Cuisine Niçoise

For the past 3 months, when I was on my own, meals were simple/ non-existent affairs. I either cooked a simple dish or would buy frozen pizza/ grilled chicken from the supermarket. Sometimes, if I have had a late/ big lunch, I would skip dinner altogether.  No, no, I am not anorexic. And no, I do not have an issue dining alone. For one, I am too lazy to go look food/ figure what to eat (kills too many brain cells). Secondly, I save money this way (but truthfully, I do not think I have saved a lot of money in the process). Lastly and most importantly, I cannot deal with crappy food. All food, no matter the price tag, must be good. It is plain wrong to accept that that cheap food can be crappy. If you so decide to sell food, make it good and name the price. If only I can come up with a law to jail anyone who serve crappy food.

Anyway, I was staying in an hotel in Nice and the cooking option was out. Surprisingly, I managed to coax myself to dine out (mum, aren't you proud of me?). 

I spotted a long queue in Vieux Nice. The queue stretched from the guy on the right and around the corner near the 'No entry' sign. If there is a queue for food, one must join in, right?

The shop is Chez Rene Socca. It is a meeting place for locals and tourists alike.

socca

The best thing they served was piping hot socca. Socca is a thin pancake made from chick-pea flour on a large round copper pan in a wood-fired oven. The socca was freshly made and the serving was generous - hence the queue. For €2.80, it was definitely worth the wait.

petit farcis

I also tried their grilled sardines and petit farcis (small stuffed vegetables). They were alright but only try if you are a group.

grilled sardines

Then, I accidentally found Voyageur Nissart, a family-run restaurant which has been in business since 1908, and never looked back. I practically dined there every day for 2 weeks when they were opened. Max, Katya and Cedric must have thought that I am a nutcase. In any case, they were really nice to me and patiently practised French with me (even though life would be much less painful for them if they just cut me short and communicate in English with me). 

The set meals were great value for money and the food mostly hit jackpot - home-cooked, no fuss, not too rich or salty, of the right temperature.

My pictures really do not do the food any justice as I was just using the camera on my phone. My favourite items:

Salade pamplemousse et crab

Tête de veau sauce gribiche

tarte au citron

I practically tried all of the desserts and my favourites are: lemon tart, crème brûlée and coconut & coffee flan.

 

crème brûlée!!!

Like some other reviewers, I really wish to keep this a secret so that nobody turns up at Voyageur Nissart and I never have to make a reservation the next time I go. But that would be too selfish. Max, Katya and Cedric, thank you for the great food and hospitality. Merci beaucoup!