Sunday, December 13, 2009

Bouillabaisse redux

Roseburg, Oregon, December 13—
KNOWING WE WERE SPENDING the night in this town, simply because we'd get no farther from Portland by stopping time, and that we would be unlikely to find a satisfactory restaurant, we elected to repeat last Monday's success and stop at Marché. I started with half a dozen oysters on the half shell and a small basket of very good bread, then went on, with Lindsey who'd warmed up with bean-and-bacon soup, to our Bouillabaisse, exactly the same as Monday's.
marche.jpg
The photo doesn't do it justice, of course: I took it before shelling the mussels and clams and tearing the croutons into pieces to stir the whole thing up into a smooth, hearty fish soup. Authenticity mavens will complain, of course; the fish isn't served dry and separately, the broth in its tureen. But the flavors and aromas are authentic; you'd almost swear you were in Provence. This is a dependable, enjoyable, healthful, delicious thing, this Bouillabaisse chez Marché; what more could you want? (Well, a bottle of rosé…)
Pinot gris, Kuentz-Bas, 2008; Beaujolais nouveau, Georges Duboeuf, 2009
  • Marché, 5th Street Public Market, 296 E. 5th St., Eugene, Oregon;
    tel. (541) 342-3612
  • 2 comments:

    DD Bixby said...

    It's too bad you couldn't deign to dine in Roseburg — there are quite a few good places to pacify picky paletes. Mark V, Magnolia D's, Los Nopolitos to name just a few, and even a few of the rustic burger joints are pretty tasty. A Frog Burger at The Jersy Lilly -- mmmm. There's certainly more to Oregon than Eugene and Portland, Charles. And someone who professes to love travel and comes from a small town, farm background it's ashame you didn't give the 'Burg a shot. Just a thought. Hope you stop on your next drive through I-5. If not in Roseburg, Oakland has Tolly's, Sutherlin Pedotti's, Canyoniville the Camas Room and Glendale has Heaven on Earth — and its cinnamon rolls really are such.

    Charles Shere said...

    Yes. Well, I plead guilty. I did a fair amount of internet research into eating in Roseburg, and decided to bag it. Internet research is iffy at best — so many "reviewers" at Yelp and Chowhound seem to be intent on bashing, but at the other end of the spectrum are comments that leave little doubt the stance is, let's just say, undiscriminating. There was an Italian place sounded possible, but we weren't in the mood.
    As for Heaven on Earth — we tried one of those cinnamon rolls a few years back, and found it too sweet, too doughy, underdone, and way too big.