A French Approach To Meals: Cafes, Wine, Brasserie, And Patisserie

The uniqueness of Parisian culture has spawned many a film, and created many an incredible travel experience for business visitors and tourists alike. Explaining every intricacy of it would take far more time than a business traveler has, but there are some elements which are too helpful to pass up.

Wine Culture

In Paris, wine is served as a complement to virtually every meal. Every restaurant will have a selection to choose from, in addition to the nationally celebrated annual Beaujolais Nouveau release the third Thursday of November. France is home to some of the best wines in the world, so it is no surprise that they should be so popular in French culture.

Business travelers should expect to see wine offered with meals, and should sample it if at all possible. Avid nondrinkers can of course decline, but there is no expectation that a visitor will do anything but sample a wine, making drinking an easy prospect.

The Brasserie

These small restaurants make up much of the Parisian dining culture. They are great for lunch, as they serve single entrees with limited side options, but have some of the best traditional French cuisine. They will often bake their own bread, or at least have it delivered fresh daily from a local bakery. A brasserie is an excellent choice for a delicious meal in a relaxed setting.

The Patisserie

The small patisserie is a bakery specializing in sweets. The term patisserie is actually controlled by the French government, which only allows businesses who have a supervising pastry chef of sufficient quality to market themselves as a patisserie. The result is a great bakery and sweet shop which is always good for a quick meal.

These establishments are particularly valuable to those who travel on business, who can stop in for a quick bite of bread on the way to a meeting.

The Café

This final element of Parisian food culture has spawned coffee shops throughout the world. A café is where the Parisians come to spend the afternoon chatting, discussing, or simply watching the world go by. At a café, the culture is more about enjoying the ambiance than it is about enjoying the fare.

Cafes will always offer coffee and tea, and most will offer food as well. If you find yourself with a free afternoon or with some reading to do before a meeting, a café may well be the place of choice.