Bouillabaisse in Marseilles anyone?

[peterpumkino]

I'm off to Marseilles in August and needs some ideas re. Bouillabaisse as it can be pricey and great and can also be pricey and miserable!

Anybody any ideas for the Real Thing. Money is important but good food and nice location are more important.

Thanks a bunch,

Peter

[yavamos]

Hello Peter-

Although I don't have any reco's for bouillabaisse, I'd love to hear what restaurants you enjoyed in the Aix area on your previous trip. Any reco's for Cassis?

Thanks-

Anne

Edited July 10, 2003 by yavamos (log)

[Holly Moore]

Did a lot of research last year and ended up at Le Miramar. I made a great choice. It may not be the best Marseilles bouillabaisse, as it's the only version I've had there, but it was be far the best bouillabaisse I've ever had.

There is an organization dedicated to preserving the classic method of preparing bouillabaisse, Le Charte de la Bouillabaisse Marseillaise. Six of its signatories, including Le Miramar, are in Marseilles. I suspect any of these places would merit your attention.

[peterpumkino]

I'd love to hear what restaurants you enjoyed in the Aix area on your previous trip.

Alas Anne, I didn't have much time to really explore Aix and Cassis as I was working.

However I will say that Aix is a very beautiful place and Cassis is fun. The Cassis white wine is also excellent.

[peterpumkino]

Did a lot of research last year and ended up at Le Miramar.  I made a great choice.  It may not be the best Marseilles bouillabaisse, as it's the only version I've had there, but it was be far the best bouillabaisse I've ever had.

Sounds great Holly. What kind of price range? And does the waiter cook in front of you? Thanks.

[Holly Moore]

Did a lot of research last year and ended up at Le Miramar. I made a great choice.  It may not be the best Marseilles bouillabaisse, as it's the only version I've had there, but it was be far the best bouillabaisse I've ever had.

Sounds great Holly. What kind of price range? And does the waiter cook in front of you? Thanks.

I'm recalling between 40 and 50 euros, but not certain. It was expensive.

The broth and the fish are served separately, the broth first.

The fish is cooked in the kitchen. The server then presents the cooked fish at your table. The waiter takes the cooked fish to a central area in the dining room where he prepares it for the bouillabaisse. Then the fish is brought to the table in additional broth. If you click on the link my post above, you'll sort of see the process in picture form.

[Duncan]

Did a lot of research last year and ended up at Le Miramar. I made a great choice.  It may not be the best Marseilles bouillabaisse, as it's the only version I've had there, but it was be far the best bouillabaisse I've ever had.

Sounds great Holly. What kind of price range? And does the waiter cook in front of you? Thanks.

The Boullabaise Charter that they follow says they have to cut the fish up in front of you:

The way in which the Bouillabaisse is served is left to the discretion of the restaurant manager, but as a general rule it is served in two different dishes, the fish in one and the soup in the other. Depending on the guest's wishes the dish may be served mixed together in a soup plate or served separately.

There is, however, one fundamental rule: the fish must be cut up in front of the guests. Pimento-flavored mayonnaise, accompanied with croutons, is also to be served.

[peterpumkino]

If you click on the link my post above, you'll sort of see the process in picture form.

Yes, Holly, your site has some great photos but......................disaster......................I'm going in August and, apparantly, Miramar is closed then.

Back to the drawing board. Have you (or anyone else) got some ideas.

Thanks again

[gracelee]

HI Peter:

R.W. Apple of the New York Times wrote a long article last year about Marseille bouillabaisse. He mentioned that La Miramar was sold last year. He writes in considerable detail his meal at L'Epuisette (near Vallon des Auffes). Also liked Brasserie des Catalans (Michel) and Tetou. Le Bacon (Antibes vicinity):

"..All along the corniche that follows the coast south from Marseille, and tucked into the calanques or coves beyond that, you come across small, little-heralded restaurants, some of them not much more than shacks, few of them paid great heed by gastronomic guides. At such spots, like Le Rhul and Chez Aldo, Chez Fonfon and Le Lunch, they take their bouillabaisse seriously. So, too, on the Riviera, at glossy Bacon in ritzy Cap d'Antibes and fashionable Tetou, smack on the sands in Golfe-Juan.

...Tradition dictates that bouillabaisse be served as well as cooked in two stages: first the broth with croutons rubbed with garlic and topped with rouille, followed by the fish, which must be shown whole on a platter to the diner, according to regional etiquette, then filleted and returned.

Tradition is honored at L'Epuisette, except that both rouille and the paler, less peppery aioli, another garlic mayonnaise, are offered with the croutons that go into the liquid. When the rouille is stirred in, it creates a seductive brick-red streak. On the day or our visit, five fish and a quantity of sliced boiled potatoes, moistened with more cooking liquid, were presented after I had polished off two bowls of bouillon.

The fish were all that could be asked for -- tender, juicy and infused with the complex flavors of the broth: rascasse and chapon, monkfish tail and conger, and most delectable of all, a subtly flavored weever...

..Michelin gives a star to Le Miramar in the current guide, which will no doubt be withdrawn because of the change in ownership, and another to Michel, on the corniche. For me, Michel, also known as the Brasserie des Catalans, is more Disneyland than Marseille, with fish displayed in a beached dory and a waiter dressed up as Popeye, although the bouillabaisse is worthy enough."

Please let us know where you end up going!

[Holly Moore]

One of the "Charter" sites lists all signatories to the Charter. Last year there were six in Marseilles. I suspect any of those would be worth a visit.

[Bux]

Michel, also known as the Brasserie des Catalans, is where I had Bouillabaise when I was in Marseilles in December of 2000. I did not choose the restaurant. I believe it was chosen by the English couple we were meeting, but it may have been chosen by the French wife of their friend. She's from Marseille and that couple now lives outside of the city. R.W. Apple's discription right down to "a waiter dressed up as Popeye" is a good part of the reason I'm loathe to recommend it too highly. Nevertheless, it's well away from the port area and not really a tourist trap as far as I could tell. Both Miramar and Michel-Brasserie des Catalans have a star in the 2003 Michelin and they are the two restaurants recommended for bouillabaisse. Miramar, on the Vieux Port, is the one more likely to have tourists fall into it and it seemed to be the more expensive restaurant. Forty years ago, we had a very unpretentious bouillabaisse right on the port. Today, I'd be loathe to just a pick a nice place out of the blue, on the port. We did that for a lunch and it was a disaster. I'd go with L'Epuisette, another star, but not noted for its bouillabaisse and closed from August 11 until September 2, or maybe Michel-Brasserie des Catalans. That may leave you with one choice.

The only advice I have is to get a bottle of Cassis blanc, or maybe a Bandol, but the Cassis may be better priced.

[John Whiting]

The fundamental problem with bouillabaisse, as with so many traditional dishes, is that the essential ingredients, which were chosen by default for their cheapness, have become, through scarcity, very expensive. Today one is faced with two alternatives, each of them in its own way equally inauthentic.

1. You may ignore the cost and go for tradition. In restaurants this means that you are inevitably eating with the rich in surroundings which are either luxurious or quaintly and artificially plebeian. To justify the price, expensive ingredients such as lobster and crab are often added, which rarely figured in the dish as served up by fishermen or their wives. No matter how good the food on your plate, you are participating in a ritual as far removed from its origins as the paintings of Watteau from the lives of French shepherds and shepherdesses.

2. You may opt for substitute ingredients which today are plentiful. Coley, for instance, is dirt cheap and is largely fed to cats; but skinned and boned, it has an acceptable flavor and allows the impecunious to serve up bouillabaisse as often as they please. I do a simple version which takes no more than half an hour, start to finish, and costs a pittance. This is the option which a frugal Marseilles fishwife, transplanted from a century ago and given modern implements, would probably follow. It's better than many I've had in highly recommended restaurants. I append it below.

######################################

Cheap Instant Bouillabaisse

This recipe is for the smallest practical quantity, enough for six generous servings. The ingredients will cost as little as three to four pounds. It can be freely multiplied.

For the soup:

1 lb minced white fish (commonly sold by kosher fishmongers)

2 tbls olive oil

5 garlic cloves (or to taste)

1 onion

1 leek, cleaned

1 fennel root

1 small red chili pepper, or powdered cayenne to taste

1 can tomatoes

3 pints water

Julienne all the vegetables in a food processor. Put all the ingredients in a pressure cooker, bring to maximum pressure and cook for ten minutes. Depressurize under running cold water and blend at high speed to emulsify.

Allow a few minutes for the flavors to recover and combine. Half an hour’s preparation and cooking will give you a strong, thick, delicious soupe de poisson, ready to eat as it is, with croutons, grated gruyère and garlic mayonnaise or rouille. You may also cook in it, for about 15-20 minutes,

1 lb. diced or sliced raw potatoes

You can, at the same time as the potatoes, cook whatever additional fish and shellfish you prefer, depending on availability and the size of your wallet. To keep the first attempt notably cheap, I used

1 lb coley fillet, skinned [essential] and cut into small pieces

This I added for the last five minutes of cooking the potatoes. Cheap, boring fish – the sort you feed your cat – but, within the total context, nectar and ambrosia, made even sweeter by the fact that authenticity, as defined by the best authorities, would have added a zero to the cost. We had it two nights in a row and plan to make it again immediately. We could even afford to eat it twice a day.

©2001 John Whiting

Edited July 11, 2003 by John Whiting (log)

[peterpumkino]

The only advice I have is to get a bottle of Cassis blanc, or maybe a Bandol, but the Cassis may be better priced.

I've already got six bottles of Cassis in the fridge!!

Thanks for your comments but problem with Miramar (apart from it's change of management) is closed in August. Looks inreasingly like Chez Fonfon.

[peterpumkino]

This is the option which a frugal Marseilles fishwife, transplanted from a century ago and given modern implements, would probably follow.

Thanks John. I just might try your recipe as it does sound good.

I agree with you about 'authentic' ingredients, but where would you get Bouilliebasse cooked this way? I suppose you would have to go hunting in the back streets of Marseille.

Peter

[peterpumkino]

Please let us know where you end up going!

Thanks for that very comprehensve report. I'll let you know but at moment looks like Chez Fonfon.

[Bux]

I've already got six bottles of Cassis in the fridge!!

Thanks for your comments but problem with Miramar (apart from it's change of management) is closed in August.  Looks inreasingly like Chez Fonfon.

Actually, it was the other two restaurants I might suggest before Miramar. I suspect John Whiting has a good point. Bouillabaisse is a bit ruined by its own success and it's prepared today for reasons quite different from those that gave birth to the dish. That does not make it a less tasty dish to seek out, nor should we insist that it's inauthentic if it's not a cheap dish. Change is the only constant in life and there's no reason bouillabaisse shouldn't develop or that its role in our dining habits shouldn't change.

[menton1]

I have heard the Le Miramar is under new management now, and is not what it used to be. A big tourist destination and overpriced.

On the other side of the port, one block in, is a pedestrianised street, Rue Neuve, where a couple of dozen seafood restos abound. We stopped at one in a beautiful square and gorged ourselves on bouillabaisse at lunchtime. Could hardly walk after that. Mostly Marseillais patronizing these places.

I had a Bourride in a restaurant in Cassis, much less expensive than bouillabasse, and it was really excellent. A deep, complex flavor, also served with the toasts and the rouille. Enjoy!!

[jakubc]

Last fall, I drove down from Aix explicitly for lunch in Marseilles to try the bouillabaisse at L'Epuisette.

It was an early December day where both rain and sun fought each other, with the clouds having the edge for the most part.

The decision to try the restaurant was because of the aforementioned NY Times article.

As it is the only time I have had bouillabaisse in France, it is somewhat difficult to put the dish in true perspective. It seemed quite authentic, but it did not move me in the way I expected it would. Indeed, I am still dreamy about the soupe de poisson from Loulou near Nice. I did try soupe de poisson a few other times during my trip but none came close.

Going back to the bouillabaisse, I did not think that the croutons and mayonaisse were in the same league as at Loulou. But it was still a very pleasant lunch. I really enjoyed the fruit based desserts I had as well as the out onto the port.

If I'm in Marseille again I might try the place again, but I would not go out of my way to eat there.

Still, the experience of eating a real bouillabaisse was interesting, because in NY, I have the impression that restaurants think that by throwing in enough scallops, mussels, lobsters, and shellfish they'll trick the clientele into thinking they're eating a real bouillabaisse.

[Bux]

The pity about NY bouillabaisse, and perhaps Parisian bouillabaisse as well, is that people think that after having three or four, they may have some idea of what the real dish is about.

[Jonathan Day]

There is some bouillabaisse discussion here -- including Frieda L's advice that the summer may not be the best time for this dish.

[David Bizer]

For French speakers in the forum, there is an article on Bouillabaisse in today's Le Monde.

Even if you can't read French, you can figure out the two restaurants they mention. I've never been to either. Has anyone had any experience with Port Alma (10, avenue de New York. 75116 Paris) or Bistrot d'Alex (2, rue Clément. 75006 Paris)?

[robert brown]

Peter, Chez Fonfon may be your best bet, regardless. I ate there several years ago on a recommendation from Eli Zabar. Marcus did a survey a few months ago of three or four in Marseilles. He liked Chez Fonfon very much. PM him. We are planning a trip to Maurin des Maures in Rayol Canadelles sur, near Le Lavandou, in a couple of weeks. It was featured on Gourmet TV and looked tempting. You have to order the bouillabaisse in advance.

[peterpumkino]

Peter, Chez Fonfon may be your best bet,

Thanks Robert, actually I've just made a res. at Chez FonFon for 1.00pm on August 16. I assume it's'prettier' in the afternoon? Have a nice trip to Maurin de Maures - let us know how you get on.

[robert brown]

Peter, if memory serves me well, Chez FonFon is in some nondescript neighborhood away from the sea. But so what. It's a lively, informal place. Let us know how it goes. Have fun.

[Bux]

Peter, if memory serves me well, Chex FonFon is in some nondescript neighborhood away from the sea. But so what. It's a lively, iknformal place. Let us know how it goes. Have fun.

Judging from the map in the red Michelin guide, Chez FonFon is almost across the road from the one starred l'Epuisette and perhaps, right on the little port of Vallon des Auffres. Michelin also calls it a testament to Marius. How that compares to the welcome in the style of Pagnol you are supposed to get at Michel-Brasserie des Catalans is anyone's guess. but I deem it to be a favorable comment. We haven't yet perfected time travel, -- indeed, if you look at theme parks as an example, it would seem we don't really want the past as it really was -- but there are those places that enable us to get an honest glimpse of the past. If Peter's lucky, this may be one. Understand that Marseille isn't what it used to be and that bouillabaise isn't what it used to be and he may find a bit of magic. Most of us look too hard for the magic and only discover that things are not what they used to be. The sad fact is that if Peter finds the magic and tells us about it, we will all come expecting magic and learn only that things are not what they used to be. Peter, I hope I didn't spoil this one for you with Michelin's description.