Sandra Gustafson's "Great Eats in Paris" unfortunately denotes a sad fact in its current title: it used to be known as "Cheap Eats in Paris." With the new title, Gustafson acknowledges that there's no such thing as a bargain meal in Paris any more. However, her book does present a wide range of choices throughout the various arrondissements where you can still eat without paying ridiculously excessive money. She describes her favorite places and dishes in such mouth-watering detail that you can read the book for pleasure even if you're not planning a trip to Paris. Her early chapters, in which she describes French eating habits and preferences and gives her tips for finding the best restaurants (i.e. walking a block or two off the most heavily traveled streets), are a great help to American tourists who might not know what to expect.

My sister and I were in Paris for a few days earlier this summer, and we had the opportunity to try only one of Gustafson's recommendations: Le Fin Gourmet, on the Ile Saint-Louis. She was absolutely correct in saying that Le Fin Gourmet's cuisine was of uncommon delicacy for its price range, particularly the amuse-gueule of couscous and the wonderful cabbage stuffed with shredded duck. However, we were happier on the whole with a restaurant a few doors down, Le Caveau en L'Ile; the food wasn't as creative as at Le Fin Gourmet, but the portions were larger, the people friendlier, the premises more comfortable and the quality still good. We also wondered why Gustafson didn't include the famous Cremerie-Restaurant Polidor, where the foie gras, confit de canard and Tarte Tatin were superb. (We had been at Polidor during a previous Paris visit, and the quality if anything was even better the second time around.) Based on our experiences, we would say that Gustafson is fun to read and generally accurate, but not infallible.

Sandra Gustafson's "Great Eats in Paris" unfortunately denotes a sad fact in its current title: it used to be known as "Cheap Eats in Paris." With the new title, Gustafson acknowledges that there's no such thing as a bargain meal in Paris any more. However, her book does present a wide range of choices throughout the various arrondissements where you can still eat without paying ridiculously excessive money. She describes her favorite places and dishes in such mouth-watering detail that you can read the book for pleasure even if you're not planning a trip to Paris. Her early chapters, in which she describes French eating habits and preferences and gives her tips for finding the best restaurants (i.e. walking a block or two off the most heavily traveled streets), are a great help to American tourists who might not know what to expect.

My sister and I were in Paris for a few days earlier this summer, and we had the opportunity to try only one of Gustafson's recommendations: Le Fin Gourmet, on the Ile Saint-Louis. She was absolutely correct in saying that Le Fin Gourmet's cuisine was of uncommon delicacy for its price range, particularly the amuse-gueule of couscous and the wonderful cabbage stuffed with shredded duck. However, we were happier on the whole with a restaurant a few doors down, Le Caveau en L'Ile; the food wasn't as creative as at Le Fin Gourmet, but the portions were larger, the people friendlier, the premises more comfortable and the quality still good. We also wondered why Gustafson didn't include the famous Cremerie-Restaurant Polidor, where the foie gras, confit de canard and Tarte Tatin were superb. (We had been at Polidor during a previous Paris visit, and the quality if anything was even better the second time around.) Based on our experiences, we would say that Gustafson is fun to read and generally accurate, but not infallible.

I just returned from Paris, and this book was invaluable. We were able to find great restaurants in every neighborhood we visited. Only one was a dud (I believe ownership must have changed.) The rest were wonderful, and learning about Stoher's Pastry alone was worth the price of the book! This was my fourth trip to Paris and we've never eaten so well. I highly recommend this book.

Gustafson's book can be helpful to most travelers. Besides listing interesting spots to eat on a budget,she includes in-depth info about French cuisine,dining customs,and manners, as well as decent maps.With all of the new airline weight restrictions,it would be even better if it was a smaller size.