"Gastronomic Experiences"

Paris, France.  A land of gourmets and cafés.  With a brasserie on every corner and at least one bakery on every block. Ideal really, except that it is burning a hole in my wallet.  I have 10 euros for lunch every day.  This seemed like a lot until I learned that a thin crêpe with a little cheese and an egg if you're lucky can cost up to 7 of those 10 euros.  Not to mention (but actually to mention) that a coffee, really what an American would call an espresso, usually rings up to about 3.50 euros.  That's 50 cents over my limit already.  Then at about 5pm I am hungry and since I don't usually eat dinner until about 8:30, I need a snack...I think I've made my point.  Food is expensive in Paris.  Well, at least in some areas.  This is an exposé on my search for cheap food in Paris...sometimes delicious, sometimes most politely called a "gastronomic experience."


Tunisian Fast Food, (M) Barbes-Rochechart
As I filed off the metro, I quickly realized I was not in the bougie upscale neighborhood by my apartment any more.  7 stops over on the metro and cheap luggage stores overflowed onto the streets and mingled with large crowds of people trying to sell me things I didn't understand the french word for.  I needed to eat before my independent study, so I hopped out of the rain and into a warm place that looked to have sandwiches, meat, pizza, warm food.  When I ordered the "Poulet Complet" sandwich the man behind the counter laughed.  He pointed to a pan full of giant chicken legs, bone in, and told me that that was what I had ordered.  I paused.  Why not?  "Yeah.  That's what I want."  He laughed again at me.  "No really, I'll try it."  I sat down, and this is what he gave me:

"Poulet Complet"

For 5.50 euros, I literally got an entire chicken leg and breast, a tomato and lettuce sandwich to shove it into, a heap of fries and a coke.  Looks greasy, and it was, but mostly it was delicious.  I wondered why I had been spending practically twice that much on meager crêpes...

Salon Mer & Vigne, (M) Chateau de Vincennes
Today, I went to a food salon.  A gourmet market of sorts, a few friends and I were able to wander from stall to stall and, free of charge, taste cheese, chocolate, wine, apple chips, cookies, more wine, jam, foie gras, you name it.  It was all so tasty and...free!

 Desserts from Brittany

Pizza Cones, Cognac, France
In a trip outside of Paris, to Cognac, France, some friends and I decided that this was too much to pass up:

"Pizza to hold in your hand!"

"Pizza in a cone? For 4 euros? Well...in any case it will be a gastronomical experience, am I right?"  Yes, I was right.  There were four flavors: Italian, Mediterranean, Oriental and Greek.  I was unclear about the difference between Mediterranean and Greek and curious about what Oriental pizza was.  The woman scooped the special sauces into a cone  shaped crust concoction.  There was only enough for one of each pizza...so I went with Oriental.  She placed the cone in a special pizza cone heating machine that twizzled the cones in an out of an oven and handed us our pizza cones piping hot.  Between the eggplants, raisins and somewhat crunchy/hard cone, all I will say about the pizza cone is that is was indeed a gastronomical experience...

"Burger," (M) Les Gobelins
Two thin patties, 2 slices of cheese, some condiments that resemble burger toppings, all grilled in a panini maker...a burger by any other name would taste the same?  Well, kind of...but hey!  Only 6 euros!

The double cheese burger