A culinary experience amongst trash bins - Marché des Enfants Rouges
Who would have thought that dining amongst trash bins, and a constant stream of people flowing by you like the Seine in spring, while bumping into you as though you were Pont Neuf, could be such an enjoyable experience?
I’m writing this as I sit with a full stomach, having eaten two lunches, hurtling backwards at over 300km/h towards Switzerland. Yes you guessed it right, I’m on the TGV. I have been working hard lately and I decided to treat myself so I took an early morning train to Paris to spend the day indulging in the epicurean delight that is a visit to the Marché des Enfants Rouges.
It’s the oldest food market in Paris, having been founded 1615 upon request by Louis XIII. Situated in the northern part of the Marais district it’s a perfect lunch destination (or early dinner) in combination with a stroll through Marais. The name apparently comes from the orphanage that used to be on the site. The children of the orphanage always wore red clothing, Enfants Rouges, red children.
The market hosts a number of different restaurants; Moroccan, Lebanese, Japanese, French, Italian and a Burger place, as well as around 5 stalls selling fruit and vegetables, fish and cheese. Now some of the restaurants only exist to capitalise on the steady influx of tourists, therefore not having to break their backs with providing a quality culinary experience. But there are some exceptions, and wow, are some of the exceptions up there on the culinary olymp, especially Les Enfants du Marché!
During my visit this time around I ate at two of the restaurants, both of which I have been to in the past and both of which are worth mentioning; Les Enfants du Marché and Chez Taeko.
Les Enfants du Marché ($$)
I arrived just before noon and there were still places available. Be prepared to queue for a while should you arrive much later than that, they don’t take reservations, the queuing is worth it though. I was greeted by Mika (Michael Grosman), an extremely friendly and knowledgable patron, who proverbially had gastronomy in the breast milk, as his parents ran a very successful beach club in “Juan Les Pins”. He grew up in the centre of Paris though and tried for a couple of years to convince the previous patron of the market stall to sell it to him. He was successful five years ago and since then Les Enfants du Marché open their doors 6 days a week to hungry gourmets.
I was seated at the counter, which is great if you, like me, are visiting alone. If you are in a bigger party try to get one of the sought after tables, there are two.
Grooving along to the melodical bossanova streaming out of the speakers, I was presented with the menu in the form of a chalk board. So many good things on there, I decide to go for the grilled octopus, the monkfish in miso and veal sweetbreads. But before I could make my decision, I had a glass of wine in my hand - very much the way I like it.
When taking my order Mika kindly let me know that the monkfish was a large dish and that I might be better off switching it for the smoked eel and goose liver, his recommendation is my command so a switch it was.
I leaned back, as much as you can on a barstool, and awaited the arrival of the first dish. While sitting there contemplating the good things in life, Clem, another guy from the “Les Enfants” team, came up to me; Ah, you are the guy from MasterChef, and no he did not watch the show, but he remembered me from my last visit about 3 months earlier, where my MasterChef Switzerland participation came up in conversation. I was very impressed as to me that shows all the qualities of good hosts.
Time for the first dish; the smoked eel with the goose liver. On the plate in front of me was a beautiful arrangement of a crispy smoked eel, some mouthwatering foie gras (goose liver) and umami packed aubergine done on the grill. Accompanying this were some caramelised hazelnuts, raspberries, some thin slices of raw beetroot and beautiful refreshing plum leaves, all topped off with some aged balsamic vinegar. The combination was amazing, the smokiness of the eel, the fatty richness of the goose liver with the freshness of the raspberries, and the earthiness of the beetroot. Yes please include it as a starter in my final meal on earth!
Soon after the removal of my empty plate and the re-filling of my wine glass came the second dish; grilled octopus, romesco sauce, fried potatoes, a “white” chimichurri made of garlic, shallots and oregano, topped with samphire and some virgin olive oil. Boom! Wow! I love pulpo and make it myself a couple of times a year but the “white” chimichurri was a new addition for me and so was the samphire - and they both worked wonders for the dish.
While clearing the minimal remnants of the octopus, Mika informed me that the veal sweetbreads had not been delivered yet and asked if I could envisage something else; Yes, I had my eye on the veal brain while reading through the menu earlier so I went for that. I was not disappointed. The third dish was veal brain prepared in a squid ink tempura batter, served with the French classic sauce gribiche, which is a cold mayonnaise made from cooked egg yolks. Also on the plate were some lovely fried potatoes a nice piece of squid a la plancha, and a wonderful rich sauce as well as grilled leek and samphire. Yes some ingredients repeat themselves, but I really don’t mind that, to me it’s a sign that they use fresh and in-season ingredients and they know how to used them in a way that does not become repetitive. Admittedly, veal brain is not everyone’s go-to protein, but if you are a bit adventurous I would recommend you to give it a try. It’s relatively neutral in taste and has a extremely creamy texture, paired with the other ingredients it made a well rounded dish that I would not hesitate to eat again.
In summary, anyone with an interest in good food going to Paris must eat at Les Enfants du Marché, I know that I will be back for sure, not tomorrow but hopefully again in a couple of months and I guarantee you that a Saturday lunch - a very long one - will be spent here.
With a full stomach and a slight wine buzz I went to explore the market further, since it is July, some of the stalls were closed, no fresh fish, no burgers and some other mixed stalls had closed for vacation. I decided that I still had some space in my stomach, just enough for a bento box, on to Chez Taeko I went.
Chez Taeko ($)
It’s not an easy task to follow Les Enfants du Marché, but Chez Taeko was something I wanted to try again. I have never been disappointed by the food there. It’s a no-frills Japanese restaurant with nice bento boxes and donburis for lunch. The restaurant has been around for about 15 years, always in the market.
I ate a bento box with chicken karaage and rice, some boiled vegetables and a tomato and paprika salad as sides, and since I wanted to try some different things I also ordered a shrimp croquette. The karaage chicken was simultaneously crunchy and succulent, like it should be. The highlight though, was not to be found in the bento box, but was the shrimp croquette, packed with umami and crackling with each bite, wow, a delight to devour. I kind of wish that the croquette would have been served as a side dish to the bento box instead of the boiled vegetables.
I have to admit the arrangement in the Bento Box does look a bit like a dog’s dinner, but what it lacks in looks and attention to detail in the plating, it makes up for in perfect seasoning and great taste. Good lunch ingredients for when you need some Japanese comfort food. If I worked in an office in the area, I would probably be a weekly customer.
As you can tell from the words I used in this text, I’m a fanboy, not only of the Marché des Enfants Rouges but of food markets in general. In my mind food markets are a window to the culinary soul of a city, or even sometimes of a country. If I can discover a food market when I travel, you can be sure that you will find me there. Thank you and farewell and see you in a food market somewhere on this globe!
You can find more information about the market and it’s opening times here; https://en.parisinfo.com/shopping-paris/73876/Marche-couvert-les-Enfants-Rouges
The market is only closed on Mondays and open most days between 08h30 - 20h30
