Now that I’m home, I’d love to share some details about where and what we ate during our brief time in the south of France. Our meals ranged from bread, cheese and fruit to an indulgent bouillabaisse with plenty of the trois Ps (pizza, pasta and pastry) in between. Allow me to share some of my favorites.
Let me begin with the most expensive (by far) of our meals – dinner at Restaurant Michel. This Marseille institution came highly recommended and was the only place we booked from the States in advance. We made an 8:00 pm reservation for our arrival day with the thought that we wouldn’t have to scramble for a dinner spot after a long day spent traveling.
I still think this was a good idea and recommend it, especially when your dining destination and accommodations are close enough to walk between, as was our case. As for our meal…well, I wasn’t really in love with it – or the experience in general. From the brightly lit dining room to the lack of music, there was zero ambiance in this place. While I appreciate the tradition of the dish and the incredible freshness of the fish, it simply didn’t add up for me as a wonderful meal. Memorable? Oui. Taste bud stimulating? Non.
The croissant and pain aux raisins purchased from the place across the square from our accommodations, Bonne Miette, promised organic pastry and coffees and set the bar for morning sweets on Day 1. Everything we sampled was stellar, with the pain aux raisins being particularly outstanding. The only reason we I didn’t simply get pastry there each of mornings was because I had some weird need to share the wealth and sample a few places around town.
We had an excellent Lebanese lunch one afternoon at the lowdown bargain price of approximately $30. An array of mezze, surprisingly flat pita and skewered lamb and chicken made for a satisfying meal that didn’t weigh us down prior to our walking tour of Marseille. Had there been an opportunity, we would have happily returned to La Table Libanaise, at least for the dessert we were invited to come back to enjoy since we had run out of time – and room.
For dinner we had mediocre pizza and the worst calamari ever before stumbling through the rain and into a wine bar with a Chelsea Market vibe. With a vibrant crowd tucked into all the nooks and crannies, Le Canon du Vieux-Porte was the perfect way to end a day that included 60 floors and 28,000+ steps.
Having been encouraged by a retired chef friend in Florence, we sought out a Moroccan spot for a cheap lunch of couscous with a side of merguez sausage. I honestly didn’t take note of the name of the joint, but there are scads of them in this diverse city from which to choose. Or – you could even visit Marseille in late August when they host an annual Couscous Festival.
We had hoped to catch some live music in Marseille, but because we were there at the beginning of a week, the timing wasn’t great, with most performances held on the weekend. So we consoled ourselves by enjoying a pre-dinner apertivo at a spot that offered a terrace with a port view.
Our final night in Marseille was significant because it was when I had the best pizza of my life. After having been turned away by our first choice, Splendido, we landed at Trattoria Partenope and we couldn’t have been more delighted. The buzz of the room, complete with audible music and restrained lighting provided the perfect backdrop for my absolutely fantastic pizza. There aren’t enough words available for me to describe it adequately, but I will never forget the perfectly delicious, imperfect circle which I was served. Tres bien!
To be continued…
DelSo 