In 1997, a benevolent acquaintance in Paris loaned us his Pudlo Paris, a restaurant guidebook written by his friend Gilles Pudlowski. Pudlowski is a food critic and author whose restaurant reviews have appeared in the French weekly Le Point since 1986.

That first, loaned Pudlo pointed us to authentic, affordable restaurants when the dollar, like now, was weak, something better-known French guides such as the Michelin failed to do. The Pudlo has remained one of our most reliable resources.

In 2000, the Pudlo France guide first appeared, covering hotels and restaurants around the country. Now, in 2008, Pudlo France has appeared in English for the first time — letting non-French speakers into the Pudlo club.

The 2008-2009 Pudlo France is encyclopedic, covering more than 3,000 restaurants and 2,000 hotels spread among all of France's regions. On a business trip in October, we consulted Pudlo France for four French cities in three separate regions: Paris, Aix-en-Provence and the Provençal port of Cassis, and Grenoble in the Rhône-Alpes region. A large team of French and English translators contributed to the English version of Pudlo, which may explain the occasional odd turn of phrase — mostly adding to its charm. Thus, Grenoble "cannot be understood except in terms of the mountain," and boasts a "selection of goodly restaurants." Perfectly comprehensible, but I found myself distracted by irrelevant questions — which mountain of the many that loom above Grenoble, lying as it does at the foot of the French Alps, must one understand? When is a restaurant goodly rather than good?

Our hotel reservations were already made, but I found a listing for my favorite hotel in Aix-en-Provence, Le Grande Hotel Negre-Coste. The hotel choices in Cassis ignored two clean family hotels with great views right on the port at Cassis.

I appreciate that the entries are compiled alphabetically by the name of the associated town, rather than by region or department. With 22 regions and 100 departments, you may not correctly guess in which region, for example, the town of Sancerre is located. Contrary to what wine-lovers may think, while it is on the Loire River, it isn't in the Loire region. Sancerre is in the Centre, which is where you would find it on a French regional map — such as those in Pudlo. Be prepared that town listings name the department but not on which of those 17 maps that town and department are located.

I highly recommend Pudlo's category of good-value restaurants, indicated by a little cauldron symbol. A broken plate symbol will also warn you away from well-known places that have disappointed Pudlo's reviewers — you didn't really think Gilles reviewed all 3,000 restaurants himself, did you? One, two, or three unbroken plates are reserved for especially outstanding — and usually more expensive — restaurants.

Pudlo scored three for three for us in Aix-en-Provence, a town with a plethora of restaurants — not all of which I would term "goodly." We especially loved La Chimère Café for its almost baroque and slightly eccentric decoration — winged nudes floating on clouds in the painted ceiling and a golden chimera keeping watch over the front door — and its deliciously fresh-tasting and updated Provençal cuisine. At the closest little bistro to our hotel in Grenoble recommended by Pudlo, we ate reasonably well for very little money, but on a Saturday night we found ourselves nearly alone after 9 p.m. Was this what they meant about understanding the mountain?

In Cassis, we had a little trouble finding some of the Pudlo suggestions — at least one isn't there anymore — but we've never needed a guidebook to enjoy Cassis wine and fresh sardines.

In Paris, we chose only from the wealth of suggestions in the neighborhood of our hotel — that is the 5th, 6th, and 7th arrondissements. For years I had loitered around La Méditerranée on the Place de l'Odeon, with its blue awning and promise of briny delights, but the prices à la carte fostered indecision. Is there anything worse than an expensive meal that disappoints? The one plate awarded by Pudlo provided the necessary push through the door. We happily devoured two very large, very buttery soles — it was a cold evening and the silken puréed potatoes on the side and all that butter kept us warm while we drank a cream and lemon Cassis white wine. The drawings by Jean Cocteau on the walls and the view of the Greek-revival columned portico of the Odeon Theater conspired to create a perfect evening — and I've eaten more expensive meals in Santa Fe.

We thoroughly enjoyed other Pudlo picks we'd never come across, though not every suggestion was exactly to our taste. Pudlo also notes historic restaurants — like La Méditerranée frequented by Cocteau himself — with an arch symbol. We tried a famous one that's been serving up since 1845 — Polidor. "Prized by students" says Pudlo, no doubt because you can eat for under 30 euros — another helpful symbol, a euro. We found a nostalgic if canteen-like ambience but weren't sure what Pudlo meant by saying it "still has its old-fashioned flavor." Overall, however, we ate extremely well in a neighborhood where the sheer choice of restaurants can be overwhelming.

Weighing in at approximately 21/2 pounds and comprising 1,200 pages plus color maps, this is not what I would term a pocket travel guide. For a quick trip to France, carrying Pudlo France amounts to adding a lead weight to your luggage. However, for an extended tour, the book will enormously enhance your gastronomic experience of a country famous for the gastronomic experience.

If lugging this tome is daunting there is another way to take Pudlo with you. The English version of Pudlo Paris arrived in bookstores last spring and according to Linda Hollick at The Little Bookroom three regional Pudlo guides arrived in bookstores nationwide on Dec. 2: Pudlo Alsace, Pudlo Normandy and Brittany, and Pudlo Provence, Côte d'Azur, and Monaco. In addition to the hotels and restaurants found in Pudlo France, the regional guides will also include wine and gourmet food shops (cheese, pastries and baked goods, candies and charcuterie) for assembling the perfect picnic. Comprising around 200 pages each, none of them will overburden your bag — except the Paris version that is just over twice that length and also includes shops.

Any guidebook is only a reference for a voyage, never a prescription. Our recent experience with Pudlo France, however, reaffirmed our faith in the Pudlo team's taste. Our Parisian acquaintance steered us right all those years ago — and chances are his friend Gilles Pudlowski will steer you right too.