French meal at a local restaurant in Marseille

Different country, different food.  And all so good.  These wandering Americans--us-- think we may have wandered early into heaven.

France and Italy are so close and both are places that take food seriously.  We have been so enchanted discovering Italian food but now we have moved to an area which approaches it differently.  Another approach to savor--what could be bad?

In Italy the perfect ingredient from the local soil is presented simply.  Emphasis is on the local cuisine so eating Tuscan food in Rome is eating foreign food. Each meal is several courses presented in succession.  Each dish has a few simple but perfectly prepared ingredients.  Roman cacio e pepe--pasta, cheese and black pepper.  The ideal restaurant is a family business with several generations working together making food for the people who live within a few blocks. It took us awhile to figure out how to order and taste but we got better and even learned a bit how to make things. We had a steep learning curve because we were aware of Italian-American food which is also good but culturally American.  We had to unlearn and then learn anew.  What fun!

Now we can re-learn the French approach.  We have been here before so we have more to build on. And we grew up watching Julia Child on public television.  We speak more French.  We will not starve.

Tonight we had dinner in what might be the French ideal restaurant.  O'bidul (pictured above) is a tiny restaurant at the end of our block.  The name means "a tiny thing" or a "gadget." The owner and the diners at the next table worked out what English words might work. It meets my fantasy of the ideal anyway and is what I search for.  In this case, one young man has created his dream restaurant which holds just a few people.  He offers two entrees (appetizer) and two plats (entree or main course in American). Wine, desert and coffee.  He chooses food each day that is local, seasonal and works together.

Menu of the day

Some food writers speak of Marseille as an emerging food scene.  Paris remains the center of the French food world of course, but real estate prices are so high that new folks have a hard time breaking in with their little start-ups.  Paris offers various versions of "house cafes" such as New York and San Francisco are experimenting with. Maybe I can report back next week.  But here, ordinary people can afford start-ups and ordinary people can afford to eat in them. Just walking around our block we find about 10 little local places for food and wine including our little restaurant--O'bidul. We might have entered a Trip-Advisor-free zone. We are in an area of Marseille near the Place du Rome (it helps since we miss Rome).  Our closest metro is Cours Julien.  So we do not know what would be on offer in another area of town. I can't riff on Marseille's food scene but it has its share of Michelin stars and tourist restaurants in the Vieux Port.  What a great life it would be to have a chance to try more.  Our lunches and dinner so far are great.  Marseille obviously needs more time than we have planned for exploration.

Chef/owner Fabrice

Back to O'bidul.  The chef/owner, Bazin Fabrice, opened his place about two years ago. He is from Marseille.  He is from another section of town but likes this area for his restaurant.  Our French and his English do not rise to us understanding the reason.  He buys food in the morning markets, serves lunch and dinner to about 35 people per day.  He is always fully booked but we were able to get a booking for the next evening.  He seems to do everything himself--cooking, serving, clearing tables. He is a genial guy and very pleased to greet and feed his customers. 

We ordered one of each entree and plat with house white wine.  Cold salmon mixed with parsley and tomatos; warm cheese in pastry --both with a small salad of bitter greens.  Each plate had a mix of flavors including bitter, sweet, tangy with chives or other seasonings to enhance the mix.  Our palates are adjusted to Italian wherein each flavor is presented separately and sequentially.  This is great too.

Entrees.

The plats were red fish with bok choi and duck breast with grilled onion.  Both came with bulgar mixed with cheese.  The mix of flavors and textures within the plat was delicious.  Our mouths were singing.

Plat with photo of our friends who had planned to join us
but had to cancel because of illness.  We thought of them during dinner.

The house white wine was a rich combination of mildly sweet with a mild bitter undertone.  Not much of the acid in the back of the mouth that I love so much but I thoroughly enjoyed the wine.  He has bottles of wine too but we did not know much about any of them and decided to trust the judgement of the house as to what would go with the food.  Good choice.  It all worked.

How does this happen? We were too full for dessert again.  Really?  They offered a cheese plate, chocolate mousse or pineapple in brown sugar with nuts.  I wanted to ask the neighboring table for just a taste but managed to be a little socially appropriate. I also did not take a picture of their dessert. 

Too full for dessert again.

A common complaint about French cuisine is the cost.  No complaint here.  Dinner with wine--49 Euros.  That is about what we paid in Italy usually too.  It causes us to wonder about the economies of the areas and how such businesses survive and thrive.  But we would have to live here for a long time and really learn how to speak so we are resigned to wondering and appreciating.

Out the door and turn toward home--the local jazz club beckons.  But for us, another night for jazz. Off home.

Jazz Club on Dieude Street--our street.

Text by Julianne.

Photos by both.

Eating and drinking--ahhh!