Outside Cafe Ekberg. Photo by BjørnS. Other photos by Sarah Silbert.

By Sarah Silbert—

To be perfectly frank, Helsinki doesn’t offer much in the way of exciting, inexpensive eats. Sure, if you’re willing to shill out for Michelin-rated Scandinavian cuisine and seafood, you’ll find no shortage of gourmet options. For those of us on a budget, however, choices are limited to kebab and pizza joints, as well as “grillis,” which serve up hot dogs and other greasy, filling treats.

A cinnamon roll and coffee at Cafe Esplanad.

Are your taste buds unstimulated? Not to fear—Helsinki’s hidden culinary strength lies in its selection of cute cafes. No one can subsist on coffee and pastries alone, but here are three Cheapo-approved cafes for tiding you over between meals.

Café Esplanad
Pohjoisesplanadi 37

Sitting pretty just off Helsinki’s Esplanadi Park, Café Esplanad is known for more than its prominent location. The café’s giant “korvapuustit” (Finnish cinnamon rolls) are simply delicious. Esplanad is self-serve, so ask the cashier for a roll, pour yourself a coffee, and sit near the window to watch the pedestrian traffic pass by. A pastry plus a coffee (with free refills) will set you back about €5.

Café Engel
Aleksanterinkatu 26

If you prefer stunning views to people-watching, take a seat at the Café Engel, which counts as its neighbor the famous Helsinki Cathedral. (The café is even named after the cathedral’s architect, Carl Ludvig Engel.) The café is popular with locals, and even hosts outdoor film screenings in the warmer months. A full breakfast costs around €13, while coffee and a slice of cake is €7-10. After lingering over your table, head across the street to the Cathedral’s steep steps for a post-meal workout.

The view from Cafe Engel.

Café Ekberg
Bulevardi 9

Southwest of Esplanadi Park in Helsinki’s hip Kamppi district, Café Ekberg dates back to 1915. The beautiful, bite-size pastries and cakes on offer here make for the perfect afternoon sugar rush. Known for attracting a more mature crowd, the café also offers a good breakfast. Just make sure to have the morning meal on a weekday, when the meal costs €9—the price doubles to €18 on the weekends. If you prefer to stop in for a pastry or sandwich, expend to spend €2-10.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Macarons from Ladurée. Photos by Theodora Brack.

By Theadora Brack in Paris—

Grocery store chains may be your best bets for cutting costs while living in Paris, and they’re perfectly fine and dandy for long-term stays, but what if you’re visiting for just a week or two? Well then, I say, live it like it’s your last!

Visiting one of the finest food capitals of the world, a place chock-full of bountiful “Bon Produits” (specialty shops), all managed by certified gastronomical experts who are more than willing to share their vast wealth of knowledge, is abso-fruga-lute-ly not the time to shop at a chain grocery store in order to save a few centimes.

Splurge on a café.

So take in all those wonderful boulangeries, pâtisseries, chocolatiers, confiseries, glaciers, éspiceries, fromageries, charcuteries, poissonneries, caves, and cafés with a clear conscience. And don’t be shy. Ask for recommendations! Ask questions, and in the process you’ll take home more than the receipt.

Here’s my personal sampling of things to not miss while in France. Cheapos, splurge on!

1. Crème brûlée

Before cracking open this classic beauty, lift the ramekin to your ear, and lightly tap on its hard, caramelized topping with your spoon. Breathe in. Savor the moment.

2. Pain au chocolat

The proper way to eat it is to pinch off teeny morsels with your fingertips to make it last as long as possible. However, I usually peel the individual layers off slowly, thoroughly enjoying each melted chocolate nugget I encounter.

3. Fromage

Big wheels do keep on turning. Like skirts, cheese is seasonal, and the variety is endless. So pace yourself! Start off with the “Cantal jeune.” Named after the volcanic peaks of the Cantal mountain range, it’s hard to find this one-month-old taste sensation outside of France. Why, even the Sun King gave it his Good Palace-Keeping seal of approval. Also, don’t hesitate to ask the fromager for a cheese recommendation based on the wine you just bought down the street. They’ll gladly help you out.

Baguettes from Gérard Mulot.

4. Baguette

If it’s still warm from the oven, do as the locals do and rip a chunk off and pop it in your mouth as soon as you step out of the bakery. I’ve noticed that males tend to carry their baguettes like caveman clubs, while women usually cradle their bread.

5. Macarons and meringues

The ultimate instant sugar rush—but what-the-hey? You only live once, right? That’s what she said. Catherine de Medici’s Italian pastry chefs introduced the macaron to France, and Ladurée is credited with its stream-lined modern sandwich-look.

6. Wines

It’s perfectly normal to say, “I’m looking for something around five euros to go with [fill in the blank].” Trust me, everyone else is asking the same question. Tip: Caviste Pascal Fauvel at La Cave de Abbesses at 43 rue des Abbesses clearly marks his recommendations with heart-shaped signs that read, “Coup de coeur maison.” Others follow suit.

7. French onion soup

Yummy escargot

Day or night, it’s a hot and hearty Cheapo happy meal (sans prizes).

8. Escargots

If you end up loving them (and most people do) then you’ve made a culinary discovery, and if not, at least you’ve got a funny story to tell, and everyone will admire your bravery. I usually order my snails bathed in garlic, butter, and herbs in their little spiral shells. Yum!

9. Crêpes

“Je voudrais une banane-chocolat crêpe, s’il vous plaît,” is another one of my tickets to paradise.

Tartes at Les Petits Mitrons.

10. Tarte

Any ole tarte will do as long as it comes from Les Petits Mitrons at 26 rue Lepic in Abbesses, just up the street from the Moulin Rouge, and kitty-corner from the café featured in the film “Amélie.” You can also buy your pie by the slice!

11. A drink in Parisian café

If you visit Paris and miss out on this experience, Cheapos, we are no longer friends. Yes! Your alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks will cost a little more than in a grocery store, but the upside is that you’ll be given courtside seats to people watching, and you can stay as long as you like.

12. At least one article of clothing

For the simple love of bragging rights, do pick up a scarf, shirt, or slacks. Then, for years to come you’ll be able to say, “Oh, this old thing? I picked it up in Paris years ago!”

Cheapos, do you have a favorite French treat? Do tell!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Sweets at the Musée Rodin Sculpture Garden. Photos by Theadora Brack.

By Theadora Brack in Paris—

Wake up! Wake up, you Cheapo-heads! Even in the City of Light, beating jet lag during the winter season is a difficult feat for most. Yes, the sun also rises, but not until late morning…

So to help out with jet lag in Paris, here’s an eye-opening walking tour with a sculptural twist, geared to jumpstart all six senses.

1. Food for thought

Start out at the Gérard Mulot Pâtisserie at 76 rue de Seine (Metro: Mabillon). Here you’ll find a bustling local crowd, service always with a smile, and a mind-boggling array of cakes, macaroons, and tartes that are gastronomical works of art.

With provocative names like “Miroir Passion”, “Sortilège” (”magic spell”), “Coeur Frivole”, and “Magie Noir”, the sweets will seductively compete for your attention. So keep your head and pace yourself. Take your time. Savor the moment. No one’s gonna kick you out. It’s Paris, after all.

The sweets on offer at Gérard Mulot Pâtisserie.

2. A free museum

Speaking of masterpieces, before waking the taste buds, pick up a little formidable inspiration at the Musée du Compagnonnage at 10, rue Mabillon (just around the corner from the pâtisserie).

Rarely mentioned in the guidebooks, this free museum is dedicated to the history of trade guilds and is packed with intricate scale models of staircases, belfries, domes, and pulpits—all created by master carpenters-in-the-making. After seeing what went into building all those Gothic towers and Baroque palaces, you’re bound to experience the city in a totally new light. (Open Monday through Friday, 2 PM to 6 PM.)

3. Dejeuner sur l’herbe (“Lunch on the Grass”)

Taking a cue from Manet, hotfoot it over to the Musée Rodin Sculpture Garden at 79, rue de Varenne. The walk should take you about 45 minutes, but with the architectural underpinnings whizzing by, it will feel like fifteen.

With your Mulot sweets beside you in the Rose Garden, you’ll be able to delight your tongue while feasting your eyes on Rodin’s chocolaty bronzes and sugary marbles (a comparison that even the artist himself was aware of; he sometimes called them his “patisseries”). And all for just one euro! (Closed Mondays.)

4. Designer scarf with a cause

A lion sculpture at Église Saint-Sulpice.

If it’s chilly out, pick up a striking red scarf at the boutique agnès b. on 6, rue Vieux- Colombier. Not only are they inexpensive (€15), but the proceeds also go to various humanitarian causes, including the fight against AIDS. Sold by designer Agnès Bourgois Troublé since 1988, you’ll find the unisex scarves (in lamb’s wool during the winter and cotton during the summertime) by the checkout register. Free gift-wrapping!

5. Heavenly rest at Saint-Sulpice

Finally, catch your breath by breaking with the lions outside the Église Saint-Sulpice before hanging with its Delacroix’s inside.

And all you DaVinci-Coders, don’t leave without walking the famous Rose Line (up near the altar). And if you’re lucky, you may be treated to the sounds of someone rehearsing on one of the finest organs in Europe, too. Talk about a moment to savor!

Cheapos, saisissez le jour! (P.S. Happy birthday, dad!)

Popularity: 6% [?]

Lunchtime at a boulangerie in the Marais. Photo by Tom Meyers.

By Liz Webber in Paris—

For many people, living in Paris (or just visiting) conjures up visions of buying fresh baguettes and croissants every morning at the local “boulangerie.” But those delightful bakeries offer so much more than breakfast breads! They can also serve as a Cheapo-friendly lunchtime resource!

Here’s our guide to the boulangerie’s ”other” baked goods, thinking beyond the baguette…

So many quiches. So little thyme. Photo by Yisris.

More “pain,” all gain

First off, there is much more to French bread (“pain”) than the baguette.

I’m a bit partial to the “tradition,” which is much softer than a baguette and tastes a little like sourdough. There are also “boules,” or round breads, and most boulangeries now offer whole-grain options. You’ll be hard-pressed to find any loaf of French bread that costs more than €2.

Similarly, it’s time to branch out from the standard croissant. Go for broke on the calorie-meter with a “pain au chocolat”, often mistakenly called a “chocolate croissant” in the U.S. (The word “croissant” implies a crescent shape, whereas a “pain au chocolat” tends to be somewhat square.)

Though not as extensive as a “patisserie” (a bakery that specializes in pastries), boulangeries offer a full range of “tartes” and other small pastries to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Baguette sandwiches on display. Photo by Yesris.

Lunch to go: Baguette sandwiches, quiches, and more

The boulangerie is a great place to pick up a quick lunch to eat on the go or bring to a picnic.

Small baguette sandwiches are reasonably-priced (around €3-4). A “jambon buerre” (ham with butter) is a pretty standard French option, although you’ll also find sandwiches with “thon” (tuna), “poulet” (chicken), “ouef” (egg), and more.  When the shopkeeper asks if you’d like your sandwich “avec salade,” she wants to know if you’d like one with lettuce and tomato or just the meat.

Other lunch options range from quiche to mini pizza to “croque monsieur” (a ham sandwich with cheese baked on the outside), depending on the bakery.

Formule: Make the most of your lunch money

Most boulangeries offer a “formule,” a lunch special that includes a sandwich, a dessert, and a drink. The price depends on the location and sometimes on the type of sandwich you order. Expect to pay between €5-7 for the meal.

As with all shops in France, the majority of boulangeries will be closed on Sundays, except for in highly touristed areas. If you do find a boulangerie you like open on Sunday, odds are it will be closed if you try to return on Monday.

Tell us!

Do you have a favorite boulangerie in Paris? Or a French bread product you just can’t live without? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Popularity: 12% [?]

photograph courtesy of Kaymaria Daskarolis

If you have ever attended a Greek cultural festival, you have probably tasted loukoumades. And if they were prepared at all like the divine ones served up every May during the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension’s annual Greek Festival in Oakland, California, you probably wished you could eat them every day.

A little piece of heaven, that’s what loukoumades are. They’re small balls of fried dough, usually topped with honey and walnuts.

In central Athens, stop by Krinos (Aiolou 87, tel: 210-321-6852) to devour some luscious loukoumades. The selection at Krinos is always hot and fresh; the quick turnover is a byproduct of the patisserie’s popularity with locals. Krinos is open from 7.15 a.m. onwards Monday through Saturday, and is closed on Sunday. Prepare to pay €2.70 for an order of seven loukoumades when you eat them in, just €2.30 when you take them with you.

The one drawback—or perhaps saving grace—of loukoumades is their filling sweetness. Downing an entire serving of five or six by yourself can be a challenge. We recommend sharing an order with a friend, or asking the servers at Krinos Café to limit your order to three or four pieces.

Just don’t expect a reduction in price for your diminished serving.

Popularity: 4% [?]

photograph courtesy of borya

Austria is entering the end of Carnival and, beginning today, will be in fasting mode. In Austria, Carnival is called Fasching.

Vienna has survived this year’s Fasching more or less intact. The Vienna Opera Ball, the extensive media coverage courtesy of Paris Hilton (construction magnate Richard Lugner’s special guest this year), and the numerous balls leading up to the start of the Lenten season have all come and gone.

As far as we’re concerned, the most important element of Fasching is Krapfen.

Krapfen is the equivalent of the American doughnut or the British/Australian pancake traditionally eaten during Shrove Tuesday. It is called Berliner Pfannkuchen in Germany. In Italy, it’s called Krafen.

Krapfen is a pastry of yeast dough fried in either fat or oil. Krapfen are dusted with sugar or iced. They are usually injected with a jam filling after being cooked. They are so tasty they’ll make even staid adults want to scarf a dozen in one sitting.

Krapfen are good and cheap, too. They cost between €.70 and €.90 apiece.

Popularity: 6% [?]