Within two days and 11 hours of arriving in Paris, I had already eaten six meals. Just because it's Paris, who can say no to deliciousness? Yet just six meals won't allow me to write a 'Paris Food Illustrated', but it has been possible to spot the differences between the restaurants in Paris and New York. Therefore, this blog is not about comparing food per se, much less written by a foodie. I will delve into something more interesting: the differences in how restaurants in these cities serve and attract customers.
To Ashtray or Not to Ashtray
France, admittedly, is a smoking-friendly country, and Parisian restaurants are often equipped with ashtrays at the seats. Interestingly, when dining outdoors, Parisian waiters often ask me, "Would you like me to remove the ashtray? It seems to be a custom-making smoking inquiry that echoes the city's smoking culture, making accommodating smokers the default setting.
By contrast, New York, another city known for its hustle and bustle, presents a different dining scene. Although New York has a significant number of smokers, it is not common for New Yorkers to be asked the same questions when dining outdoors. Ashtrays are available, but explicitly offering to remove them is not a typical part of the dining experience.
Of course, those are only my limited personal experiences, and the insights from it is that even in these two cosmopolitan cities, cultural norms can vary greatly, even extending to the small ashtray. It's not just about the act of smoking, but how the local dining culture fits into or interacts with it.
Cafe Chairs: A Tale of Two Cities
After walking 20,000 steps a day, I've noticed that outdoor seating in Parisian cafes usually faces the street. This is not a coincidence, but a signature style of the city's dining culture. While taking a leisurely meal or smoking break, diners enjoy the opportunity to people-watch or simply get lost in the daily Parisian street scene. Or, of course, they might just be letting their brains out or keeping thieves at bay.
In contrast, New York's approach to seating tends to encourage more face-to-face interaction. This style of dining offers more opportunities for interaction and perhaps indicates a preference for a private dining experience, or may just simply reflects the city's fast-paced lifestyle. Also, perhaps the simplest reason is that most streets in New York are not suitable for laze or observation.
These seating styles also glimpse the cultural difference between Paris and New York, while potentially influencing how people experience and engage with the city while dining.
Restaurant decoration
The decoration of Parisian restaurants is also very different from that of New York. Although both are famous tourist cities, Paris seems to be more inclined to showcase a beautiful dining environment. For example, I have seen more than five restaurants decorated with flowers on the outside walls. And this is very successful in attracting tourists to stop and take pictures. The decoration also echoes the diners who dine outdoors and helps to promote the restaurant. These seating and decoration areas are often a part of the city's streetscape.
Of course, New York's restaurant scene is incredibly diverse. But compared to the outdoor decoration, the focus may be on maximizing space rather than aesthetic appeal, and of course, this observation varies greatly depending on the type of restaurant. Beyond that, there may also be differences due to climate and street layout.
So, just the way restaurants dine and advertise is already vastly different, and there must be broader differences in marketing and advertising culture. Hopefully, I will be able to explore and gather more of the differences between Paris and New York in the time to come and apply these differences to the industry of marketing and communications.
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