It's Summer (or at least late Spring) and 'eating outdoors' is all the rage.  Why go inside when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the weather is perfect, and there's room to spread a few tables around under umbrellas? 

The down-side to all of this is that food is pretty expensive, all things considered.  It's nothing at all to drop 20 dollars for lunch or 30 dollars for dinner.  The food is, of course, excellent -- it's difficult to find a bad meal in France; the local wines are delightful if a little expensive.