What to eat in Paris
Paris beyond the croissant cliché: a bakery defined by law, steak frites in a bistro, oysters in season, cheese after the main and how café pricing works.

[ ] Buy a baguette de tradition
    The baguette defined by a 1993 law: flour, water, salt and yeast only, no additives and no freezing. It is irregular, with a torn crust and large holes in the crumb, and it lives only a few hours.
[ ] Eat a croissant au beurre
    A laminated pastry made with butter, and straight rather than curved — the curved ones were traditionally made with margarine. The layers should shatter and leave crumbs on the table.
[ ] Order steak frites
    Steak with fries and either herb butter or a pepper sauce — the default Paris bistro plate. State the doneness when ordering: saignant is rare, à point is medium, though French medium is noticeably less cooked than most expect.
[ ] Try soupe à l'oignon gratinée
    Onions cooked down to dark caramel in beef stock under a lid of melted Gruyère on toast. Market food: the porters of Les Halles ate it at dawn, and it is still served late.
[ ] Eat oysters in season
    Oysters from the ice on a brasserie counter, served by the dozen with lemon, rye bread and butter. They are graded by shape and number: the smaller the number, the larger the oyster.
[ ] Grab a jambon-beurre
    Half a baguette, butter and boiled ham, and nothing else. France's best-selling sandwich and the best fast lunch in the city, provided the baguette is fresh.
[ ] Try a croque-monsieur
    A hot ham and cheese sandwich under béchamel, baked until browned. With a fried egg on top it becomes a croque-madame, named for the hat the egg makes.
[ ] Order a cheese plate
    Three to five cheeses of different ages and milks, served after the main and before dessert. Eaten with bread but never butter, and cut so that everyone gets both rind and centre.
[ ] Try confit de canard
    A duck leg preserved for months in its own fat and then crisped in a pan, with potatoes fried in the same fat. A south-western dish that became a bistro staple.
[ ] Order bœuf bourguignon
    Beef braised for hours in red wine with shallots, bacon and mushrooms until it can be eaten with a spoon. A winter dish that a serious bistro will not serve in summer.
[ ] Try crème caramel
    A baked custard turned out onto a plate so the liquid caramel runs down the sides. A homely dessert that bistros serve as a slice cut from one large mould.
[ ] Eat a Paris-Brest
    A ring of choux pastry filled with hazelnut and almond praline cream, invented for a bicycle race and shaped like a wheel. Dense and nutty rather than airy.
[ ] Have a coffee at the bar
    A small cup of black coffee drunk standing at the bar in a couple of minutes. At the bar it costs about half the terrace price, and both prices must be posted.
[ ] Order a citron pressé
    Freshly squeezed lemon juice served alongside water and sugar so you mix it to your own taste. The summer terrace order instead of a soft drink.
[ ] Drink wine by the glass
    In a bistro wine comes by the glass or in a quarter-litre carafe rather than a bottle. The list is short and regional, and asking the waiter for advice is normal practice rather than an admission of ignorance.
[ ] Try a Kir
    Aligoté white wine with a spoon of blackcurrant liqueur, the classic French aperitif before dinner. Made with sparkling wine it becomes a Kir Royal.

Checklist from Unload: https://unloads.me/c/food-paris