petit déjeuner français

The classic petit déjeuner français consists of café, croissant et jus d'orange.  Simple but iconic.  What could be better than sitting on a terrace watching Paris come to life than this?  Avoid the tourist places that charge a fortune unless it is a particularly good people watching location.  

Coffee has many names, styles and prices in Paris:

“espresso” can be a “café normale’, “serré” squeezed for a smaller but stronger amount, “elongé” elongated for a larger amount or “noisette” with a dash of milk.  “decaf” (silent “f”) is decaffeinated espresso.  

“café American” is the typical large North American cup of coffee

“café crème” is usually a mid-sized cup of coffee with steamed milk like a cappuccino and can be ordered as simply “un crème” or a “un grand crème” if you want a larger size.   Sometimes ordering a crème will result in a coffee with a plastic container of creamer and sometimes the English style of a separate jug of heated milk.  

“cappuccino” is not like the Italian version but one with a hint of chocolate and whipped cream.

“café au lait” is a large bowl of coffee with steamed milk.  Some places will bring you a “crème” and others a large bowl of café au lait at a price of up to €19.   My conclusion is that this is what Parisians drink at home for breakfast on the weekend when time permits and not something to order out.    

Sitting or standing at the bar is less expensive than sitting at a table.  Sitting on the terrace often incurs an extra premium but often worth it for people watching.  Unlike in Canada or the US there is not a time limit on tables and often it is more of a challenge to be able to get “l’addition” to pay and leave.