Baguettes, croissants, and strawberry, apple, and lemon tarts are a must. Of course, cheese,
cheese, cheese (especially goat cheese), and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate...
The yogurt is great over there - can find it in any supermarche (supermarket) or small food store.
Salad Composee can be ordered in any cafe or bistro, and is delicious and not too expensive. My favorite salad! I used to have it as a main dish - it had beets, tomatoes, corn, I think chickpeas, sliced onion, lettuce, etc., served with baguette slices. All salads have great vinaigrettes on them - never had a bad vinaigrette over there, or a bad salad, for that matter.
Crepes (strawberry, etc)., are sold freshly made from outdoor carts, as are croissants - plain, chocolate, and almond - nice and warm. And of course, all bakeries carry the croissants also. There's a bakery on practically every corner, so one cannot go hungry!
There's a lot of good Moroccan food over there - not too expensive - love the traditional couscous. Some good Indian restaurants also.
Great sandwiches - I used to buy them from a vendor - Tuna canned in olive oil on a baguette with tomatoes, black olives, sliced hard boiled egg, drizzled with a vinaigrette. Very filling and inexpensive.
Steak Frites, ie, steak with fries. Steak is usually entrecote, ie, sirloin, thinly sliced. The fries are the best - ultra crispy, usually with the skins on.
I had the best fish over there at a restaurant run by a family from Martinique. Wish I could remember the name.
The fresh strawberries are fantastic. Sold in small produce markets/stands, etc.
The house wines are excellent at any bistro, cafe, restaurant, etc. Unlike here in the U.S., the house wines over there are top notch and inexpensive. You can get great Bordeaux for a very low price, unlike over here. The house beers are also excellent. (I'm not a beer drinker, but I tried it once at a cafe over there, and it was great)!
One of the many things I loved about Paris was that you could go to a bakery, take out a pastry, bring it to a cafe, sit at a table, order coffee (I usually ordered cafe creme), and eat your pastry with it, in spite of the fact that most of the cafes served their own food!
Oh - Now I'm so homesick for Paris.
