Top 10 Foods You Have to Try in Paris
If you want to visit the City of Light, half of the fun is the food. Although you will undoubtedly spend some time at the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Versailles, the cuisine you get to try will be where a good portion of your memories are made. Of course, another great thing is to talk and learn from the locals. Everybody has a story and worldview from which you can learn from.
10 Best Food Products in Paris
As a foreigner, it can be overwhelming to learn where to buy food. Unless you plan to spend over a month here, it will be difficult to fully experience the diverse cuisine and culture that this capital and the surrounding country of France provides. For this reason, this list was created to help you narrow down the countless choices available.
Parisian Wine
Although wine doesn’t quite qualify as food, it is a great addition to any meal. Here is a great page that provides plenty of information on how a wine tasting event works before attending and getting lost in the language. Unless, of course, you speak French.
10 Best Foods in Paris
Putting all this aside, let’s go ahead and break down the top 10 cuisine options. Each of the following was handpicked carefully and selected from the diverse range of cuisine options in this wonderful country. This list should be followed by anybody who is in Mollière's country for a short time and wants to get the most out of their time here.
10. Pastries
Pastries are one of the best delicacies available here. They can be eaten for breakfast, goûter, and dessert. They can come with a wide variety of ingredients, satisfying anybody's appetite. One of our favorites is the pain au chocolat (chocolate bread). Although this is an excellent pastry, many people might prefer one with less sugar like the classic croissant recipe with plenty of butter.
For breakfast, make sure to try a pain aux raisins. However, keep in mind that there are countless other pastries that you need to try. If you only have a day or so to explore them, the viennoiseries include other wonderful options in addition to the others above: brioche, chausson aux pommes, chouquettes (usually eaten by 10), palmier, pain au lait... These wonderful breakfast snacks are made with sugar, cream, milk, eggs, and butter all mixed together and baked perfectly.
9. Crêpes
Crêpes are one of the products that you simply cannot miss when you come here. Coming to Paris and not eating a crêpe is like visiting New York City and missing the Statue of Liberty. Okay, maybe this is a bad comparison, but the idea is probably still clear. If you come here, you need to eat a crêpe. Since they are so cheap and widely available, they will be difficult to miss.
Although this is a pastry product, it is unique and should be tried in particular. There are many different crêpes for you to sample. For starters, any fan of Nutella needs to eat a Nutella Crêpe. These can be found in many different locations and are a wonderful dessert recipe. Another crêpe you might like to try is the au beurre-sucre (with butter and sugar).
8. Chariot de Fromage
Technically cheese is supposed to be eaten after the main course here. In fact, many people will choose to have it instead of dessert. As we all know, dessert is the part of the meal where we really fill our stomachs up and leave the dinner table stuffed and ready to take a nap. If you are a dessert connoisseur, you need to try a chariot de fromage.
The chariot de fromage is a trolley full of different cheeses that are presented to you in most restaurants after your meal. If you like the idea of eating several varieties, this is a must-have. This is a great way to sample the many different kinds that are available here.
7. Macarons
Macarons are one of the premier sweet treats that you will find in France. Made with egg whites, sugar, almonds, and cream in the middle, this is France's equivalent of the Oreo. However, since macarons are typically handmade and served fresh, these two types of snacks simply cannot be adequately compared. You can find macarons in many pastry shops.
There are many different flavors that these treats can come in: blueberry, caramel, chocolate, coconut, lemon, orange, pistachio, vanilla, you name it. The plethora of different possible ingredients and varieties truly make them a delicacy, but the original base is made with crushed almonds. You simply cannot come here without trying these out. They can be purchased in packages which allow you to sample the ones that you wish to try. One good idea is to purchase them in bulk and store them in a refrigerator.
6. Brandade de Morue
This dish is a specialty here that combines cod and olive oil, mixed with either bread or potatoes served in a dish to mix everything together. This recipe is so good that it has caught the attention of the world, with many different variations of it appearing throughout Spain, Italy, and many other countries. However, this is definitely the best place to try this dish if you want the original dish prepared in a classic manner.
Brandade de Morue is a common dish that you will find is many different restaurants here. It can typically be served with pepper, garlic, and your choice of extra seasoning. It is one of the dishes that everybody needs to try if they wish to immerse into the wonderful cuisine here.
5. Couscous
This North African dish became adopted and perfected to the point where it is now a traditional dish here. Perhaps it is because of the past history in places like Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, resulting in a mix of both cultures in France.
Although this dish is most predominant in these countries, local chefs can make a mean dish of couscous. If you want to have our rendition of a classic African dish, this is arguably one of the best places to do so.
4. French Onion Soup
Everybody has probably heard of this one since it can be found in most countries and continents. The history of this classic dish dates all the way back to the Roman Empire and is still just as alive and popular today as it has ever been. This soup is truly a classic which everybody needs to eat in its place of origin.
This is a delicious starter entrée which can also be served in a large bowl if you prefer to eat plenty. It is typically served with beef broth, onions, and cheese melted into the broth for added flavor. For some extra crunch, people might also choose to add croutons. Others might instead place a larger piece of bread into the broth.
3. Steak Frites
Sometimes a simple dish with steak and fries sounds much more appetizing than an elaborate recipe with plenty of different ingredients and seasonings. Steak frites is one of the most popular dishes served here, coming with beef shredded meat cooked to your liking, with French fries on the side.
Although you might choose to skip this one since you can find a similar dish in your home country, the rendition cooked by local chefs with succulent local varieties of meat is definitely worth trying if you have the extra time.
2. Escargots
This is a unique starter that needs to be tried by everyone who comes here. The appetizer is so old that it has at least been eaten since ancient Roman times. However, since it can be very difficult to harvest enough land snails to fill your stomach, this dish was classically reserved for royalty. Thankfully, the common people now have free access to escargots as long as they are willing to pay the money.
The sauce that comes with this starter appetizer is cooked with butter and served with a savory garlic cream which is low in fat and calories. As a result, this is a reasonably healthy dish which is also very tasty and great as a starter dish. If you want to live like ancient royalty, even if it’s for a few minutes, this is the appetizer to try.
1. Baguette
We simply couldn’t list the top 10 delicacies without mentioning baguettes. Although this bread product might seem simple, the local bakeries and chefs make this product with such expertise and creativity that tourists are often impressed by the quality and number of varieties in cereals and seeds that are used.
Baguettes can be eaten by themselves or can be made into a sandwich. In fact, they can be served with just about any sort of dish successfully. Due to the long history of baguettes connecting to France, and the plethora of different ways to eat them, this is arguably the top food that everybody needs to try at least once when they visit.
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