As a Rule...

In visiting restaurants in France, we

• Rely on the Michelin Guide to Hotels and Restaurants. 

• Telephone or visit for reservations, and advise of any change of plan.

• Order a large bottle of slightly bubbly mineral water such as Badoit or San Pellegrino. 

• Do not tip. Tips are not usually expected in French restaurants, even if the phrase service non compris--service charge not included--appears on the menu (for an explanation of this term, see Glossary).

In writing about restaurants, we

• Record our personal reactions only. We are not qualified to be restaurant critics. We make no attempt to rate food, decor, etc. Our ratings would be meaningless, anyway--we occasionally enjoy places that are actually fairly rotten by conventional standards.

• Omit extended comment on any dish that seems to us merely routinely good--i.e. no better than we can prepare at home using the best ingredients available from a local supermarket.