Bouillabaise in Marseille, Cassoulet near Carcassonne
 

Good evening

A little detailed plotting, here.

I know "the best" is subjective, but, any input as to where I'd find some mighty good bouillabaise and cassoulet in the respective towns I will be visting (see title)?

Thank you!

We thought the bouillabaisse was very good at:

http://www.unetableausud.com/

Beautiful views too.

For bouillabaisse : http://www.chez-fonfon.com/ and http://www.restaurant-michel-13.fr/

I just returned from a Trip in the French and Italian Rivieras, and as a foodie I couldn't miss the bouillabaisse of Marseille. I made a huge research in order to find a great and not so pricey restaurant in Marseille which specializes in bouillabaisse, and I found in a French Forum, "Chez Aldo". It's quite off the beaten path, there was not a single tourist, only locals, as it is out of the centre, and the fish was excellent, quite fresh (trust me, I'm Greek...). Now, on the bouillabaisse, it's a very expensive dish, in the centre it will cost you 67€ per dish, in "Chez Aldo" it costs 45€ a pretty good price. You must order the dish a day before, as they must catch the fish in the morning. Listen now, I ate the absolutely original bouillabaisse of Marseille, no question about that, but sadly I simply didn't liked it. The soup is tasteless, and it has something like mud in the bottom which tastes like, nothing actually. I mean they serve fish soup, with bread with mayonnaise, raw gralic and grated cheese..? That sounds and is bad. The French try pretty much to give taste to that dish, but according to the Greek Culinary Tradition, which is an expert in fish cooking, you must never mix fish with products coming from land animals, and eggs (mayonnaise) and cheese are absolutely wrong. I personnaly think bouillabaisse is a greatly overrated dish, and it is super expensive, it doesn't worth it. Yet, the fish quality is great, I tasted other dishes including fish, simple dishes like frittata, a mix of fried seafood, and it was excellent.

Chez Fonfon is recommended for bouillabaise. Fish soup with a garnish of rouille, croutons and gruyere can be very wonderful. It's obviously not to the taste of great food experts like the Greeks.

Gruyere in bouillabaisse? Quel horreur!

Thank you for the tips - I will check them out.

Cassoulet in Carcassonne - try Le Trouvere in Place Marcou in La Cite. The restauranbt has tables out in the leafy square.

Try their salad with duck gizzard. Pretty good too.

Chez Fonfon for bouillabaisse, but it's a ways out of the city on the Corniche JFK. You'd need a car or an expensive taxi ride. My spouse and I ate there and do not recall anything in the soup except fish and water. Very basic dish. I have to say that we did it to say we did it, but would probably not do it again.

Will you have a car in Carcassonne? If so, go to Castelnaudary for cassoulet - either Le Tirou or Le Petit Gazouillis. I've been to Carcassonne a few times and can't ever recall having anything memorable to eat in either the Cité or the lower town, but it could just be the luck of the draw.

Thank you everyone!

I am getting the sense that bouillabaise isn't all that, but it's spendy? Really, a bowl of soup can be 45E? How big is the bowl? I'm not even a huge fish fan, I just thought I should eat the renowned local dishes.

I love bouillabaise, and don't understand the comment about it being just fish and water - it's actually a fairly complicated dish. That said, I always prefer just regular old soupe aux poissons, with the roux and toast and shredded cheese accompaniments.

Hardly "a bowl of soup":

https://www.google.com/search?q=boui...w=1280&bih=930

Maybe not worth it if you aren't much of a seafood fan, but a wonderful full meal if you are.

~Liz

"Really, a bowl of soup can be 45E? How big is the bowl?"
It is much more than a bowl of soup. The soup and the fish + potatoes are served in 2 different dishes. Either you eat the soup first (with croutons, aiolli and rouille) then the fish or you add the fish to the soup. Believe me, it is a full meal and you don't need to order an appetizer.
It is expensive because it must be made with fresh local fish - 4 or 5 different kind and sometimes lobster.

Cassoulet is not a summer dish. What you'll find in and around Carcassonne will be cassoulet for tourists. :-(

We are great seafood fans--that's why we ordered it.

Elberko, most of the pictures are nothing like the boullabaise I remember having had at Chez Fonfon. Most of those are more like zuppa de pesce. My memory may be deceiving me, however.

Well, now I'm curious and I have to get it.

Bummer about the cassoulet! I've had some very good home made cassoulet, though, made with tarbais beans.