forget about the twenty euros…

More yummy food this week! May means a ton of days off, so I haven’t been eating out as much as I did last month… but I’m still eating lunch with Stanfordiens. Which is BAD because we’re located in the 6th arrondissement, notorious for its myriad shops and cafés.

Stanford gives us a “meal stipend” of a couple hundred euros per month in a BNP Paribas account, but I use that for regular purchases since my debit card is not European. (Besides, credit cards usually work in cafés and restaurants, but you need cash for open-air markets, small epiceries and the like.)

Here’s the next menu set. Man, eating out is SO expensive.

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5/8/2007 (T)
Breakfast: milk and cereal
Linner: tapenades and jam on rice cakes
Bought: (~7)
– pain aux céréales (demi-baguette)
– guacamole
– purée de myrtilles (bilberries?!)
Dinner: pain aux céréales, ensaymada, purée de myrtilles, guacamole

I found a Monoprix at Place de la Republique. It’s a little classier than Franprix, and contains more organic and bio products. The pain aux céréales (multi-grain bread?) looked good and healthy, so I got it even though it’s twice the price of regular bread (1.60 versus .70 or .80). Also, the purée de myrtilles was sort of like applesauce but with blueberries, good for mixing into my plain yogurt.

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5/9/2007 (W)
Breakfast: poached egg w/ pain aux cereales
Lunch: viennoise au chocolat, broccoli and cheese quiche (3)
Dinner: lentil stew (with zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, peas, legumes), pain aux céréales, guacamole, purée de myrtilles, rice cake, cranberry/framboise juice

I finally remembered to take a picture! Even worked hard to make it presentable. For the stew I tossed in all the vegetables in the fridge, but I didn’t realize tomatoes could wilt so quickly. Must learn how to add vegetables according to how quickly they cook.

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5/10/2007 (Th)
Breakfast: milk and cereal
Lunch: 1/2 egg, mushroom and cheese crepe, 1.5 chocolate crepes, apple juice (9.50)
Dinner: milk and cereal, yogurt

For lunch we went to a creperie near the Tour Montparnasse. The crepes were drowning in oil; I couldn’t finish my galette (salty crepe) because of all the melted cheese tossed in. The sweet crepe was delicious, albeit not crisp enough, made of the creperie’s own chocolate (chocolat au maison). The food wasn’t worth 9.50, but hanging out with friends was.

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By the way, I added a Travel section to the menu bar above. It contains tons of travel guide-related links, and my own guide to life as a broke American student in Paris. Still in progress, but you might find it entertaining.