From the first Petit Boullian parlor and turn of the 19th century Paris to the gastronomic shrines of today,

the French obsession with eating well has brought a certain theatricality to everything,

from the farm to the kitchen to the dining room table itself.

But as Adam Gopnik learned, it doesn't have to be expensive.

There's fancy food and then there's good food.

Hi, I'm Rick Steves.

Coming up, Adam Gopnik dishes with us about the behind-the-scenes discoveries

he made in France, where spending time at the table with family and friends is the centerpiece

of a good day.

The great bulk of the cooking that goes on in France, like the great bulk of the cooking that goes on in France, like the great bulk of the

cooking that goes on in America, isn't fancy it tends to be the plain food we prepare every

night. We'll also turn our site south to Portugal, where local friends from both ends of the country

explain the highlights of their cuisine.

We have a long coast, always bade by the Atlantic Ocean, but we have the latitude of the Mediterranean Sea.

It promises to be a delicious hour ahead.

It's travel with Rick Steeves.

When New Yorker Adam Gopnik went to France, he discovered how the French appetite for eating well and the rituals they include with preparing and enjoying a proper meal can make every day of pleasure wherever you are.

He joins us in just a moment to explain why the

table comes first in France. And later in the hour tour guide friends from

Portugal provide us a taste of their food culture, from hardy stews in chilly mountain villages, to seafood on a

sun-drenched patio by the sea, and why codfish is still at the heart of the Portuguese

palate.

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