World Foods Parisians Love

Here are some international foods that Parisians truly love.

First, couscous. It originated in North Africa, in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and with so many North African immigrants in France, couscous restaurants are everywhere. Couscous is made from steamed, crushed wheat semolina. If Asia has rice and France has bread, think of couscous as North Africa's staple. It isn't eaten alone but with a main dish of meat and vegetables. In France, "couscous" also means the whole dish: a long-simmered stew of chickpeas and vegetables topped with sausage or chicken, served with the grain. It's popular enough to be an everyday meal. The sausage that usually goes in is merguez, made from lamb and beef. Unless you're very sensitive to spices, it's almost impossible to find bad couscous, so picking a specific restaurant is tricky. Just search "couscous" on Google Maps and walk into any place near your hotel. The narrator also makes it at home from time to time, and a big batch lasts a long time.

Second is the world food that's hottest in France right now: the poké bowl, so named because you pile many ingredients into a large bowl. Poké is a traditional Hawaiian dish of seasoned raw fish, cut up and eaten with other ingredients. From the 2010s, people on the US West Coast began eating a fusion version with a Japanese twist, and in France it's now hugely popular, riding the wave of wellness and vegetarianism. You build your own bowl with raw fish and fresh raw vegetables, and because the ingredients are assembled on the spot, it arrives quickly: a healthy fast food. The base is vinegared sushi rice, with a choice of salmon, tuna or shrimp, and vegetables such as avocado, tomato, cabbage, cucumber, beans and even seaweed. Then you top it with sauces and extras like teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, cilantro or oyster sauce. The narrator, by the way, has never tried one.

Next is an exotic and special spot: the Grande Mosquée de Paris in the 5th arrondissement. Go around to the side opposite the mosque entrance and you'll find the way into the restaurant attached to it. It serves North African meals and a range of pâtisserie, mostly made with almond paste, assorted nuts and honey. Pieces are mostly finger-food size but very sweet, so one or two is plenty. Pair them with the mosque's signature mint tea, just 2 euros, with wonderful flavor and aroma. Drink it at an outdoor table and you'll feel transported to North Africa in an instant.

Last is falafel, a signature dish of the Middle East. Ground chickpeas are formed into balls and fried, and it's a national street food in Israel and Palestine. In Paris, you'll almost certainly pass through the Marais, the old Jewish quarter. It's a mecca for contemporary culture, art and fashion, with small contemporary art museums tucked away on its streets. Jewish residents have lived here for a long time, so many places sell falafel sandwiches with vegetables, bread and sauce. For one, head to rue des Rosiers, where every other shop is a falafel specialist. The narrator has tried several and finds them all about the same, so just walk into whichever one catches your eye.