The price of a plane ticket, hotel, and the dollar to euro conversion alone is reason enough to hang up a dream of a vacation in Paris. Sad, no? Instead, pick up an Edith Piaf CD, a nice bottle of Burgundy and cozy up with Alexander Lobrano’s new book, “Hungry for Paris: The Ultimate Guide to the City’s 102 Best Restaurants”. From the start, Lobrano has you hooked with the story of how he fell for the city and a life as a food writer.

“The beef was chewier than what I knew at home, but I’d never eaten a sauce like that in my life. What did it taste like? Smoke, beef, blood, salt, onions, mushrooms, and wine. I spooned, dunked and licked until not a drop of the velvety garnet-colored sauce was left and later spent a restless night knowing that I’d never be free of a powerful, permanent craving for more. Little did I know then that this addiction would become the compass by which I would live my life.”

The European correspondent for Gourmet magazine asks you to consider him the good friend you need to navigate the city’s vast dining scene. He clears up any misconceptions right away with a chapter titled “The Happy Eater’s Almanac”, and, his reviews read like vignettes, with a synopsis at the close of what not to miss. In this charming collection he covers them all from intimate taverns to haute cuisine, seasonal eating to dining alone, leaving no culinary cobblestone unturned.

If you live in the Seattle Area, you’re in luck, as Lobrano will be reading from his book at Janiuk Winery April 22.