Mark Farrell got in touch about an unusual cafe that he came across in Paris
For many years I accompanied my grandmother on her daily quest to Meath Street, in Dublin, for the dinner. Many ladies of a similar age did the same. Unfortunately, the trend to shop locally died somewhat with the introduction of supermarkets, stricter hygiene regulations and the notion of convenience.
Thankfully, Parisians have always embraced the power of the food market, and one of the city’s most famous is the Marché d’Aligre, between Bastille and Gare de Lyon. Less well known is Cafe Associatif La Commune (3 Rue Aligre, 00-33-1-43412055, cl-aligre.org), a restaurant with a difference.
All of its food is cooked using produce from the market and from nearby farms. Innovatively, it has a different chef every day, recruited from the nearby stallholders.
Expenses are kept to a minimum, and the price of the plat du jour is set for the sustainability of the venture, not for profit. Many nationalities participate in the culinary exploits, which leads to very satisfied customers.
On my visit we were given a theme, which was terroir, or, roughly, natural environment. Each person was invited to purchase ingredients from the market for a course of the meal – a mutually rewarding activity for vendor and cook.
I chose to marry the rugged coast of Brittany, in the form of oysters, with sparkling cider from Normandy. The woman from d’Aligre said yes.
Watch out for it next time you are in Paris between the market stalls.