LE MIRAMAR

12 Quai du Port
Marseilles, France

The dish to eat in Marseilles is Bouillabaisse. And in Marseilles the place to head for Bouillabaisse is Le Miramar or one of the other signatories to Le Charte de la Bouillabaisse Marseillaise - six of the ten are in Marseilles. I'm glad I chose Le Miramar.

The charter specifies what fish may go into bouillabaisse, how they should be prepared and how they are to be served. The fish are weever, scorpion fish, hog fish, gurnet, anglerfish, whiting, moray, and mackerel.

The service requires that first the broth is served, followed by the fish, moistened by the same broth. With both, garlicky rouille is spread on slices of bread and floated in the broth. The pictures across the top show the rouille on the leftt, the broth course and the fish course. To the near right, the waiter presents the fish. At the far right two waiters prepare the fish service.