As I boarded the Boeing aircraft that would be taking us to Paris two weeks ago, I had one hand gently pushing my three kids onto the plane and another stroking the ambitious and carefully researched list of restaurants tucked in my pocket. We were only scheduled to spend four nights in Paris, and I wanted to make every night count.My husband and I have spent a lot of time in Paris visiting my family in our 14 years as a couple. From romantic long weekends mystery shopping at the Ritz (how I miss that perk of working for American Express!) to cozy Christmas breaks sharing a room with my little sister (Paris apartments are even smaller than New York city), we dined well and collected favorite haunts serving rich cream sauces with crispy fries.But this was the first time that we were returning "en force" with three kids in tow. Considering the staggering sum it cost us to step onto that plane as a family of five, I wasn't planning on letting Parisian's dislike of young children keep us from eating well in Paris.And although we had some stressful moments, we ate like kings. I'll share our tips here so you can too.1) Go as early as possible: French restaurants do not typically do multiple seatings. In keeping with leisurely eating, your table is yours for the night. We made sure to head to restaurants right when they opened to be finishing up at 8 when the bulk of their clientele arrived.2) Make your own kid's menu: We only saw one kid's menu during our entire stay in Paris, and it included pan seared tuna or a bun-less hamburger, for the bargain price of 25 Euros (35 to 40 dollars). Don't be scared by the absence of our ubiquitous chicken fingers. Talk with your waiter about what they can work out for you, giving him some guidance about basic ingredients such as chicken breasts or steak. Our kids ate the best steaks they've ever had during this trip and loved the crispy french fries they came with. They also had pan roasted chicken breasts with rice. We requested the accompanying sauce to be served on the side and as it wasn't thrust upon them, the kids usually ended up liking it. By the end of the trip, they were eating duck and even wild boar.3) Bring your own weapons - Don't expect to see crayons and coloring paper anywhere. Bring your own bag of goodies to entertain the troops. We played Go Fish every night and it grew into a championship.4) Skip dessert. Head off into the night to savor crepes filled with nutella or rich Berthillon ice cream instead.5) Give the Kids a Break - Have the ultimate picnic in the park for lunch with crusty baguettes and real French ham in some of the gorgeous Parisian parks. They'll welcome the freedom to eat in the grass.This is an original Traveling Mom blog post. Read more cooking and parenting posts at Vanessa Druckman's blog, Chefdruck Musings.

< Prev		Next >