What a fun read!  Authors Marjorie Williams and Dixon Long have revisited the city’s food scene to fully update Markets of Paris for a brand new look to include: Markets open on Sunday, getting along in the food markets, brocante fairs, cooking in Paris, profiles and photos of farmers and artisanal suppliers behind the best food stalls, restaurant listings and arrondissement organization to be more user friendly.

Marjorie shared her thoughts with me on what changes and new trends she’s seen in Paris since the first edition six years ago, what makes shopping in a market here a “quintessentially French experience” and more.

Q: What was the decision behind updating the book again in 2012?

A: The market scene had evolved, justifying a new edition. Several new markets have been added, and shuttered ones were removed. Ditto with the restaurant recommendations, with new ones included either because of their market-driven menu or proximity to markets. Dixon & I revisited the markets, updated changes to open days & hours of markets to ensure accuracy, refreshed many descriptions often offering fresh suggestions for what to look for once there. We also created new sidebars to reflect trends on rise since the original edition e.g.Artisan Bakers & Artisan Foods, the “bio” trend (and expanded coverage of the 3 bio markets), Virtual Markets, etc.. All the photos are also new to this edition and was completely reorganized by arrondissement. We added a “If You Have Limited Time” listing, as well as “Open Sunday” markets to make it even easier for travelers to plan their time well. New maps on front & rear endpapers help readers locate some of the featured markets relative to well-known landmarks. Overall, we just wanted the book to be even more PRACTICAL, TIMELY, and USER-FRIENDLY.

Q: Aside from more purveyors being more interested in “bio”, what other interesting changes did you find in the last six years? Did the demographic of shoppers change? Quality of food?

A: More prepared foods offered at food markets (items to eat on spot as well as seating areas to take advantage of that, or else take to-go & eat later). More ethnic cuisines offered (North African, Lebanese, etc.). An incursion of mini-hypermarchés and a greater attendance & vitality at ethnic markets as people more willing to venture to farther arrondissements. Shoppers are still a cross-section of Parisians–young/old, wealthy/poor, etc. The weekend market days busier than weekdays, in part reflecting a shift in people’s work & shopping patterns.

Q: What elements do you think makes shopping in the markets here a “quintessentially French experience?”

A: The abundance & variety of items sold at markets year-round (the Rungis market is a major factor here), with emphasis on items from Île de France. Markets are spread throughout the city with almost every arrondissement having one if not several weekly markets. The social aspect of the markets is quintessentially French–the way people meet friends at cafes afterwards, chitchat with merchants, wait their turn (well, mostly!) in line.

Q:You mention “embracing the city as an old friend with idiosyncrasies we recognize”… Can you expand a little bit on that? Any humorous analogies?

A: Being scolded when we forgot that touching the produce & inspecting it before purchasing can be a no-no at some stands. Hiding our American smiles because they make us seem suspect. (When getting passport-size photos for our metro passes, the photographer refused to take our picture until we stopped smiling!) Being rebuffed and ignored if we launch into asking for directions, etc. without remember to first say “Bonjour, Monsieur” has happened to us several times.

Q: What about this second edition are you most proud of?

A: This new edition is more PRACTICAL than ever. (The maps, the Limited Time & Sunday Only listings, the new organization by arrondissement.) The FUN cover design & endpaper maps. It’s COMPREHENSIVE, and yet slim, svelte, EASY TO TOTE around in a pocket.

Markets of Paris is published by The Little Bookroom, and available in US bookstores and on Amazon.com now. $18.95. For more on Marjorie and the project you can visit her website: http://www.marjorierwilliams.com/

During the day, Au Passage is a tranquil out of the way lunch spot for an entree + plat + dessert. But put on your seatbelt at night for the sharing plate/tapas menu honey. The vibe is hip, but also fun and relaxed – that is, as long as you can handle a lack of personal space. Au Passage packs ‘em in like the °1 metro line at rush hour.

Hidden away in the 11th on a little street with the same name, the place has an old school feel with the original zinc bar, leather club chairs and modern graphic design posters. Think 1920′s Parisian vintage bistro meets lower east side coffee house.

The area is a hot bed for the cool kids doing something new and with attitude. In recent years, neighboring trailblazers Le Verre Volé, Aux Deux Amis, Entree des Artistes, Chateaubriand and Le Dauphin have made the Canal St Martin – Oberkampf area one of the edgiest quartiers in Paris.

In the same laid-back and serious about pristine ingredients natural wine advocating spirit, Spring alum-Australian Chef James Henry is doing it his way with consistently solid dishes one after the other.

Au Passage is a grazing zone where a comfortable mix of younger and older scarf & jean wearing folks gather around a table to eat through a long list of unpretentious choices that change daily such as: cured sausage, house made paté and cornichon pickles, pure bred oysters, St Jean du Luz tuna, ceviche, seared hangar steak with horseradish, heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese, sautéed mushrooms, roasted vegetables, and lamb shoulder and duck breast.

With so many options, even your picky foodie friends will find a handful of items worth trying. However, the natural wine list is brief and focused, available by the glass, bottle (and to our delight) magnums.

It is a good sign when food industry folks love the place too. But since they only have one night to blow off some steam, they usually come early to eat through the extensive tapas menu before going out for a full sit down meal – or – they show up late at night to prolong the sense of freedom away from their stoves.

Whether you are looking to settle in and graze for the night, or come with a group before or after dinner – Au Passage is what it is, an easy relaxed friendly place filled with happy diners – where the staff make it easy to order, easy to “be”, easy to pay and easy to like.

Bonus? Great for small groups of friends, open on Monday and wine can be purchased at a take-away discount.

A Sample Menu Rundown:

The house made paté is dangerous, moist from fresh veal stock and best with toasted country bread crust and tart cornichon pickles.

There are a lot of oyster producers in France but none have the snob factor that the Gillardeau family oysters have… these °3 sized beauties didn’t even need lemon. The taste of the ocean took us to a beach far, far away.

Basque country town St Jean du Luz gives this country some of the best damn tuna you’ve ever tasted. James marinated these filets in juniper berry for a bright twist. With four people at the table and four slices on the plate, we made a note to selves that in the future we need four portions.

Multi-colored heirloom tomatoes with fresh goat cheese and mint is such a beautiful simple dish, the second note to selves was to be inspired to make more simple dishes like this at home – more often.

Heirloom Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Creamy Burrata with olive oil is a staple of most wine bars in Paris, but James adds his own kick with the sprinkling of piment d’espelette and zesty coriander flowers.

This was the first of two duck breasts I had in Paris this week where the chef chose not score the skin, yielding moist flavor packed slices cooked to perfection.

The best desserts are the ones that compliment the last drop of red wine in the glass… this chocolate sorbet with fleur de sel did not disappoint.

SIDENOTE:

There is another Au Passage in Paris in the 10th, when making your plans to go, make sure you’ve got the correct address below

Au Passage

Address and Nearest Metro:  1 bis passage Saint Sébastien, 11^th, M° Sébastien-Froissart

Telephone: 01 43 55 07 52

Hours and Prices:  Closed Sunday. Lunch Mon-Friday noon to 2:30 (9.50€ – 16.50€). Dinner 8 PM-11PM, small plates average 9e each.

View Where to Eat and Drink Now in a larger map

Just let me tell you – this guy is hardcore. He travels all over France sourcing the most exceptional seasonal food products you’ve ever seen, obsesses over the tiniest of details from the bread crumbs to parsley, and whips out delicious classic recipes with high gastronomy twists.

It may appear like a total dive with Jégo’s rugby memorabilia and the humorous cartoon murals of him dressed as various super heroes – but he takes seriously good food and a good time seriously.

One look into the open kitchen (not for the faint of heart) will reveal everything from rabbits soaking in blood to whole pig heads being cleaned to make cassoulet (pictured above before the cleaning), to crates of Breton lobsters and langoustines, gargantuan fish and beef steaks and tall baskets of freshly foraged herbs, mushrooms and truffles. When Anthony Bourdain comes back to Paris, Stéphane’s kitchen is going to be foodie field trip stop number one. Jégos’ grandmother’s recipe for riz au lait pudding just might make the tough guy weep.

During service, Stéphane is like the lead singer at a rock concert yelling out over the crowd from the stage while simultaneously snapping food pics with his iPhone to upload to Facebook. (He has one of the most fun FB pages in town.) The best part? Stéphane loves it. He is having the time of his life, and the lack of a wall means that the kitchen and dining room can mentally sing the Stones’ Start Me Up together.

Everyone is eating too much, drinking magnums (Bottles? What is that?) and laughing out loud – a solid recipe for my kind of place as well as for the queue of people at midnight who are waiting to get a table.

Today’s Insider is from my buddy Chef Stéphane Jégo. After all the rock and roll action at L’Ami Jean restaurant, his favorite addresses are places where he can simply relax – preferably with a “great cigar.”

Follow Stéphane’s daily food adventures on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LAMIJEAN

OUTDOORS TERRACE:

Christiane & Jacques Boudon’s Cafe de l’Alma (also of La Fontaine de Mars) really know how to take good care of you and the terrace is for relaxing with a cigar.
5, Avenue Rapp, 7th, Tel.: 01 45 51 56 74

OYSTERS AND SEAFOOD PLATTERS:

Le Dome has consistently fresh ocean/fruits de mer products and I love the old-world traditional service.
108, boulevard du Montparnasse, 14th, Tel: 01 43 35 34 82

SMALL PLATES:

Inaki Aizpitarte’s Le Dauphin modern wine bar (also of Chateaubriand) puts a fun, funky twist on the small plate concept. It goes without saying that the products are the “top.”
131 Avenue Parmentier, 11th, Tel: 01 55 28 78 88

PORK FIX:

Dans Les Landes‘ Julien Duboué (also of Afaria) is like a brother to me… his wine bar in the 5th is where I know I can find a wide variety of tapas using exceptional quality pork (and smoked duck) in a super relaxed room (and terrace). A big plus is that it is open every day.
119 Rue Monge, 5th, Tel: 01 45 87 06 00

SPECIAL OCCASION:

Jean-Pierre Vigato’s Apicius is my top pick to share with special friends for the exceptional cooking and one of the most handsome dining rooms in Paris.
20 Rue d’Artois, 8th, Tel: 01 43 80 19 66

Almost two years ago, I wrote up a less than glowing review of Daniel Rose’s then brand new Spring Restaurant. I so wanted it to glow. After eating there a whopping fifteen times in eight weeks, I was still trying to figure out what they were doing. Turns out, they were trying to figure it out too. They started with a plan, but before the doors could even open the chef was lionized in gold and the “most anticipated opening of the year” set expectations and pressure (too) high from the extraordinary amount of press.

Although the food sourcing was top-notch and technique beyond reproach – the darned menu choices changed dramatically every, single, meal of every, single, day. I could feel that they meant well and aimed to please, but there wasn’t any cohesion from meal to meal or day to day to understand the chef’s vision or the direction of the restaurant. By nature,  diners like having a few dishes they can look forward to in the future. Kudos to the chef for not forcing his guests into a menu that rarely changed but diners just weren’t sure what to expect – not a good scenario when potential customers needed to make decisions on where to spend restaurant money.

Coming up on their second anniversary and well past the light the fuse on the hype bomb stage – Spring can officially go on my list as one of my favorite restaurants in town. Today, Chicago-native Daniel Rose’s Restaurant Spring is a model of what a modern market-driven restaurant should be and has become one of the most sought after reservations in the city.

What changed my mind and led to this re-review? First, the restaurant now has clear direction, finding that balance between what they wanted to do and what the public wanted. They’ve grown into their own skin and know who they are and what they do. When a restaurant feels this comfortable, guests do too.

Secondly, guests now have a unique promise of value and know exactly what to expect – making additional reservations before leaving the restaurant. What is that exactly? The “taste your way around the best regional French products” prix fixe menu is consistently excellent, well executed and changes each week. Most importantly, after many incredible lunches and dinners in the last six months, I was ready to atone for my sins - although, there are still some small flaws. The wine pours can be slow when other diners engage the sommelier for a length of time and when a cheese course is offered, guests aren’t aware it isn’t part of the prix fixe menu and surprised at the extra supplement when the bill arrives.

That said, I have come to count on Daniel Rose knocking flavorful and beautiful dishes out, of, the, park. I recently sent a plate back to the kitchen “just out of the dishwasher clean” it was so darned good. See the food round up below.

Surprisingly, they use very few carbs/heavy cream in cooking – opting instead to coax the best out of vegetables, fresh herbs, broth and pan drippings that take the flavor profile to another level. I am still dreaming about the shallow bowl of smoked yellow tomatoes floating in tomato water. Seriously? So freaking delicious. Summer tomato season is on the way and I hope Daniel puts this baby back on the menu.

Additional pluses? Spring actually serves bread and butter (rare for Paris) and although they can’t recreate an entire service, with advance notice they’ll work with gluten free or dairy allergy sufferers and vegetarians.

Menus are posted on line each week and the server will tell you which impeccable products are headed your way, such as the year’s first green asparagus from Carpentras (Provence), tuna from St Jean De Luz (the French Atlantic coast near Spain) and Gillardeau family oysters from Ile d’Oléron (Western coast).

Far from stuffy or pretentious, it is a mix of polished fine dining and casual buzzy atmosphere with enough space between tables to keep conversations intimate. Diners are also a mix of Parisians and serious foodies from far and wide wearing everything from jeans to cocktail dresses.

It isn’t often that I see French women actually eating, but on a recent visit I got tickled over a gorgeous tanned blonde sopping up every ounce of sauce on her plate with gasp, bread. You go girl, this is how to enjoy food.

Once you push the doorbell, they’ll take your coat on the main level and either lead you past the open kitchen to one of the 24 seats in the industrial modern dining room or take you downstairs to the pretty 17^th c.  brick vaulted ceilings illuminated by candlelight.

The wine list is tops too – focused on small producers they have sought out for being delicious and unique. You can talk with the sommelier about bottle or wine pairing options – the latter being my favorite. But please folks, don’t hold the sommelier captive by being too chatty – if my wine glass is empty when the next course arrives I will, go, bonkers. We can’t have that.

For many, the restaurant isn’t “new” news but even with all the press and hype, a surprising number of people haven’t even heard of it. If this means you, I don’t want you to miss out.

Spring gets a high rating and I stand by it for an exceptional experience. When I am crossing town for a reservation here, I can count on feeling pampered with professional service, look forward to indulging in great food and wine that doesn’t cost a fortune (worth every euro) and can revel in their attention to detail from the welcome to the end of the meal.

P.S. When a restaurant cares if I wash and dry my hands with Aesop soap and soft terrycloth towels, they care about details.

Spring Restaurant, right bank near the Louvre, 6 rue Bailleul, Metro: Line 1, Louvre-Rivoli. Reservations are taken at least 3-4 weeks in advance by email on their site: http://www.springparis.fr/ Lunch menu Wed-Fri 44€, Dinner menu Tues-Sat 76€, Wine Average 40€ per person.

Food Rundown:

Radish with farm butter is a quintessential apero snack – Spring does’t predictably use  the Bordier brand but Bormiambuc. I love this “miam” in the middle of the word, the french spelling for “yummy.”

Lemony and spicy, the eperlan fish friture delicately fried whole is a perfect snack to get the appetite going. Seconds please.

Gillardeau oysters with grapefruit jelly on a bed of rock salt – so bright and fresh after fried fish, but I miss his fried oysters with lemon confit from the old days.

Scallops in a sexy veal sherry vinaigrette, so sexy I didn’t think twice before drinking the broth straight out of the shell and sopping up the last of it with the dark country bread crust.

Jewish artichoke pureé topped with sea urchin “innerds” – although the flavor was perfect, I wasn’t crazy about the pureé texture with the soft urchin, could have been more interesting on a crisp slice of artichoke or violet potato.

Lightly fried monkfish on first of the season green asparagus (both whole and Julienned) and dill with a brilliant lime juice, olive oil and Greek honey sauce.  This dish went back to the kitchen so clean there wasn’t a trace of food or sauce left.  I loved the acidity and sweetness of the sauce with the brightness of the herbs to balance out the fat in the fish.

I was watching this being served to other diners and could barely wait to try it. Perfectly cooked duck cannette legs with pleurotte mushrooms and pan dripping jus. This was the second duck I’ve had in Paris this week without the skin scored, what a difference it makes in the flavor and texture.

Cream free chocolate sorbet with a rum-coffee granité with roasted pistachios. I don’t “do” desserts but this was slap yo’ momma good. (Sorry mom.) After I posted this photo on Facebook, people were talking about inspiration for their own restaurant desserts and hoping this was on the menu when they came to Paris.

From the moment the valet opens your taxi door, the VIP welcome from the street through the reception area to the table makes each guest feel like they are the most anticipated arrival at the dinner party of the year. Who doesn’t love being treated like a rock star at the dinner party of the year – hosted by a three star chef?

In recent years however, not only have fancy Michelin restaurants fallen out of favor for being too serious and expensive, rumor had it that Guy’s cooking wasn’t producing any culinary fireworks. Sure, Guy and I have known each for so many years we’ve actually lost count – but I know a lot of starred chefs, and when spending this kind of money, sister isn’t wasting a meal. It better be worth it.

With the tasting menu at 360€ per person without wine, expectations for our recent meal were understandably high. The menu rundown will give you all the food details, but our dinner was worth every euro, fabulous from start to finish

The restaurant is fine dining on a serious level but the ambiance is surprisingly lively and the polite serving staff is a breath of fresh air. Even the dining room is more like a comfortable modern home than a three-star restaurant.  No overpowering flower arrangements or heavy atmosphere here, architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte designed the space with clever caramel-colored leather partition walls that move to create different intimate dining areas – each filled with Guy’s personal collection of contemporary art, African sculptures and a Buddha head made entirely out of pink-tipped matchsticks. It feels like a comfortable (not intimidating) place to be.

Unlike some of his equals, Guy personally greets each person at the table, walking between the kitchen and dining room throughout the meal to watch for subtle cues on the faces of his guests. This is the trademark “Guy Savoy service” – one of the few restaurants I know where the chef  specifically trains the entire team to seek out eye contact from the diners (eye contact is just not part of the French DNA), and he must teach a bit of mind reading too since there isn’t much of a chance to want anything before it arrives.

Ten perfectly paced courses are designed to drive your taste buds through the “colors, textures and flavors” of each season with Guy as your guide.  On our spring tour, I didn’t see any hint that Guy had lost his mo-jo, quite the opposite. Chef’s talents were on fire and he was clearly having fun – especially with the egg dish, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

In the South we say, “Ain’t nobody happy if momma ain’t happy” and in his house, Chef Guy Savoy clearly ain’t happy if you ain’t happy.

Restaurant Guy Savoy, 18 rue Troyon, right bank near the Arc de Triomphe, Lunch Tuesday-Friday, Dinner Tuesday -Saturday. Tel: 01.43.80.40.61. Website: www.guysavoy.com. Advance reservations accepted by phone or email a must. Smart chic dress for ladies, jacket but no tie required for men.

Menu Highlights:

Every meal Chez Guy starts with a mini “club sandwich” of toasted bread layered with mi-cuit foie gras and fleur de sel. The minute you get settled these are presented on silver toothpicks along with your choice of Champagne. I didn’t even have to ask, the sparkle in my eyes looking at the Billecart-Salmon rosé gave my love affair away. Before we could tell each other that we wanted more club sandwich, more appeared.

We didn’t want to waste time looking over the wine list – we just had the sommelier bring over a glass with each dish. I find it more fun to learn about ten wines than a couple of bottles.

An igloo made of ice arrived table side filled with Oyster tartare-seaweed-lemon granité, scooped out and served in short stout glasses. A fun and refreshing teaser paired with Sancerre “Mont Damnés” 2007 Gérard Boulay.

The plump buttery langoustine tail took up most of the plate, on top of delicately filleted turnip “lace” – with a Riesling “Wiebelsberg” 2008 Marc Kreydenweiss. This was as delicious as it was to look at.

Ah, the egg dish.  A white asparagus topped with a generous amount of Osetra caviar was put onto the table in front of us – I loved that the textured black rim on the plate mirrored the caviar eggs. Then porcelain towers with nests of crisp potato thins with whole eggs arrived – each egg’s shell was tapped and broken over our asparagus/caviar spilling a smoked sabayon. When we inspected the shells puzzled, that we couldn’t figure out how he got the sabayon inside the egg – Chef watching from the sidelines, snuck up behind me and whispered in my ear, “It is a special race of chicken at Guy Savoy that can lay eggs like that.”  Ah bon? Vin de Pays des Alpilles 2006 – Domaine Hauvette en Magnum

The roasted Bar fish heads with a puree of Jewish artichokes on top of arugula, almond and celery cake (to resemble a sea sponge) was perfectly fine, but suffered the fate of following the sabayon. A potentially great dish was just average after the egg trick. Meursault “Les Criots” 2009 Domaine Ballot-Millot

Sexy pan-seared duck foie gras with horseradish and braised celery rounds floating in a potato chip “broth” brought us back to life. It was so darned good if it weren’t for the holes through the rim of the plate, we would have picked it up to drink it in one go. Côte-Rôtie 2008 Domaine Ogier

His signature artichoke soup with black truffle Parmesan slices and mushroom brioche slathered in black truffle butter – is truly one of my favorite dishes of all time. I love that the staff gives you more brioche and encourage guests to dip it into the soup. I needed no instruction. Southerners learn this technique at birth.  Aglianico del Vulture 2006 Domaine Camerlengo

I barely made it through the lamb course and aged cheese trolley – happily drinking a Vouvray Moelleux 2003 Domaine Foreau while watching my table mates eat like locusts. How they found room for the crème anglaise and salted butter caramel rice pudding and sorbet – followed by coffee biscuits, salted butter caramel crème, prunes in wine and spice, earl grey tea sorbet and a thin apple pie wedge, lemon marshmallows and chocolate/vanilla macarons I will never know.

We fell into the street and poured into the taxi, with a little help from Chef and crew. Truly a great experience and meal.

In the game of petanque, there are heavy steel balls with different distinguishable patterns and a little ball called the “cochon” – which is tossed out first as the target for the rest of the team to aim the boules towards. The person or team who gets closest to the cochon wins. Camille did not leave this little detail out, with a gold leaf interpretation. Inside the boules are individual pieces of nougat-caramel, mango-passion fruit and honey vanilla. This was just too over the top not to share!

The hotel’s “Dali” restaurant will be serving and selling them from April 2nd – 9th for 32euros and one of the best places in town for Easter brunch.

Bonne Pâques - Happy Easter!

My friends visiting from Chicago asked why they were “pushing” two baskets when they just wanted to buy one. They answered their own question after they ate the contents of that basket in under thirty seconds, and then purchased TWO more for a total of three. Et voila! Residents know that if you buy only one basket, it is impossible not to eat them on the way home – and someone must return to the market for more. Purchased from the market they can be enjoyed straight out of the basket or with yogurt for breakfast – while pastry chefs and bakers will soon be using them for seasonal tarts, cut in half with the cut side facing upwards to show off the pretty in pink color.

Although an ocean apart, L’Ecailler du Bistro’s Gwen Cadoret and I were both raised in oyster communities where an oyster was more than a mollusk; it was a way of life.

Her father Jacques is a fifth generation rock star oyster farmer in Riec-sur-Belon Brittany where her backyard was an ocean of oyster beds, able to pull them out of the crate at any time of day, and eating them then and there.

My grandfather was my rock star in the Florida Panhandle for picking me up at midnight to drive over an hour to Apalachicola to meet the boats at the crack of dawn and then turn around and drive home again.  Sitting on his dock overlooking our backyard called St. Andrews Bay, we shucked them by the dozens at sunrise. While most everyone else went to Hardee’s drive-thru for breakfast buttermilk biscuits; we drove through Apalachicola. As one does.

Each time I hear Otis croon Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, it is impossible not to have a tidal wave of great childhood memories come over me.

The similarities between our upbringings stopped there though. The Florida Panhandle didn’t quite prepare me for the cultural differences of eating oysters in France when I arrived over twenty years ago.

Apalachicola oysters are from one region, one size and one price. They are served on plastic cafeteria trays, eaten “raw” (or as we would say “nekked”) and then dipped into little paper cups filled with a blend of fresh horseradish/cocktail sauce/Crystal hot sauce and then placed on top of a saltine cracker – all washed down with a pitcher of Bud Lite.

No beer, horseradish, cocktail sauce or saltines with oysters in France. They are eaten “naked” with the exception of lemon or shallot vinaigrette, atop rye or baguette bread with butter.

French oysters also come from five different coastal areas and priced according to their size from 0 – 6. Since zero is the biggest (gigantic) and 6 is the smallest (clam size), numbers 1 – 4 are the most commonly ordered, slurped directly out of their shells in-between sips of white wine or Champagne. Tasting notes can range from salty to creamy, and colors from grey to green and green-blue from an algae diet.

So you can imagine the look of disbelief in a Paris chef’s eyes when I told him how we Southerners do it.  He put his hand over his mouth and gasped, “But what did those poor oysters ever do to you for you to treat them like that!?” His reaction made me laugh out loud, but not enough to tell him that we also bake them with jalapeño cheese or deep fry ‘em! Since he is reading this, all the cards are now on the table.

Since Gwen is an oyster gal and also the co-owner of the Paul Bert Bistro with her husband Betrand (pictured left) – it was a no-brainer that she put her experience and knowledge into her own oyster bar next door at the L’Ecailler du Bistro. “Ecailler” means to scale fish and this place means fresh seafood business.

L’Ecailler du Bistro is my favorite oyster haunt. The clientele is made up of neighbors and food & wine industry folk – such as our merry group which recently met on the sidewalk with a bottle of wine to catch up with Bertrand and Gwen. We worked up our appetite watching the guys through the large picture window shucking fresh oysters and arranging platters of spider crab, clams, snails and shrimp by tucking them into beds of seaweed and ice.

You have to walk through this shucking and scaling station past the platters before being seated – they are so over the top you want to sneak a bite on the way to your table. The mood here is lively and fun, bordering on celebratory – friends and lovers around intimate tables sharing a communal meal. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

I love the old world–boathouse feel of the space, purposely filled with warm woodwork, tile mosaics, paintings of oyster gatherers from centuries past and model sailboats and yachts – all the things that remind Gwen of growing up in Brittany.

As soon as we were seated, the winemaker in our group took charge of the wine list and didn’t hesitate to order a magnum of 2006 Rene Moss Anjou blanc just to start us off while we decided what to order. Go big or go home we say. Since Bertrand is a natural wine enthusiast, the list at both Bistro Paul Bert and L’Ecailler du Bistro is exceptional  – where you can find small producers such as Foillard, Mosse, Breton and Puzelat.  Bertrand teased the table that the cave no longer has the red Puzelat since “Wendy has depleted” the reserves in recent months.  Hey, when it is good, it is good. Now there isn’t a bottle to be found in Paris – such is the challenge when you fall in love with a small production wine. When it is gone, it is “g-o-n-e” until the next vintage.

The oyster menu (printed on the back of an oyster crate lid) features many star producers in the Normandy, Brittany and Marenne regions; so it is fun to order a mixed platter of the regions and sizes to get a taste of the different creamy and salty varieties.

You can choose from the custom order assortment platters to share (some platters are so big they can take up an entire table!) but also from the “daily catch du jour” chalkboard menu – showcasing delicate appetizers such as crab spring rolls followed by mains of scallops cooked in the shell with seaweed butter and Julia Child’s first dish in France, the classic sole meuniere.

Our group put the hurt on a 36 piece oyster sampler platter and decided to go whole hog with the lobster menu for the entire table. For 55e, it buys a dozen prized belon oysters, a perfectly cooked half lobster drizzled with the subtly spiced Brittany crème ‘kari-gosse’ sauce and an extra bowl of it to dip the best frites in Paris. Even the frites are served on enormous platters and our hands moved so fast, they needed to replenish it before we could start on the lobster. Thank heavens for the fabulous thick marine linen napkins.

With little room left over, there was still no way to pass up a bite of the savory Brittany salted caramel hot stewed apple tart topped with vanilla bean ice-cream – so darned good we took a bath in it. If I had to choose a last meal, the lobster-frites would definitely be a contender.

There is no shortage of fantastic oysters in Paris – but it is a matter of preference of where you’d like to enjoy them.  Half oyster bar and half upscale bistro, L’Ecailler is my top Parisian favorite because of its bistro-style ambiance, fresh pedigreed seafood, a good time vibe and delicious wine. If only they had some cocktail sauce?

For my other favorite oyster spots in Paris and where to enjoy them: Where to Find Great Oysters in Paris.

Cuisine: Seafood

Category: Off the Beaten Track

Reservations: Lunch and dinner should be OK with a week or two notice

Telephone: 01.43.72.76.77

Address: right bank, 11th arr, 22 rue Paul Bert

Nearest Metro: Charonne or Faidherbe-Chalingy

Hours: Lunch and dinner Tuesday – Saturday

Prices: 50 – 80e

Ambiance: Lively

(+) Plus: You can order seafood platters to go

(-) Minus: Not centrally located

The collection of 30 recipes and mouthwatering photos spanning winter, spring, summer and fall are sure “to wake up the chef in you.”

Greg’s culinary style is to use a bit of classicism as a “base”, leaving him free to play with flavors inspired by his travels to Hong Kong, London, New York City and Paris.

His mentors, former employers and colleagues New York City Restaurateur Danny Meyer, Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony and Jamie Oliver have written the forward - Jamie saying, “Greg”s book is ‘delicious and clever, an unmissable cookbook.’”

It was in fact at Jamie Oliver’s London restaurant Fifteen, where Greg was given the nickname “Frenchie” and in the kitchen and produce gardens of Gramercy Tavern that preceded his journey back to Paris to open Frenchie.

Humble as ever, Greg says, “I really hope people enjoy the book, we worked really hard to adapt the recipes with the spirit of Frenchie for the home. I didn’t make this book to show you what I can do in the kitchen, but to show you what you can make (and how to play!) in your kitchen. ”

Bless his heart, I just told him that I don’t think he needs to worry about anyone not enjoying the book n’est-ce pas?

Although the book is in French, surely, it won’t be long before a publisher picks it up in the States for an English version. Hint hint to any publisher’s out there?

Greg Marchand - La Cuisine du Frenchie at Home- 26e, available in French bookstores and on Amazon.fr March 22nd.