Bulot: Is There an off season?

[TomV]

Hi-

We're planning a trip to Paris in January. We love to eat bulot, sea snails, widely available on ice in the cafes. Is there any off season for bulot specifically and if so when?

On our last trip, the seafood seemed to be uniformly good in cafes. Are there any that are especially good? It seemed to me that any cafe that had an outdoor fishmonger served solid mollusk. Is this true?

Thanks!

[John Talbott]

Hi-

We're planning a trip to Paris in January.  We love to eat bulot, sea snails, widely available on ice in the cafes.   Is there any off season for bulot specifically and if so when? 

On our last trip, the seafood seemed to be uniformly good in cafes.  Are there any that are especially good?  It seemed to me that any cafe that had an outdoor fishmonger served solid mollusk.  Is this true?

Thanks!

←

If there's anytime seafood, esp shellfish, are in abundance, it's in winter but I've always found bulots in my fish shop.

Sure, all brasseries/etc that have an outside shucker (whom my insider source tells me are invariably Magrebian) have the same shellfish inside; you can easily look them over first; because some places, eg l'Huitrier have excellent products but not a comprehensive range.