Parisian fast food

The epitome (or nadir) of fast food, MacDonald's burger joints can be found in Paris -- and of course there are more than one of them to be sure. (I have heard the burgers there are much better than the burgers in the US, whatever that means.)

But most Parisians, young and old, still rely on the traditional baguette sandwich for their fast food: jambon et emmenthal or ham and cheese, tuna salad, egg, and a few others seem to be pretty standard around town.

The bread is usually regular baguette although some more serious shops use tradition and even pain au lait for their sandwiches. And most places use fresh ingredients. Some places like Pascal Pinaud's patisserie on Rue Monge near Place Monge prepare their sandwiches fresh every morning and when they're gone, they're gone. No special orders, what you see is what you get; if you don't see it you probably won't get it unless you're a regular or are exceptionally good looking.

Other fast foods that seem to be popular, particularly with the college-age crowds are the grec sandwiches, or the kebaps/kebab sandwiches, also referred to as Doners (a Turkish word I believe). These are usually wrapped in a nan bread with plenty of greens, tomatoes and various sauces, and often topped with french fries. Sounds hefty and it is -- very filling, very cheap and can be quite tasty.

There are scores of small Asian take-out places (traiteurs) all over Paris. In fact there were four of them within 50 meters of our apartment. While most have some space for dining in-house, much of their food is sold as plats emporter, which means "to go" and go it does.

Pizza did not seem to be offered as much by the slice as you might see in Italy, although many shops selling sandwiches naturally sold plenty of pizza-like items emporter as well.