It means the restaurant attracts tourists and is full of tourists.
Canoe is a type of Tourist Trap / Expense Account Trap for TO. Good food but full of suits and tourists.
I would use the word “touristy” rather than tourist trap for l’Ami Jean (and scores of other excellent restaurants) because a majority of the clientele is tourist.
I suspect Charles is confusing rip-off and over-rated l’Ami Louis with l’Ami Jean (which I love) when he talks about 120€ chicken.
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I think some of us use tourist trap differently.
I use Tourist Trap to describe the client base, not the food. So, interchangeably with Touristy.
Some people identify Tourist Trap automatically with overpriced slop.
I think Charles prob knows the difference between the 2 l’Amis. But maybe not, if the 120 Eu chicken is only offered at one of them.
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The very fact that “some people identify Tourist Trap automatically with overpriced slop” means that it should be avoided when describing l’Ami Jean or used interchangeably with “touristy”, no ?
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Sure.
But some of us like to use feistier language to describe restaurants, or the clientele that visit restaurants .
That adds to the discussion and communication on the board, IMO.
I know that when I travel, I like going places where there are less travellers or tourists. A preference. I probably would choose a somewhat off the radar bistro that attracts a predominantly local crowd over a well-respected restaurant that attracts a lot of tourists and travellers. I don’t want to be surrounded by anglophones when I’m in Paris
That said, it is good to let people on HungryOnion know , when using touristic or Tourist Trap, if the restaurant is a rip-off that targets tourists, or a good restaurant that attracts tourists.
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Ahh! That makes sense as a category.
I think, especially when traveling with my immediate family, it helps when I can make a reservation via the hotel, online or in English (sorry!) , the staff can speak some English (sorry again), and some items on the menu are identifiable and preferred by some of whom I’m traveling with ( biggest sorry!).
That wasn’t so easy the last time we went to Paris, and husband said " none of those Chowhound recommendations!".
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Did he want more tourists or more French-speaking people at the restaurants where you are? Or did he want to fly by the seat of his pants?
We usually travel as a group of five, so it’s not about one person’s wishes, but husband likes familiar food he can identify from the menu, or the ability to communicare with, and understand the waiters description . Most of the group is open to uncertainty and speaks a bit of other languages.
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Okay. Since I don’t cook, I really couldn’t go down the “what is Beef Bourguignon” rabbit hole. But the “tourist trap” one is made for me. A “trap”, by definition, is not a good thing. It is not a place as advertised, but one with an intent to deceive. A wolf trap is not meant as a feeding station for wolves, nor as a pleasant home for them. And “tourists” are a specific population. They are folks who don’t live there. Yes, a wolf trap may catch a hungry fox, but it is designed in size, shape and enticement to trap a wolf. So (see where I’m going here?) a “tourist trap” is a place intended to provide something less than advertised to folk who are not local. Locals may be deceived as well, making the owners even happier, but they are not the target audience. Although there certainly are places that, through incompetence, budget, talent level or circumstance don’t (or cant) provide as advertised, but aren’t meant by their owners &/or chefs to deceive, they are not traps, simply places to avoid. And, as Parn said, there are also places either designed for or, by circumstance, filled with tourists, that are not traps either. They may yield a great meal sans locals (or with some). I’m aware that I’m being incredibly concrete about this but, as Claus said upthread: “…I’m just trying to get to the base of definitions here”. Lots of nuances may follow and differences of opinion based on dining at a particular place on a particular date may yield different results, but lets start by agreeing that an overpriced, under-good, uncaring place marketing to tourists, knowing that they cant (or won’t) deliver as promised & that tourists wouldn’t be repeat business anyway, is a tourist trap. And, I beg you all – please let me know when you find them. Thank you.
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Thanks for this. ‘Touristy’ can refer to places that are frequented by large number of tourists or that are of interest to tourists and as such can be good or bad. (A dog can look at a bishop, as some say.) BUT a tourist trap refers to a business that exists principally to serve tourists (and with the implication that it is to take advantage). As such, they are unlikely to be good and most likely to be overpriced for what they offer. They are not bad because tourists are there or because they might have wanted to go. The badness is on the owners, who are aiming to capitalise on a non-repeat public who might be captive to circumstances, time, and place.
I also don’t fully understand the loathing for tourists or the tourist. I mean, I do as a person who has lived in various cities that attract a high number of tourists and as such have my attempts at daily errands impeded at time. And I do in that I have studied this issue and have followed with fascination the discussions that take place here and took place on Chowhound. But I don’t get it on a personal level. If I don’t live somewhere and I am visiting for reasons beyond family or friends, that’s kind of what I am (even when on business). It doesn’t mean I don’t know how to enjoy a place. It does mean there are some things I am likely to want to do (I almost always hit a modern art museum, go for long walks, eat at a restaurant, look at shops-- although as I think about that, it’s what I try to do almost anywhere, visiting people or staying home). I’m rambling now, but I guess that when I think about it, if I’m not living somewhere, I’m a visitor, and if I want to see as much of a place as possible before I have to leave-- especially since my holidays seem to be mostly family duty, or a day or two tacked onto the end of a conference-- I am a tourist, even if I have done research, speak a language, and have a local giving me local perspective).
But to take it back to food: Not likely to seek out boeuf bourguignon in Paris. The fact that I would be more inclined to seek out falafel or Vietnamese food or maybe something North African is another issue. Although I guess once upon a time when I still ate pork I wouldn’t say no to a choucroute garnie. Ooh, and now that I’m remembering I’d love a roast chicken with potatoes from the drippings (hard to eat if I’m staying in a hotel, I guess). Great. And now I’m thinking about food.
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Hunterwali: “I also don’t fully understand the loathing for tourists or the tourist”.
Well, tourists are like Boeuf Bourguignon. Some are tender and easy to digest, while others are stringy and made from inferior stuff (okay, I’m half joking but trying to stay marginally on topic). Since I travel abroad, but live in a city where tourists, with their many languages & likes/dislikes roam freely thru the streets, I understand both sides of the equation. I try not to be the one who takes up the waiter’s time with basic questions (“what is boeuf”?) while others are trying to order. And I promise not to stand on a busy corner taking a selfie (or a couple-ie?) while everyone else scurries around me, trying to cross the street. Last night, at our local bar/restaurant, eating dinner at the bar, we had a great conversation with tourists about life in another city, while sharing some little known sights to see in Brooklyn. Then we dodged others in the street, as they stopped dead in their tracks & looked up at some church steeple or other & took pictures. My wife serves as my conscience at these times, since I would’ve had the urge to stop, befriend, then send these folks to the most overpriced, mediocre food place I could think of (yeah, half joking again… right).
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My daughter lives in “the outer boroughs”, where her dad and I were raised, and she has no patience with people who stop in her path.
She was raised in a suburb of San Francisco, and not far from Napa, so we all understand the downside of tourism (mostly traffic, and difficulty with reservations, etc), but the upside as well.
We’ve all lived through what happens when the hospitality industry is suffering.
So what if someone stops for a picture? I know I don’t rush around like I used to, so maybe that’s why I don’t get it.
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As mentioned earlier, sometimes a great place can become so popular that it is flooded with locals and tourists alike (word of mouth spreads quickly in the social media era).
The restaurant may do just fine, or it may be overcome. Quality might slip. In New York City there is a restaurant called Balthazar that is extremely popular with locals, tourists, and suburban out-of-towners. They’ve found a way to make it work, keeping quality and standards high. I have been seated across celebrities on occasion at Balthazar. It’s just that kind of place.
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Ah! Balthazar!! Thanks for the memory!
Best Seafood Tower I had outside of France! Presence of Jonah crab claws and Alaskan king Crab legs really take it over the top!! Yummm!..$$$$$ though!
Thanks Steve. Actually I tried to change my nick back to Ptipois, but the site wouldn’t allow me to.
Tourist trap means: a place that attracts tourists and ends up being full of them. That applies to good, average or bad restaurants. That’s my definition, other people may have a different one.
In the case of L’Ami Jean, the place was gradually invaded by tourists after it got plenty of word-of-mouth from various sources. I would be tempted to put Chez Dumonet in the same category: tourist traps whose touristiness hasn’t harmed the quality of the food.
Some of the tourist-trap paranoia comes from a desire not to be considered a tourist when travelling to a foreign country. That’s a tricky subject but I think there’s nothing wrong with being a tourist, insofar as each one of us is another person’s tourist.
Where was that blue feet chicken (actually a gauloise blanche, the breed for Poulet de Bresse) served?
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Touristy does it for L’Ami Jean, but sometimes it is a tourist trap somehow. Especially at dinner.
I suspect as much, although I wouldn’t put a 120€ chicken past the chef. But that sounds more like L’Ami Louis (way overdone and dry. At least Stéphane Jego would cook it right.)
At L’Ami Jean!
The Youtube documentary ended with a special note on that! ( 9.46 mark )
Sorry it was USD 120 not Euro…but still!!
Ah, that figures. L’Ami Louis only serves coucou de Rennes, which isn’t blue-feet chicken.
I think a Mod could change your name, if you ask.
