Monday, July 10, 2017

A taste of St. Malo and Cancale

Get out your bib and tucker in.

First eating stop in St. Malo is rue de l'Orme (Intro-Muros).

To the world-famous La Maison du Buerre at #9. They paddle the butter in front of you into these thick, rectangular bars. Then wrap them up, ready for you to take home. A big assortment of flavors is on offer including with algae.

Thank goodness they do not demo their famous salted butter caramels. I would have been sunk.

St. Malo is synonymous with salted butter caramel. Its a land mine field for some of us. You have been warned.

Directly across the street at #6, sits world-famous BREIZH CAFÉ. They are closed on Monday-Tuesday FYI. Does Bordier have a pipe pumping the butter straight into Breizh cafe?

Definitely get the daily 'formule'. A steal and not on offer in the Paris branches. Reason enough to go to St. Malo oui?

FABULOUS! Very crispy as all buckwheat or sarrasin galette should be.

Our neighbors had the new sushi-like galette rollups. I went to the Paris branch for smoked salmon rollups yesterday. YUM

Another don't-miss if you love fine food is Olivier Roellinger's spice shop. There is a Paris branch on rue St. Anne.

But why not enhale your vanille at the source.

There is the famous caramelized St. Malo gateaux, Kouign-Amann. Basically you will inhale the scent of butter from one end of the town to the other.

There will be seafood or fruits de mer. I had this plateaux at all Brasserie le Cafe St. Malo. It was as fresh as eaten straight up at the poissoniere on rue de l'Orme. It inspired me to take the bus next morning to Cancale for the oysters served on the rocks.

About 25 minutes from St. Malo, use the same bus ticket to the train station on the Cancale bus (1,30€). These women are oyster gatherers.

Walk down a steep hill to the unassuming marché de huitres.

Just 6 small stands, each a differecnt color. I don't know why I chose the pink one 😀.

These are 'flat' oysters. A dozen for 5,50€ sounds cheap, but there isn't a lot of meat to these babies. Paper-thin oysters 🦪 

Still its great fun to sit along the water, eat freshly-opened oysters and simply toss the shells onto the beach as you scrape off every morsel from both top and bottom shell. Don’t forget to return your plate & knife the the oyster lady!

Here's a view of the Cancale oyster beds from the hill above. The lighthouse is where the little marché is. There was more to explore but I ran back to catch the bus. Eat and run. Next time I'll get a second dozen. The new July Paris letter is on its way to you, a continuation of French seasonal fruits and veg. The Paris map will be done soon! Thank you for reading Parisbreakfast.  If you'd like to receive Parisbreakfast letters, maps and watercolors in your mailbox, do stop by my shop.
Bonne journée!

14 comments:

  1. I introduced a co-worker to European butter. We were all gathered around and someone asked what everyone was doing for the weekend. The co-worker said she was headed to the market to smell the butter. Not everyone understood, but I did. :)

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  2. Anonymous1:23 PM

    That's quite the oyster shucking glove. Reminds me of what the knights might have wore.

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  3. Oh, it's such a good thing I didn't discover the caramel spot when I was in St. Malo or I would be wearing it today, five years later! Again, wonderful photos and I love "walking" with you!

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  4. It occurs to me for the very first time that looking at the butter and kouign amann and the caramels and the.....well, maybe it's for the best that I am NOT there :-)

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    1. I have had the chance to taste them many, many times Jeanette at the Brittany coquille St. jAcques fetes in Montmartre every year.
      Definitely bucket list material. A must!!

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  5. You take such wonderful photos. Makes me feel like I am there myself. :)

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  6. I'm a recent viewer of your blog and I love it. This post with Cancale reminds me of one of my favorite prints I used to have: John Singer Sargents "The Oyster Gatherers of Cancale."

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    1. What a great reference Bobbey!
      Here's a link to the pic:
      John Singer Sargents "The Oyster Gatherers of Cancale.
      http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/10076.html

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  7. Clarity Artists11:46 PM

    Love your hand lettered water color.

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  8. You have an amazing eye and a way with words. Thanks.

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  9. Lovely place Carol..you're having a ball this summer..have always loved your fruit and veggie aquarelles!

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  10. Camille10:21 AM

    Love your site! How far from Paris is St. Malo? Was this a day trip for you? Did you do both St. Malo and Cancale in a day?

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    1. Ahem...all questions answered in the orevious post Camille.

      https://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.fr/2017/07/profile-of-st-malo.html

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  11. I, too, have sat on that stone wall and scoffed oysters down my throat. One of my very favorite memories. Cancale is very charming as is the area all around that little city.

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