Règles

n. – rules
One of the things that makes Paris unique, like many older cities, is its resistance to change. In the US, we seem to be constantly adapting to the latest fad or craze whether it’s low carb dieting or reality TV. Here when it comes to eating, there are traditions that are carefully respected.

For example, there is no bread basket before the food. Bread is an accompaniment, not a snack. And this is very logical. Bread is also served alone, not with olive oil, not with butter. You can ask, but be cautious where you are first. In a classic bistro, you’re likely to get a look and on top be charged extra. Yes, butter comes at a price.

Cheese is never served as an hors d’oeuvre (unless it’s the little laughing cow or “vache qui rit” cubes). These are fun because the wrappers come with little trivia questions. Of course if you eat a lot of them, you start to see the same questions come up, but it’s fun nevertheless. Traditionally the aperitif is prepared in the salon or living room. In many French people’s homes, they will bring out all the liquor bottles available and let you make your choice from there. Don’t expect a lot of ice since it is also a rare commodity sort of like the butter.

Cocktails must be finished before passing to the table. Sometimes, but not always there will be glasses for water as well as wine. If there is only one glass, it can get tricky if you’re thirsty and have to chug down the wine in order to refill with water. Many times, you are expected to keep your cutlery between courses. There are lovely little holders sort of like what you see in Japanese restaurants for your chopsticks. This way you don’t soil the table cloth. Bread can be used as a sopper for dressing or anything that’s left on your plate, but don’t expect a bread plate.

Dessert comes after cheese and before coffee. Today I decided after ordering my coffee that I wanted something sweet and the waiter offered to take my coffee back so I could have it afterward. The dessert was lovely actually – an ice cream called Taro in a delicious Thai restaurant we like. When I asked what it was, he explained that it was a “patate douce,” which I didn’t really understood, but ordered it anyway. When we asked again, we realized it was sweet potato, which I would have translated as “pomme de terre sucrée.” You say potayto, I say potahto.

Coffee here is always in the form of an espresso. You can ask for cappuccino’s or café au laits, but best not to after a meal. In Italy, it’s actually considered offensive. Coffees with milk are reserved for breakfast only. There is one exception with the “noisette” or “macchiato” in Italian, which is an espresso with a little dollop of steamed milk. Coffees here almost always come with chocolate – mostly dark and never with a slice of lemon peel which I’ve never understood.

Back to bread, the cliché of the Frenchman with his baguette under his arm is alive and well – the beret a little less so. Baguette is also the word for chopsticks. Bread must be bought fresh every day. It is not to be kept overnight unless you have a special holder for it. My in-laws keep it in a linen sack of sorts that keeps it pretty fresh, but otherwise it will harden and dry out quickly. Sometimes I get away with freezing it, but the sooner after eating the better. When possible we try to get a demi-baquette because a whole one is a lot to go through even between two people.

There are several types of baguettes, most commonly “normal,” your basic white loaf or “tradition,” which is my favourite and a little heartier and wheatier in colour. You can get them with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, whole grain, etc. There’s nothing like timing the visit to the “boulanger” or baker, right after a fresh batch has been baked and being handed a warm baguette of your choice. My husband will start nibbling on it on the walk home. It’s a temptation hard to resist.

So it’s all of these traditions, habits, familiarities, whatever you want to call them, that make Paris unique. They are things we have accustomed to quickly and even been spoiled by. At first, you’re thrown when faced with new ways of doing things, but now it’s comforting to know what’s expected as we follow along happily with the routine and the rhythm that’s been working here since long before we arrived.