meals.

Downsides : Blatant sexism and racism. The increasing industrialization of the food industry. Grumpy ladies "of a certian age".

[Shoesy]

I definitely agree with our great Dane. I can't imagine finishing everything on my plate just because the waiter might be upset if I didn't. Heck.......I never used to do it to please my dear mom, so there's no way that I'm going to do for anyone else. I will, of course, finish every crumb on my plate if it pleases MOI. ;D

[phread]

Sorry guys, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. It is a cultural thing. Maybe it comes from the fact that France was so devastated after the two wars that it took her MUCH longer than other countries to get back on her feet. Maybe because this is a Catholic country and the gluttony of over-ordering supercedes the gluttony of finishing your plate. Maybe bacause food holds such a place of honor and restaurant food even more so, that it is an insult to the chef. I truly do not know.

In any case, WASTE NOT, WANT NOT is the rule in France and you finish your plate because throwing away food is pretty much a sin. I am not commenting if this is right of wrong. Obviously I don't always finish my plate, or else I would not know about the commentary. HOWEVER, I am pointing out a cultural difference.

[Anne]

Phread, I agree with you that "throwing away food is pretty much a sin" in France .

However, I feel that restaurant food (and I am talking about nice restaurants here of course) is much less "sacred" than a homemade meal, and I don't feel overly guilty or rude for not being able to finish my plate in a restaurant (not that this happens very often, mind you ;D), even if I still feel the need to justify myself to the waiter . On the other hand, not being able to finish my plate or refusing to have a helping of one of the course (except for cheese) when I am a guest at someone's place is simply not an option because this would be REALLY embarrassing . Mind you, this is not an option for my hubby or kids at home either .

[andi]

Rightly or wrongly, this is an issue that I will have no problem with. If I could leave food on my plate, I would be a heck of a lot slimmer than what I am!
I have heard that it is very impolite to put your hands underneath the table, especially if your are in mixed company. The French believe that you are up to no good with your hands if you do this?

[Anne]

That is very true Andi (with or without mixed company) . And I seem to remember that it is quite the contrary in England ?

Maybe we should start a specific thread about what is considered as polite or not in France instead of discussing it in various non-dedicated (and therefore soon un-remembered) ones ?

[geordy]

I've had the waiter experience when I did not clean my plate..the "you didn't like it(in French equivalent or English) or the raised eyebrow. Probably esp. if they have surmised I'm from the US...and have heard of our super sized portions! (I actually met a lot of people from elsewhere who think all of us sit down to eggs, sausage/ham/bacon, toast, potatoes,etc. every morning! Instead of the bagel/muffin/roll/cereal on the run or at the desk that most of us, in cities at least actually eat..if anything!* ) And I don't look like I could not clean my plate!

Last September with the "eating disorder"(pretty much now think it was anxiety produced esophagytis. Only a little bit this trip on last nite, natch) when I was eating half or less we got a lot of it. When we told one especially otherwise nice waiter about the problem he was aghast..I now know how condemned people get looked at!! :

* / = or

[andi]

Yes Anne, elbows on the table, terrible bad manners! You are supposed to sit upright, napkin on lap, hands on napkin!

Coming from a different thread........Not really a gastronomic delight for Vegetarians in the French main course option, a BIG down side for us!

[sistereurope]

Well, I'll clear it all up for everyone when I take my French lesson in Paris (I am wishing for that for my b'day!!!)
Regardez... the language school I was thinking of attending has an optional ettiquette lesson!!:

www.elfe-paris.com/Options_Accueil.asp?Id_langue=2

[sandy]

I think you all forgot about the problem with the gypsies in Paris. Although it's not a problem if you just ignore them, but unfortunately there's still very naive people who still fall into their tricks. Anyway I think it will be a temporary problem. There was a time when Buenos Aires was full of Romanian crippled beggars all over the city, they were brought by some kind of corporation that exploited them due to our favorable exchange rate. When we had serious economic problems and they were doing meager earnings, they all disappeared just as they had appeared.

And I am ashamed to say that Buenos Aires has the world's first place in poo droppings per square meter, and I never noticed any in Paris. (We also call it caca in Spanish)

[sandy]

I don't blame them personally, I mean the scammers. I think there's a whole organization behind them and they must also be exploited. That's why it mustn't be so easy for the city to get rid of them.

[grunblack]

The only thing we found (and I don't think it's a fault really, you just have to be prepared) it the pushing on the metro - not at all gracious. Just hold your ground without being aggressive.

Apart for that, the Australian dollar is terrible and it takes about 24 hours to get there - not much Paris can do about that!

[grunblack]

GitteK - I agree with the string scammer (i'd forgotten about them). By the time we got to them I was very good and firmly saying know, but even then they started to follow us up the stairs and tried to grab my clothes. Just say no FIRMLY and keep walking - they eventually get the hint. I do feel sorry for the people who get stuck (or don't know any better) and I do have a friend who fell for the 'gold ring' trick, which I have to say I hadn't heard of before I left but was just used to saying no to everyone.

[Jody]

There seem to be so many little old bent over ladies in Paris lately!! On one day we saw at least 5 of them within the space of a few hours.

[roundtowngirl]

My down-side is that no matter how hard I try, I cannot get the French scarf thing right. I have tried. Here I was walking down the street feeling Parisien and my scarf kept coming undone. It was very UNCOOL and of course I was sure that every French woman was laughing at me and thinking she is so NOT French!

The only other down side we experienced while in Paris was riding down the Seine in a Batobus (which was a relief for tired feet) but you feel like you are cooking under the glass roof. Also for half of the trip you are squinting into the sun which kind of detracts from the experience.