As the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris approaches, the worlds spotlight on the French capital will undoubtedly highlight French traditions.

Its also generating excitement in Kansas City, known as the Paris of the Plains.

There are plenty of ways for residents and visitors to get out and experience French culture without leaving the Midwest.

"Its absolutely delicious," a customer at the French Market and Cafe Provence in Prairie Village told Scripps News Kansas City. "They change their menu regularly, so I feel like every time we come back, theres a little something different."

Cafe Provence, which opened more than 20 years ago, and the French Market, which opened in 2013, offer French imports, vintage items, cookbooks and other French products.

Those are the things that we bring to the table because of who we are and where we come from, French Market owner Patrick Quillec said.

Cafe Provence has been recognized as one of the top French restaurants not only in Kansas City but across the United States.

I always said French people are very demanding about their product and their life, Quillec said. It puts a kind of pressure on ownership of restaurants.

We found another customer who predicts this summers Olympic Games will draw even more customers to the restaurant.

I think itll bring people into those places just so they can kind of feel the vibe of the Olympics and being in that culture, the customer said.

A little further east in Kansas City, Missouri, those looking to cool off with a French treat can swing by French Custard in the Brookside neighborhood.

We really tried to do things the French way, which is simple but delicious and homemade and high quality, French Custard owner Jessica Wood said. I definitely feel like well have a boost in sales this summer with people wanting to just try French custard.

Wood, who has visited France and lived in New York, saw a need to bring authentic French custard to Kansas City by opening up her shop in 2023.

French custard is all about homemade from scratch, Wood said. Ice cream we make is based in-house with just milk, cream, egg and sugar.

Wood plans to go over a special Olympic sundae during this summers games.

Scripps News Kansas City

Tipping is popping up almost everywhere nowadays.

Dinner out? Need to tip. Coffee on the go? The shop requests a tip. Gatorade at a convenience store? There's even a tip jar for that.

And in some places, it's gone from customary to controversial.

A just-released survey from Bankrate found that negative views of tipping are now widespread, while a growing number of people now say it's out of control and are tipping less in some places.

We all love dining out on a beautiful day, but several people we spoke with enjoying an outdoor lunch said tipping has become too much.

"When the price of the meal goes up the tip goes up too," one diner said.

Chris Breeden owns a 100-year-old restaurant, Arnold's Bar and Grill, and said every night he sees cash-strapped diners struggle with the cost of leaving servers a generous tip.

"You try to explain it," Breeden said, "but people just want cheaper, especially when they are struggling with money themselves. It is not that they don't care, they just can't afford the meal plus a tip."

The Bankrate survey finds:

Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said: "Some of it is because businesses don't want to raise prices any more than they already have. They're sensitive to that."

The survey goes on to find:

Hospitality management professor David Corsun, of the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management at the University of Denver, predicts an end to tipping in the years ahead.

He said some restaurants are already replacing tips with service charges "so that they can pay everybody in the front of the house and the back of the house a living wage and provide benefits.

"There's no way to do that in a tipped environment," he said.

Allegra Tinmore has been a hostess and waitress, and reminds us that restaurant workers rely on your tips to survive.

"They are getting paid something like $3 an hour and the rest is all tips," she said.

So help those servers as best you can, and that way you don't waste your money.

_________________________

Follow John:

For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com

Over the past few years, downtown Detroit venues have been on a row generating positive headlines. But more national recognition has now spread to the Midtown. Recently,, the Detroit Institute of Arts joined the Detroit Riverwalk and Campus Martius Park in winning one of USA Todays top spots for being the nations Best Art Museum!

Now, the rest of America knows what we Michiganders have known for years. The DIA, with its prestigious and valuable collection of 65 thousand works of art, is a gem. It is also one of the largest museums in the U.S. where you can immerse yourself in more than one hundred galleries, covering 685 thousand square feet of space. A major expansion of 58 thousand feet was added to its facility in 2007. In addition to artistic pieces from every corner of the world, the museum proudly boasts of having the Center for African American Art, one of the first collections of its type housed at a major museum.

In securing its top ranking in the USA Today Readers Choice competition, the DIA beat museums in Baltimore, Santa Fe, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, to name just a few. Our museum was in good company but proudly stood out from the pack. Its a tribute to the vision and hard work of DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons, his staff, board of directors, and the museums many volunteers.

A decade ago, the Detroit Institute of Arts played a key role in securing Detroits financial stability. This latest award adds another feather to its cap and reaffirms its reputation as a Detroit leader and national treasure.

Im Mike Murri, V.P. & General Manager

Broadcast: March 9 - 12, 2023