Food File: Moules Et Frites From France
Thrilled as I was to spot some street food in “my” new village of La Gavotte, just outside Marseille, I was less thrilled about the thought of eating streetside mussels.
But after spending most of a week trapped inside our (absolutely amazing) home exchange villa by bad weather and public holidays (which meant no buses) in April this year, the thought of not cooking one meal was incredibly appealing.
I bundled Miss M into our borrowed poussette (pram) and set off to inspect the intriguing La Boite a Coquilles street food stand at the edge of the village.
It turned out to be side-by-side street food stands, one selling fresh and cooked mussels (and frites) and one selling paella. I was in heaven!
My reservations about eating moules were blown away by the taste-explosion broth the shellfish are cooked in. And the frites (chips) are ingeniously spoon-shaped to help you get more of the broth into your mouth.
I had bought a baguette as a backup dinner in case the mussels weren’t any good. But rather than dinner, the baguette turned into a broth delivery device, leaving me way too full but very proud of my street food cred.
And a week or so later I was taken out for al fresco moules et frites in Marseille and they were just, if not more, fabulous than my first taste of this amazing dish.
My tres chic moules et frites dining companion
Moules in close up. You can tell they are super-delicious, can’t you?
* The moules stand I discovered is called La Boite a Coquilles. The address is: Parking Square Jean Moulin, R.N. de la Gavotte, 13170 La Gavotte, France
12 years ago
By: Barbara
A career girl who dropped out, traveled, found love, and never got around to going home again. Now wrangling a cross-cultural relationship and two third culture kids.
I dislike moules and ‘cos of me my boyfriend is sad to do not eat them more often.
Just one little mistake in your post. We don’t say “moules et frites”, but “moules frites”, as the name of a dish, as if it is a nonsense to eat something else with the moules.
Like the sandwich. “Sandich jambon beurre” is the name but in your kirtchen while you do it you say “je prépare [I’m cooking] un sandwich avec [with] du jambon et du beurre”.
Ahhhh! I either misheard my French friend or she “Englished” her description of it. I remember asking her what on earth she just said and she said it was “the French version of fish and chips”!
Thank you for the quick French lesson. And wow — I can’t believe you don’t like this dish!
Love fresh seafood!
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Looks delicious! I adore mussels.
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