The plat du jour board
Most places I like still write the lunch menu in chalk by eleven. If the board is half wiped by one, the kitchen is honest about running out.
Coffee at the counter
Standing at the zinc is still cheaper than a table in most of the eleventh. Two minutes, one espresso, no laptop.
Market Sunday on the canal
Bread from one stall, cheese from the next, a bench by the lock. The best lunch of the month cost nine euros.
Winter onion soup, ranked
Four bistros, four bowls, one clear winner: the one that did not skimp on the gruyère.