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every region in France produces standard charcuterie favourites as well as its own specialities, Alsace, Lyon and the Auvergne produce the best sausages, and Périgord and the north of France, some of the most popular pâtés. Some very popular types of charcuterie are andouillette (soft raw sausage made from the pig’s small intestines that is grilled and eaten with onions and potatoes), boudin noir (blood sausage or pudding made with pig’s blood, onions and spices, and usually eaten hot with stewed apples and potatoes), jambon (ham, either smoked or salt-cured), saucisse (usually a small fresh sausage that is boiled or grilled before eating), saucisson (usually a large salami eaten cold) and saucisson sec (air-dried salami).

Regional Specialities

As the culinary centre of the most aggressively gastronomic country in the world, Paris has more ‘generic French’, regional and ethnic restaurants, gourmet food shops and markets than any other place in France. Generally speaking, la cuisine parisienne (Parisian cuisine) is a poor relation of that extended family known as la cuisine des provinces (provincial cuisine), and today very few dishes are associated with the capital as such.

The cuisines of Paris and the Île de France surrounding the capital are basically indistinguishable from the cooking of France in general. Dishes associated with these regions are few – vol-au-vent, a light pastry shell filled with chicken or fish in a creamy sauce; potage Saint-Germain, a thick green pea soup; gâteau Paris-Brest, a ring-shaped cake filled with praline (butter cream) and topped with flaked almonds and icing sugar; and the humble onion soup and pig’s trotters described so intimately in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Deep-fried potatoes (frites) and other dishes such as steak-frites have always been a Parisian speciality. Today very few dishes are associated with the capital as such, though certain side dishes bear the names of some of its suburbs. boxed text.

The surfeit of other cuisines available in Paris – from Lyonnais and Corsican to Vietnamese and Moroccan – is another story, and will have you spoilt for choice and begging for more.

Diverse though it may be, French cuisine is typified by certain regions, most notably by Normandy, Burgundy, Périgord, Lyon and, to a lesser extent, Alsace, Provence and the Loire region and, still further down the ‘influential regions’ list, the Auvergne, Languedoc, the Basque Country and Corsica. The first four types of regional cuisine can be found in restaurants throughout Paris, while Alsatian choucroute (sauerkraut with sausage and other prepared meats) is the dish of choice at the capital’s many brasseries. La cuisine provençale (Provence cooking) can be somewhat elusive in Paris, though many seafood restaurants claim to do an authentic bouillabaisse (fish soup). Cuisine of the Loire region has made more contributions to what can generically be called French food than any other. Dishes from the last five regions appear on menus from time to time while certain food products can be bought from speciality shops.

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WHERE TO EAT

There are a vast number of eateries in Paris where you can get breakfast or brunch, a full lunch or dinner, and a snack between meals. Most have defined roles, though some definitions are less strict nowadays and some have even become blurred.

Auberge

In the provinces, an auberge (inn), which may also appear as an auberge de campagne or auberge du terroir (country inn), is just that: a restaurant serving traditional country fare attached to a rural inn or small hotel. If you see the word attached to an eatery in Paris, they’re just being cute.

Bar

A bar or bar américain (cocktail bar) is an establishment dedicated to drinking and usually serves only sandwiches or snacks. A bar à vins is a wine bar, which may or may not serve full meals at lunch and dinner. A bar à huîtres is an oyster bar.

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SAVOURING THE SUBURBS

The maraîchers (market gardeners) of the Île de France encircling Paris traditionally supplied