Instructions: A stereotype about French restaurants persists in America. A lot of people think that one must dine at the $500-for-two restaurants at the top of the Michelin-starred lists, or life is not worth living.

Not us. My husband and I didnt go to a single starred restaurant on our recent two-week trip, but we ate fabulous food at reasonable and often bargain prices. Heres how to do it:
o Eat your biggest meal at lunch, and have whats called the midi menu. The menu in France means a fixed-price two- or three-course meal. If you order it, they expect you to eat what they place in front of you. Sometimes they offer choices.

At a first-rate St. Remy restaurant, the chalkboard in front advertised the lunch meal: country pate , rabbit with mustard sauce, and white cheese. While it was not a meal I would order in the United States, I recall it as my favorite. Adding to the pleasure was the leisurely pace at which we ate, reclining on big red wooden chairs at a sunny sidewalk table.

An enormous slab of pate came with crunchy gherkins, a pot of mustard, and a basket of bread. I could have made a meal of just that. Next came a plate of tender rabbit - a leg and a thigh - surrounded by creamed vegetables and a broiled tomato. For dessert, a bowl of a sour-cream-like cheese, covered with a sweet strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries. The two of us shared it but couldnt finish the bowl. The final cost, with tax and tip, was around $14.

Other menu meals eaten at lunch included braised pork with prunes, and braised chicken with fennel and pastis, an anise-flavored liquor. The chicken was followed by a dessert fruit plate that looked like an Impressionist painting: a small white plate with one perfect pear, a peach, and three cherries.

When it comes to portion size, the French do it right, despite what you have heard about microscopic nouvelle servings. Yes, the portions are smaller, but its because youre consuming more than one course.

You may find the change refreshing if you are accustomed to American restaurant portions, which can reach four servings on a plate for one. If youre afraid of overindulging, remember that youre there as a tourist - just walk off lunch while admiring the scenery.

o Dine at creperies: Here, the same rule applies. The menu usually comprises a savory crepe (called a gallete), a sweet crepe, and often a glass of hard apple cider. Usually a green salad appears aside the first course, so you can get all your food groups in one meal.

o Frequent ethnic restaurants. We had a few excellent meals at Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese restaurants, where we sat at white-tableclothed tables and enjoyed excellent service. Usually these meals set us back around $25 for two, about the same amount they would cost at home.

o Explore street food from corner stands, also known as le snack. In the more crowded areas of big towns, its perfectly acceptable to walk down the street munching a baguette filled with tuna, eggs and tomatoes, or one filled with thin slices of ham and cheese. Sometimes street vendors heat the cheese and meat baguettes on a griddle. Crepes and fries often appear on the menu as well.

o Duck into bakeries. We bought a quiche and a sausage in puff pastry one day when we wanted a quick meal that we could eat on a sidewalk bench. The bakery even had a small refrigerator full of cold drinks.

o Theres always le picnique (a classic form that never goes out of style.)

One night at dusk, we dropped into a little store in a beautiful Provence hill town and bought wedges of Roquefort and Camembert, a loaf of whole-wheat bread studded with walnuts, two fresh carrots, a pear, an apple, and an inexpensive bottle of wine. I love to recall my first bite of sweet, nutty bread slathered with intensely creamy and robust Roquefort. It seemed that Id never had anything that satisfying before.

o Finally, dont overlook good French restaurants. We had two excellent dinners at Paris restaurants recommended by friends. One was in the traditional style of "grandmere" cooking, where we dined on charcroute garni and cassoulet. The other served dishes in the nouvelle style: poached salmon with a fennel gratin; fettuccine with lemon cream sauce. Both meals cost around $50 for two.

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