We went to Chartier in mid-afternoon once (no wait) with two other couples, one of whom had a top 10 guide. We were all hungry, all ordered the menu, which came with a bottle of wine each. The food wasplentiful and good , better with each … sip, and all that wine made for a jolly meal and a nice nap.
1 Like
Comme tu exagères! (There’s probably a better way to say it in French). But that is exactly my experience when I enter a place where they all know M.
1 Like
We have experienced the same “Carole reference experience” – most recently (Oct 2021) at Pianovins, when talking with delightful Victoire (who independently remembered us from our first visit, back in Sept 2019, and even pointed out the table at which we’d previously sat0. We’ve found that if you engage in a genuine and interested way, a relationship can occur. Not always – but often enough; and those are the places to which we return, and to which we earn to return.
As long as you are not immediately too familiar, loud and gushy, you will be fine. And just to add to Onz’s link to the obligatory “bonjour”, after 5pm or so, it becomes “bonsoir”. And try to deliver it with a little smile (not grin) and a twinkle in the eyes while looking directly into the eyes of the other. I guess you can find YouTube videos on how to pronounce “bonjour”, “bonsoir” and “merci”… these are the 3 words that should be as close to French pronunciation as possible. From the mouths of many foreigners, they are incomprehensible.
And yeah, sneakers are ubiquitous footwear these days. No prob whatsoever.
More advice for first-timers:
Wine, French waiters have usually been through an 18- or 24-month intense training at a professional education institute (usually paid for by the govt) and know far more about wine than most of their customers. Have a look at the wine list to get an idea of prices, give the waiter a price ceiling and ask him to choose a wine that will go best with your meal.
Tipping. Very different than in the US. A service charge is automatically included in the bill and no tip is required although sometimes expected of Americans. In a café for a coffee or snack, I usually leave the small change or just a euro. In a restaurant, usually nothing or, if the service has been excellent, a few euros in cash… never more than 5€. BTW, no need to tip taxi drivers, hotel staff, etc either.
Meal times. The peak dinner time at restaurants is 8 or 8:30. If you insist on American eating patterns, it’s difficult to find restaurants open before 7 or 7:30pm except for the continuous hours brasseries and for-the-tourists restos. But you will be eating in empty restaurants or just other tourists and not a hint of the essential parisian vibe and buzz that you get later.
Yeah, I think you have to be a bit tipsy to enjoy Bouillon Chartrier. Surprised to hear that it’s listed in a top 10 guide.
1 Like
Ahhh, “Le Cornichon.” I still recall “tete de veau snackee minute” (quickly fried) with cervelle frite (creamy, wow, just enuf) et girolles aigre douce (tiniest pickled little fellows) from our first dinner there in 2012 – and happily we enjoyed our 4th (or 5th?) dinner there a few months ago, in Oct 2021.
It’s off the track, and not “cutesy old fashioned,” but it does indeed do traditional in a rather uplifted way. We love place – and as Parn/Daniel says, it’s neighborly with a lively buzz. Nice wine list, too. (Reservations are still, and pleasantly / stubbornly, by phone only – at least as of last Oct.)
It was a while ago.
I’d say "ah non ! c’est vrai ? " with descending intonation for the “non” and very rising intonation for “vrai”.
I love being instructive. 
Génial! Merci. Or, in English, “you rock, thanks!”
I much prefer sweetbreads to liver. 
The flavour is milder, and the texture is firmer. I think the aversion many people have to sweetbreads is the idea of eating the thymus, rather than an aversion to the flavour or texture, whereas many people have an aversion to the flavour and texture of liver.
2 Likes
IMHO, there is no way to compare the two. They are completely different in appearance, texture and flavor. Liver, especially the longer you cook it, can acquire an assertive flavor. Sweetbreads have a very mild, gentle flavor, a soft texture usually punched up by a crisply fried exterior. They are quite easy to eat. I remember taking our 4 year old son to a no-choice Basque restaurant where he confronted sweetbreads as a starter. Demanding to know what it was, as youngsters are apt to do, he finally took a bite and said, “Why didn’t you tell me it was chicken.! You know I like chicken.”
1 Like
I suppose one can compare anything on a food discussion board.
I grew up with chicken livers, as well as pâté, pork liver pâté, liverwurst and foie gras.
I don’t mince liverwurst or pâté. I like chopped liver, sometimes… I like that bit of pâté on a banh mi. I enjoyed some foie gras torchons at a favourite restaurant in Montreal (Maison Publique) in November 2019, my last good French meal, then I became sick later the same night, and I suspect the foie had been too rich for my system.
I would never choose to order liver or foie grad, whereas sweetbreads are something I’d choose to order, up there with duck, lobster and crab for me.
I would choose fried chicken liver over kidneys or Andouillette . That’s not saying much. 
1 Like
We also went to Au Pied de Cochon…and I had the roasted pig trotter…being a fan of the Filipino “Crispy Pata”… I ordered it. I got some serious questions from the waiter, who called over someone who spoke english well, who asked me “do you know what you are ordering?” Once I got it…I enjoyed every gelatinous bite of it. It was a memorable dining experience.
4 Likes
Have a res at Grand Brasserie this evening. I’m hoping to do a whole trip report thing when I get home.
1 Like
Enjoy! I’m jealous!
1 Like
Was good! But I cannot get used to all the smoking in restaurants…. ruined things in a big way.
1 Like
Smoking in restaurants is banned. Smoking outside on the terrace is not. If you get a table outside, you just have to find that switch in the brain to turn off the aversion to cigarette smoke. Or sit inside away from the door if your brain has no switch.
1 Like
Apparently, if you vape in a restaurant, it’s permissible if the restaurant allows it. The only time I’ve seen anyone vape in a restaurant was, in fact, Grande Brasserie (fortunately, I was on the other side of the room).
Also on warm days (which we’re having now), many restaurants have front windows that they open so that even indoors, you can catch the fumes from the terrasse. I thought I had read at one point that France was going to ban terrasse smoking and smoking in public places such as parks, but that seems not to have happened.
Doesn’t bother me in Europe. Goes with the territory.
I get it, and I’m merely a guest. I just don’t enjoy it and in the heat/humidity it’s a tossup between the smoke and the stifling dining rooms. Just a learning experience.
Still not ready to write up my trip but must compliment Au Fil de Saisons, definitely our best meal in Paris—by a lot! Not fancy but excellent.
1 Like
