France: Nice’s Open-Air Seafood Market

After lunch, we came upon the open-air seafood market in the old city, where salty fishermen sell their catches of the day. The local fish are mainly comprised of variations of white fish, similar to our cod and flounder, from John Dory to Turbot, as well as sea bass.

Another regional specialty is small white anchovies that get fried up, much like French fries at local restaurants and can be eaten whole. (I have to admit we did skip the heads.) The anchovies have a sweet, fresh taste and the fine bones dissolve in cooking. In the photos, you can see them raw, as well as served flash-fried along with calamari.

You can also find a wide variety of prawns, squid, scallops, mussels, and clams, which most often get served up in bouillabaisse, fish soups, and delicate seafood pastas.

But, there’s also some exotics featured in the mix, such as whole octopus, which held little appeal to us! The local Mediterranean crab is huge!

In neighboring shops, adjacent to the seafood stands, vendors sell multiple variations of dried and salted fish for soup bases.

Moreover, sardines as an area specialty get served up, sometimes preserved in glass jars, but, most typically, in tin cans, each with different seasoning marinades.

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Stacy DeBroff and a guest received complimentary roundtrip airfare, hotel room, meals, and transportation from High Liner Foods for their trip to Nice, France, to facilitate this review and post.