Look at the 10th burger down

[GoneOffShore]

[IMG][/IMG]

The Chuck Norris - Breaded chicken cutlet.

Off the Vieux Port in Marseille.

[malthaussen]

1. Frankly, I'm more impressed by the prices.

Is that 20 Euros for a burger (the Victor Hugo), or am I misreading it?

-- Mal

[GoneOffShore]

2. Not misreading it at all.

The restaurant is in the Vieux Port section of Marseille. No view of the harbor, but well within the 'tourist trap zone'.

I've had at least 4 burgers while we've been in France, varying in quality from just above In and Out Burger to 'OMG! this is amazing!!'.

Plus some excellent fish.

We spent 10 days in Barcelona and it took at least 5 days to get the excess salt out of my system - And I love salt.

The food was cheaper there, but we didn't love it.

[Orsino]

3. It's not the tenth burger down.

Chuck Norris always comes out on top.

[panader0]

4. Chuck Norris counted to infinity...

twice!

[closeupready]

5. There's a restaurant in Marseilles, Caffe Milano - it's been a few years, but

they had just one of the best salads I've ever eaten. Or maybe I was hungry, but I've NEVER forgotten how delighted I was. Let's see if I can find if they have a website, or maybe it's on yelp...

[GoneOffShore]

6. It's still there, but one we missed.

Had our first lunch in Marseille at Bistro du Cours on Cours Julien - and our final meal at Les Buvards on Grand Rue - near the Hotel de Ville.

Lots of great places to eat in Marseille, despite the very, very gritty feel of the place.

There are bits where one doesn't want to be if one is a tourist.

First time we came to Marseille 8 years ago, a chef friend took us for bouillabaisse at Chez Loury. Too much fish, though it was delicious.

[closeupready]

7. It's one of my very favorite cities (so much, I misspell its name, lol). Lots of people

dislike the grittiness (as did I, in parts), but that character probably helps maintain its uniqueness - there's no question it's a Mediterranean port - the ethnic communities, the textiles, the architecture, the food.

Cheers.

[GoneOffShore]

8. We go to Provence as often as we can.

We've been to Cassis at least 10 times, as that is charming and sweet and we've made friends there.

There's no McDo, no Starbucks, no big yachts in the harbor, no cruise ships. In fact, traveling east along the coast from Marseille is very pleasant. There's a variety from La Ciotat to Toulon.

Marseille did get a huge boost in 2013 as the European Capital of Culture. They opened MUCEM which is a stunning museum at the mouth of the Vieux Port. We just saw an exhibit on Picasso there that gave a very diverse perspective to his work.

After living there for two weeks, I'm not sure that we'd do that again but day trips from Cassis, taking the road across La Gineste, or down from Aix will certainly be worthwhile.