Pocket Menu Reader France

Overall impression: Originally published in Italy under the title of "How to Eat Out in France", the first half of the 2000 pocket menu reader offers an overview of traditional and regional French cuisine including descriptions of popular dishes, cheeses, sauces, cold cuts, sausages, pates, liqueurs, wines, sweets and desserts from across France. For the cooking enthusiast there are also some recipes and gastronomic terms. The second half is dedicated to more mundane subjects such as the alphabet, numbers, a pronunciation guide, useful phrases and a short French-English and English-French dictionary section.

The book is light weight and small allowing it to easily fit in a handbag, backpack or large pocket. The yellow cover is durable and sturdy for travel though the bright color makes it conspicuous on an elegant dining room table. Prices were listed in French Francs. We usually check on prices and menu options before making reservations so prices in Francs didn't bother us. Though we chose not to carry the book with us to restaurants, we found it a useful reference for pre and post dining moments and for at home reading prior to departure.

Date of publication: 2000

Publisher: Langenscheidt ( New York , Berlin , Munich , Vienna , Zurich )

ISBN number: 0-88729-305-0

Author(s): Marilyn Piauton

English translation: Sandra Tokunaga

Price: $7.95

Date of review: January 2005