Getting to Know the Marche d'Aligre with David Lebovitz

He who hesitates is lost.  Well, I’m not exactly lost, but I was certainly beaten to the posting punch by my friend David Lebovitz.  I’d been getting organized to write about the great day I spent with David touring his market, le Marche d’Aligre, probably the liveliest in Paris, but he actually pulled it all together.  To read about our day, click over to David.

For a few footnotes, stay put.

About Ble du Sucre (7 rue Antoine Vollon) and those madeleines:  The patisserie, which is only a teensy detour from the market, is worth a trip on its own.  The chef, Fabrice Le Bourdat, had been at the luxe hotel Bristol for seven years, and before that he was in Cannes at the Martinez, but for New Yorkers he’s “the one that got away.”  He told me that when pastry chef Francois Payard was leaving restaurant Daniel, Daniel Boulud asked him to fill the slot.  Le Bourdat went to New York, spent a week in the City, and flew back to La Belle France.  Too bad for the Big Apple; awfully nice for Paris.  Ble du Sucre has what fashion designers would call a well edited collection – meaning there aren’t a trillion things in the case, but there were plenty of treats, among them madeleines, which is what David wanted me to taste and I’m grateful to him that he did: they’re lovely – moist, supple, buttery and finished with a sugar glaze that’s slightly crunchy (the glaze is a great idea that I'm thinking of adopting).  Not wanting the sweet little madeleines to be lonely, I got some financiers, too. 

About the fish guys at Peche Paris (rue d'Aligre):  If I lived near the Marche d’Aligre, I’d become 100% fishatarian – they’re very cute.

About La Graineterie du Marche (8 place d’Aligre):  It was only the thought of having to drag an even heavier bag around the market that stopped me from buying one of everything Jose had there.  As it was, I came back with a sack of hibiscus flowers (I want to make a syrup), some licorice candies (of course) and so many cans of sardines and tuna that I feel like I’ve got my own little school of fish in the kitchen.

About Salim at Le Verger d’Aligre (in the covered market):  David’s right – he’s adorable and he’s got some of the season’s prettiest fruits and vegetables, just about all of which he wanted us to taste. 

About David:  Rest easy David adorers – he’s as wonderful as you think he is. He’s also a guy with terrific taste (I know I’m not telling you anything new).  It’s not just that he knows a good madeleine when he sees one, it’s that he knows how to savor the pleasures of this city.  I realized this again when we went to the Café Aouba (rue d’Aligre), a little shop with a big coffee roaster and a happy bustle.  Drinking his espresso, he looked out at the market, which was in full swing around us – from where we stood you could almost feel the pulse of the market – and said, I think this is my favorite spot in Paris.  Of course it would be.  It could be the center of the universe for all of us who love Paris and the way life is lived here.

I’m heading back to New York tomorrow, but I’m putting in my reservation for another day with David when I get back.

Comments

[Dorie]

Dr. Behavior, thank you soooooooooo much for your kind comment about my blog.

Now about those macaroons your Zada made. I wish I knew what they were because they sound so wonderful. As a child, I remember fluted macaroons, but they were coconut and not at all light. Were the ones you're thinking of more like puffs that came to a point? In which case they might be like the French coconut cookies called Congolais or maybe like Rochers -- but then there's the almond flavor...

The person who might know about your macaroons is Marcy Goldman, a Canadian baker, who wrote a very good book about Jewish baking (and who has a great new book coming out any minute). Marcy's website is
www.betterbaking.com

[DrBehavior]

I seem to be forever musing 'thank you' each and every time I have occasion to read your posts.
This time, in addition, I'd like to ask a question. My family own a wholesale, commercial bakery in Toronto, Canada and have done so since about 1918 or so. When my dearly beloved 'Zada' was alive he would rent a very small store in an area once known as the Jewish Market in order to sell Koshser Passover merchandise to his throngs of loyal customers. He himself made a macaroon which was a light beigy-brown in color and a dozen of them would be stuck to a piece of brown paper not dissimilar to what we refer to as 'waxed paper' today. The taste of the cookie was, to say the very least, scrumptious but, if I recall correctly it had a rather pervasive taste of coconut as well as that of almond and it quite literally melted in your mouth as well as on the way toward it. By the by, the cookie itself was not flat, rather, it was somehow fluted toward the top. Do you know what those delectables were made of and do people still make them today? Or, perhaps they were simply a Polish/Jewish 'Pesach' version of today's Macaroon? Thanks.

[Dorie]

John, thanks so much for sending the recipe for the glaze. I'm not sure what Proust would think if he found out that his madeleines had some crunch, but I'm thinking it's a swell idea.

Shira, thanks for the word on Jose's ras al hanout - how can anyone resist something with rose petals?

As for the tuna and prunes ... David wrote a funny post about this combo and said again, in his comment, that's he's scared to open the can. Like you, Kelly-Jane, I like tuna and I like prunes and I even thought I'd like them together. So why haven't I opened the tin????

Thank you all for your thoughtful "au'revoir" and "bon voyage" wishes. I'm back in the States - shuttling between New York and Connecticut - but still dreaming of France and still feeling behind: I have so many more French stories I want to post. I wish time didn't go so fast!

[John Bennett]

Dorie,
Just read about the glaze for the madeleines and thought I would share a glaze I use on my lemon/orange cake. I melt 1 stick of unsalted butter with 1/4 cup of orange and lemon juice ( combined )
and you can do this in the microwave, then I stir in 1 cup Baker's instant superfine sugar slowly so it will melt. ( You can make this ahead ) I then reheat it just before I brush it on the hot cake. When the cake has absorbed the mixture and cooled it forms a crunchy glaze. You can substitute any kind of liquid but not more than 1/4 cup total.
Love your site and your pictures. JB

[Kelly-Jane]

Sounds like lots of fun.

We were on holiday last week and I came across liquorice sweets, and I thought of you!

Tuna and prunes, I love tuna, and I love prunes - but tuna and prunes. You must tell us about it :o/ :)

[Meg]

What a tantalizing post. I'm gonna get my hands dirty on a Vélib' and head over to Aligre tomorrow!

Come back soon :)

[Nicisme]

I have really enjoyed reading your French adventures, thanks for sharing them!

[Steamy Kitchen]

If I could score a date with David, I'd be happy too!

[ParisBreakfasts]

I loved doing David's Marche d'Aligre last year!
And I learned a lot about strawberrys' shoulders (they shouldn't be white) which sounds a bit like Claire's Knee..

What a wonderful way to spend the day. I visited the market and flea market a few years ago but it's clear the best way to enjoy it fully is with a guide like David. He is adorable, witty, au courant, and a real down to earth person. I was lucky to see him do a demo at the Chocolat Show in NY a few years ago. He cracks me up! And he's a wonderful cookbook author, pastry, chocolat, and ice cream expert. Jeez, did I leave anything out? Oh, he's cute too!
Bienvenue à New York Dorie.

[Shira]

Sorry to hear you're going, but I'm glad you got to visit my local market. Jose's shop is fantastic--next time you're there, check out his ras al hanout, fantastically aromatic and with whole rose petals in it.
A bientot!

[Maria]

Glad you had a nice time with David. I enjoyed reading about your adventures on both of your blogs! Those raspberries look divine! Have a safe trip back to New York!

[david]

You didn't seem very lost to me! In fact, I thought you led the pack...

Please don't give out the address of the fish-boys. Don't you think we should keep them all to ourselves? And let me know how that Zanzibar tuna is (avec pruneaux); I'm still scared to open mine.

See you in the fall...au marché, bien sûr!