Paris

12 rue Pecquay, 01-44-59-86-72. Metro: Rambuteau. Two courses from E12.50 ($12.50).

 London has the reputation of being a gloomy, rainy place in winter, but the truth is that her neighbor across the channel can be just as gray and drizzly come November. Enter La Peccadille, a shockingly bright hole-in-the-wall of a restaurant, decorated entirely in yellows and oranges. "Orange is my element," explained owner/waiter Olivier. "It's so welcoming, especially when it is dark outside." Olivier is pretty welcoming himself, a grinning, goateed hurricane who greets guests, takes orders, and often pitches in in the kitchen of this new venture (it's less than a year old).

The food can best be described as sunny, big on the salads, and occasionally with an African influence, as when lemony chicken Yassa is on the daily changing menu. While the cuisine is not complex, the salads and plates (pork Proven?al E9.50, beef foresti?re E10) have that straight-from-the-market taste. A good choice for lunch or dinner when visiting the Centre Pompidou (which is just a short stroll away).

Le Petit Keller

13 bis rue Keller, 01-47-00-12-97. Metro: Bastille. Three courses for E14 ($14), dinner only.

Many tourists overlook the Bastille, which is a shame because it's become one of Paris's most happening areas, a neighborhood of chic bars, hopping dance clubs, and interesting boutiques. Le Petit Keller has that young, vibrant spirit (not to mention a color scheme taken from Van Gogh's palette). It remains a gathering place, where under-35 patrons "sit in intense, smoky groups laughing and arguing and drinking cup after cup of espresso" (to quote from my first Paris article).

The daily changing menu has also remained as good, and as interesting. Although the duck with honey and fig sauce was not offered on recent visits (much to my dismay), there was a fresh-as-the-color-green cucumber soup, a delish salad of fava beans in coriander and cumin, a fillet of fish in a piquant pepper sauce, a nice curried chicken, and more. None disappointed.

Le Pied de Fouet

45 rue de Babylone, 01-47-05-12-27. Metro: Vaneau or St. Fran?ois-Xavier. Two courses from e8.90 ($8.90). Closed Sundays.

I'm always leery of places that too many guidebooks have picked, and from the sticker-covered door of this one, it looks like none of them have missed this little 7th arrondissement bistro. So we were pleased to find, when we entered, that all of the neighboring tables were inhabited by Parisians (in a place this small, you can hear every conversation).

It's not the most exciting-looking place, simply four small tables with red-checked cloths in a room festooned with postcards (there's also a small balcony with a few more tables), but the food is honest, well spiced, and remarkably cheap for the area (an easy stroll from the Bon March? department store, a doable walk from the Eiffel Tower). You can't really go wrong with anything on the menu, but we particularly liked the sauteed chicken livers, a steal at E6.90, sided by silky mashed potatoes. Also good is the carrot salad, a mound of shredded carrots but with a lovely dressing that somehow "elevates" the dish. Or try the rich fondant au chocolat (E2.75), the fillet of bass (E10), or the sausage plate (E9.50). Wine is just E2.30 more. Reportedly, Andre Gide was a frequent customer.

Creperie Josselin