sunny days in Nice: garlic Sunday

balcony-sized lemon trees

profuse anemones

The Cours Saleya is the central part of Old Nice. Most days, there's a fruit and veg market there, which highlights the gorgeous produce of the South of France. We had a late lunch booked on Sunday, and the sun was shining, so a stroll through the Sundays-only flower market seemed the perfect way to work up an appetite. Or two. The flowers, plants and small trees were delightful, and guess what? There were still plenty of vegetables, fruit...

the garli

There were beautifully scented bunches of dried lavender, and beautifully scented bunches of fresh garlic. And what seemed to be an infinite variety of spices and fresh and dried herbs, and of course freshly picked wild mushrooms.


Wondering what happens to all that garlic? Wait....

the aioli

the bouillabaisse

the bourride

Lunch was at Bacon, a venerable restaurant in Cap d'Antibes beautifully situated overlooking the Meditteranean. Bacon is known for the high quality of its fish and also for its delectable bourride and bouillabaisse. Bourride is a creamy (white) garlick-y fish soup, with a lot of fish. Bouillabaisse, of course, is also a hearty  garlick-y fish soup, based on a strong and flavorful broth. It is served with croutons of baguette, and with a very garlick-y peppery mayonnaise called aioli. As you can tell from the yellowish tones, saffron is a key ingredient here as well.




If you choose the full soup meal, you get a basin of soup/broth (plus aioli, natch) first, and your main course is a very copious serving of the fish that was cooked in the soup. Second (and probably third) helpings of both courses are offered. Of course, you don't have to have the soup. When not chatting with the customers, the owner walks around with the freshest of fish from which to choose, and discusses with you how you'd like it prepared.At lunch, a "tasting" portion of bouillabaisse or bourride is available. Trust me, it's enough. We started with a salad of raw fresh fish (excellent) and moved on to the soup. We each had a hefty tasting portion.
Then we rested. Sunday, after all.