The Plateau - 19 April 2011

The plateau of shellfish I spied on a restaurant table in Nice, down by the market near the waterfront, called out to me, and so I found myself thinking about it on and off for a week or so and finally said to Maggie, "let's go into Nice before we leave, sit in the sun and slurp some oysters and periwinkles, crabs and lobster and whatever else makes it onto the plateau." And so we did. We sat within fifty yards of Matisse's old apartment and watched the strolling tourists and locals make their daily promenade while we waited for the long suffering but sweetly comical waiter to bring the Mediterranean feast to our shore.


It was a simple, briny celebration of the abundance and mystery of the sea, with tangy flavors and luxurious textures slipping over the tongue and palate and into memory until the next time.

Easter was coming and more than bunnies made it into chocolate in Nice.

And there were other figures to look as at well.