Where to Get a Bad Meal in Paris

You'd be better off buying a crepe from the stands
on nearby Boulevard St. Michel than to get drawn
into one of the joints with a "menu touristique" here
on rue de la Huchette, in the student quarter.
There are some good things to be found here
—especially if you're under 30—but food is
not necessarily one of them.  If you really do 
want falafel, head over to rue des Rosiers in the
Marais and join the queue outside L'as du Falafel.
(And if you're a fan of couscous, I believe there are 
still some places in Paris where they serve it up
for free, mostly on Friday and Saturday night.)