Paris: What to Eat

Beyond restaurant fare, France is full of wonderful little treats and nibbles just waiting to be tasted. When in Paris, visit your nearest Monoprix, Champion or Picard to find selections from my list of favourite French snacks.

1. Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Light

In the event that you're raising your eyebrows, allow me to explain. In France, most Coke is still sold in glass bottles. Glass doesn't break down the same way plastic does, thus the manufacturers of European Coke don't have to add chemicals to prevent the breakdown of their packaging. The difference that this makes to the taste of the product is unfathomable. Coke from a glass bottle is sweet but not syrupy, bubbly, fresh and leaves no aftertaste.

2. Lu Petit écolier - Véritable petit écolier au chocolate au lait

The chocolate topping on these butter biscuits is the real thing, not waxy Chips Ahoy chocolate. As far as store bought cookies are concerned, you can't do any better than these. Even grocery store brand imitations are far superior to any store-bought cookie you can find in North America.

3. Céréale Chokella

If you want to get acquainted with just how important chocolate is to the French diet, start your day with this cereal. The chocolate-hazelnut flavoured cereal is shaped like another staple of the French diet- sliced bread.

4. Nutella

Chances are Nutella is available at your local grocery store. But chances are also pretty good that you roll your eyes every time you pass it on your way to pick-up a jar of peanut butter. You'll be surprised to know that Nutella has only about ten more calories per serving than peanut butter- and although it has more sugar, it contains infinitely less salt. Best of all, it tastes a lot better than peanut butter.

5. Macarons

Even if you don't have a chance to stop at Ladurée, make sure you pop into a bakery somewhere in the city and try the original sandwich cookie. These little delights put the Oreo to shame.

6. Orangina Indien

A surprising and wonderful take on an old favourite, Orangina Indien combines the flavour of the original drink with a hint of sweet grenadine. The results are smashing. Orangina Indien works well on its own, but also makes a fabulous addition to a wine spritzer or pink-hued cocktail.

7. Crêpes

This uniquely French form of simple street food can be sweet or savoury but will inevitably leave you licking your fingers. Flavours include, but are hardly limited to, Nutella, jam, honey and my personal favourite, lemon sugar. Look for sweet gaufres (waffles) and beignes (donuts) at more elaborate street vendors- they will not disappoint.

8. Lion Bar

So popular with locals that it also comes in cereal-form, the mighty Lion bar combines the best parts of all your favourite chocolate bars into one wonderous stick of candy. Wafers, caramel, sweet cream, and rice crisps are all crammed inside chocolate coating. If you're waiting for the metro and there is a vending machine nearby, you would be well advised to pop in a few Euros for one of these chocolate sensations.

9. Haribo Dragibus

The candy with the unpronounceable name is not quite a jelly bean and not quite a gum drop. Most of the flavours in the inviting pink package cannot be precisely identified beyond pink or green. But there is something decidedly wonderful about the ambiguous Dragibu... you'll have to try them yourself to see what I mean.

10. Picard - 6 timbales de sorbet

Even if the frozen dinners at Picard don't tempt you, be sure to persue their dessert section. Their sorbets come in large containers or in individual serving sizes; flavours like mango, raspberry and Williams pear will have you coming back for me. Since these sorbets have no added flavours or preservatives, and are relatively low in calories, you really can't go wrong. You can even have seconds :)