Almost 15 years ago my work took me to live in Paris for several months — a pattern that has been repeated nearly annually. Since then, I've experienced daily life in 6 of its 20 administrative districts, or arrondissements. In the process, I've had the chance to explore a wide-range of Paris neighborhoods for cheese shops, bakeries, roving markets, butchers, cafés and restaurants.

When asked to review two English-language food guides to Paris while on a brief trip there this summer, I was skeptical. I'd given up guidebooks as unreliable or, worse, reliably guaranteed to direct you to the same tired tourist traps: the beautiful Belle Epoque cafés that are now mostly corporate-owned and serving corporate commissary-style versions of French classics— or trendy spots serving the same international cuisine you can find in New York or Tokyo.

How refreshing, then, to ride around Paris on a bicycle — the newest public transportation mode — with copies of Hungry for Paris by Gourmet magazine's European correspondent Alexander Lobrano, and Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris by ChocolateandZucchini.com blogger Clotilde Dusoulier. They are as different as two guidebooks could be, but both proved to be delightful companions in a city that can only be described as a food-lover's paradise.

Getting hungry?

Hungry for Paris is really two books: the ultimate guide to the city's 102 best restaurants (as its subtitle grandiosely states) and an eloquent food memoir.

Alexander Lobrano is an American who has lived in Paris since 1986, much of that time spent doing what most of us can only dream of — eating on an expense account.

He evocatively describes everything from his first French restaurant meal (in New York at the age of 11) to losing his oyster virginity (sex had everything to do with it) in Normandy as a foreign correspondent. He does so with a sharp wit and an even sharper sense of smell, literally following his nose through an education in eating.

The memoir alone, interweaved with the guidebook, is worth the price of purchase.

Hungry for Paris is also a guide to the manners and traditions of French dining. When I'm in residence in Paris, I'd like to hand the chapters comprising his "Happy Eater's Almanac" to all my American visitors. It succinctly identifies the points of cultural misunderstandings that sometimes lead to unhappy dining experiences for the uninitiated, as well as providing some general definitions and useful tips.

Lobrano notes, for example, that Parisians in a restaurant generally speak more softly than we do. And while Americans expect their meal their way, the French admire the culinary profession and trust the chef to know what he or she is doing — so you won't hear them asking for special preparations or omissions. That doesn't mean a restaurant won't try to accommodate a special diet, such as vegetarian, if possible. But, as Lobrano says, the French "believe that gastronomic pleasure is more important to one's physical well-being than obsessive calorie counting."

A man who confesses to eating more than six meals out a week, Lobrano has compiled an impressive number of restaurant recommendations that read almost like short stories. The book also includes maps for finding them, as well as other practical information a visitor needs and expects.

My past experiences at several of his recommended tables jibed, but not all. For example, last fall I dined with friends at Le Buisson Ardent in the 5th arrondissement, where I, like Lobrano, had fond memories. But this time, about half the courses served to our table for six proved disappointing, and one dish was positively inedible.

I mention this is only to remind readers that books take time, while restaurants change constantly. Otherwise, I was impressed by Lobrano's coverage of a city with thousands of small restaurants in wide-flung neighborhoods.

Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris is less a literary achievement than a breathless marathon tour of the city with a young native guide who makes you run (or pedal) to keep up — and who needs color-coding and sidebars to cram in everything that she wants to tell you. She even throws in recipes.

Clotilde bestows useful tips, cultural insights and the sort of lively commentary and acerbic asides your best friend might if she were young, Parisian and food-obsessed. Not limiting herself to restaurants, she embraces all things food-related, including bookstores, food fairs, markets, bakeries, specialty shops, cheese shops, bakeries, fish shops — even seed emporiums.

All of this information is contained in a volume that comfortably fits in a handbag.

Will pedal for food

The proof of a guidebook is in the usefulness of the guidance, so I took both out for a spin.

The result? I used both, but in different ways.

I found the big, dreamy Lobrano book got left in the room rather than the bicycle basket during the day, to be pulled out in the evening when I wanted a good dinner near where I was staying.

One three occasions, Lobrano steered my companions and me absolutely right around the Louvre and Les Halles — one of the potentially toughest restaurant neighborhoods in Paris. He reminded us of the good feed at Aux Tonneaux des Halles in the 1st arrondissement and introduced us to two others that will go in my little black book of Paris addresses.

Lobrano may sometimes forget what it's like to eat out at your own expense — most especially when he defines "moderately-priced" restaurants in euro terms that translate to "expensive" in current dollars. But we ate well at reasonable price/quality ratios.

Clotilde provides more options, with tips on picnics, take-out, markets, shops and lunch deals.

We tried one recommended lunch deal at Le Pré Verre in the 5th arrondissement because it was convenient for a friend who worked nearby. The restaurant proved trendy and loud, boasting a celebrity chef and lots of foreigners in the dining room. The price was right, but I probably won't return.

Clotilde described Le Mesturet, also recommended by Lobrano, but otherwise her scant suggestions for dinner in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements sparked little interest. Others may appreciate them, especially if they have deep pockets, a yen for Japanese, or are seeking a "Franglais vibe." We don't, we didn't, and we weren't — but that's why that neighborhood can be so tough if you are seeking a good French bistro.

On the other hand, Clotilde provides more ethnic options than Lobrano, with pointers to ethnic neighborhoods, like the cluster of Japanese restaurants in the 1st and the small East Indian neighborhood around the Gare du Nord.

I particularly enjoyed the Rue des Martyrs (in the 9th), a market street Clotilde recommended that I'd never found on my own. I browsed all manner of wonderful food shops there, including a caviar store and a prize-winning bakery.

If I had to choose, I'd take Lobrano for reading in a café and dinner. But I'd let Clotilde take me for a day of sightseeing, a picnic lunch and shopping.

Together that just about describes a perfect day in Paris.



You'll find a recipe for chilled zucchini soup from Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris on this site.