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As surely everyone knows, the cafe is a Parisian institution. Parisians use them as combination club avern/snack bars, almost as extensions of their living rooms. They're spots where you can sit alone reading your newspaper, doing your homework, or writing your memoirs; meet a friend or lover; nibble on a hard-boiled egg; or drink yourself into oblivion. At cafes you meet your dates to go on to a show or to stay and talk. Above all, cafes are for people-watching.

Coffee, of course, is the chief drink. It comes black, in a small cup, unless you specifically order it au lait (with milk). Thé (tea, pronounced tay) is also fairly popular but generally not of a high quality. If you prefer beer, we advise you to pay a bit more for the imported German, Dutch, or Danish brands, which are much better than the local brew. If you insist on a French beer, at least order it á pression (draft), which is superior. There's also a vast variety of fruit drinks, as well as Coca-Cola, which can be rather expensive. French chocolate drinks -- either hot or iced -- are absolutely superb and on par with the finest Dutch brands. They're made from ground chocolate, not a chemical compound.

Now, just a few words on cafe etiquette: You don't pay when you get your order -- only when you intend to leave. Payment indicates you've had all you want. Service compris means the tip is included in your bill, so it isn't necessary to tip extra; still, most people leave an extra euro or so. You'll hear the locals call for the "garçon," but as a foreigner, it would be more polite to say "monsieur." All waitresses, on the other hand, are addressed as "mademoiselle," regardless of age or marital status. In the smaller cafes, you may have to share your table. In that case, even if you haven't exchanged a word with your table companion, when you leave it's customary to bid him or her au revoir.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Parisian Pastry

Could it be true, as rumor has it, that more eggs, sugar, cream, and butter per capita are consumed in Paris than in any other city? From a modern-day Proust sampling a madeleine to a child munching a pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled croissant), everyone in Paris seems to be looking for two things: the perfect lover and the perfect pastry, not necessarily in that order. As a Parisian food critic once said, "A day without a pastry is a day in hell!"

Who'd think of beginning a morning in Paris without a croissant or two -- freshly baked, flaky, light, and made with real butter, preferably from Norman cows. The Greeks may have invented pastry making, but the French perfected it. Some French pastries have made a greater impact than others. The croissant and the brioche, a yeasty sweet breakfast bread, are baked around the world today, as is the fabled éclair au chocolat (chocolate éclair), a pastry filled with whipped cream or pastry cream and topped with chocolate. Another pastry you should sample on its home turf is the Napolitain -- layers of cake flour and almonds alternating with fruit purée. (Don't confuse this term with Neapolitan, meaning sweets and cakes made with layers of two or more colors, each layer flavored differently.) Very much in vogue is the mille-feuille ("thousand leaves"), made by arranging thin layers of flaky pastry on top of one another, along with layers of cream or fruit purée or jam; the American version is the napoleon.

Here are some of our favorite patisseries: Stohrer, 51 rue Montorgueil, 2e (tel. 01-42-33-38-20; Métro: Sentier or Les Halles), has been going strong ever since it was opened by Louis XV's pastry chef in 1730. A pastry always associated with this place is puits d'amour (well of love), which consists of caramelized puff pastry filled with vanilla ice cream. Available at any time is one of the most luscious desserts in Paris, baba au rhum, or its even richer cousin, un Ali Baba, which also incorporates cream-based rum-and-raisin filling. Stohrer boasts an interior decor classified as a national historic treasure, with frescoes of damsels in 18th-century costume bearing flowers and (what else?) pastries.

Opened in 1862, a few steps from La Madeleine, Ladurée Royale, 16 rue Royale, 8e (tel. 01-42-60-21-79; Métro: Concorde or Madeleine), is Paris's dowager tearoom. Its pastry chefs are known for the macaron, a pastry for which this place is celebrated. Karl Lagerfeld comes here and raves about them, as did the late ambassador Pamela Harriman. This isn't the sticky coconut-version macaroon known to many, but two almond meringue cookies, flavored with chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, coffee, or other flavor, stuck together with butter cream. You may also want to try Le Faubourg, a lusciously dense chocolate cake with layers of caramel and apricots.

In business since Napoleon was in power, Dalloyau, 101 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, 8e (tel. 01-42-99-90-00; Métro: St-Philippe du Roule), has a name instantly recognizable throughout Paris; it supplies pastries to the Elysée Palace (the French White House) and many Rothschild mansions nearby. Its specialties are Le Dalloyau, praline cake filled with almond meringue that's marvelously light-textured; and un Opéra, composed of an almond-flavored biscuit layered with butter cream, chocolate, coffee, and cashews. Unlike Stohrer, Dalloyau has a tearoom (open daily 8am-7:30pm) one floor above street level, where ladies who lunch can drop in for a slice of pastry that Dalloyau warns is "too fragile to transport, or to mail, over long distances."

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