I'll be in Paris for a week this month and was hoping you have some recommendations on how and where to eat on a budget (as in graduate student broke budget). My hope is to eat for as little as possible most of the time to save some money for some of the wonderful bistros you review, but a 30euro menu is on the high-end for me.

Any suggestions?

Hi Jeanne,

Since I remember only too vividly my visits to Paris when I was a flat-broke student in London and then a nearly flat-broke editorial assistant in New York City, I'm very sympathetic to your plight. My main advice is to eat out at noon, since many of the restaurants I recommend offer good-value lunch menus. Otherwise, I'd rather eat one good course in a pleasant restaurant, perhaps with a glass of wine, than trudge through a really mediocre meal in a classic budget address. Due to the economy and also weight-watching and penny-pinching, many good restaurants in Paris now don't bat an eye last if you only order one course, and the best ones will set you up with an amuse bouche (complimentary hors d'oeuvre) and sometimes a little nibble with coffee afterwards, too. If you find any particularly good budget addresses, please share them with us.

All best, Alec