Sandra Gustafson's Great Eats in Paris

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.

For almost two decades I have been guided by this book and its earlier editions. In quantity and quality I have loved Sandra Gustafson's choices. I miss the "Cheap Eats" of her earlier years, but she still suggests many restaurants that have excellent food at reasonable prices. Her detail work is great: days open, hours open, Metro stop, menu suggestions, etc. To drop a name, I recall mentioning a favorite "Cheap Eat" to Claudette Colbert, with whom I was working at the time. "Oh, darling," she said, "that's one of my favorite restaurants, too." This book is not for diehard foodies. It's for real people looking for truly memorable meals in Paris.

We used this book to seek out recommended inexpensive (relatively speaking) eateries and have not been disappointed with a single one. The books is very well organized, the descriptions are thorough enough to give one an idea of the cuisine, athmosphere and price ranges, and coupled with "What Food I am" menu translation book, Gustafson's book made our dining experience in Paris the best yet. I would not travel to Paris without it again.

I happened across a copy of Great Eats Paris by accident. I was in love the first time I opened it. I was going to Paris a week later and when I arrived, I never left without it! My previous trips to Paris have always been hit or miss when it came to eating out. However after 10 days I never ate at one bad restaurant, except of course for a recommendation from a friend. Of course, those that go for Italian instead of French food in PARIS should be disapointed.

This is the third edition of Sandra Gustafson's book Cheat/Great Eats in Paris I bought. I still find it to be incredibly valuable. Look, if you have 50 Parisian friends and know Paris perfectly and/or what top caliber - high price restaruants this book is NOT for you. If, however, you are like me, you've noticed you can pay lots of money at a brasserie and get mediocre food, get great food but at prohibitively expensive prices, or go to places where attitude seems more important that the food itself. This book has never steered me wrong: You can get great meals at reasonable prices. The truth is, sometimes you WANT a good pizza parlor or sandwich joint if you are on a budget. But you also have the "big splurge" list and many restaurants where you can get really good food at much less than other places. I find her descriptions to be very accurate and honest - I've never gotten to a hamburger joint expecting fine dining.Is this book for absolute conaisseurs of Parisian restaurants? No. Is it for people who want really good food and don't want to pay double if it is not necessary - YES!One word of warning: Do call ahead before going to then restaurants. The only bad experiences we've had were when the place had changed owners/the menu/price after the latest edition had come out