LA PERLE GRUISSANAISE - RESTAURANT REVIEW

This is what two dozen oysters, shrimp for three, and some odds and ends look like.

We wound our way through Gruissan on a gorgeous September Sunday, headed through the seaside town to the Med and La Perle. Friends had recommended La Perle to us as the place to go for seafood fresh off the boat. Cathey and Connie had yet to have their first R-Month oysters, so off we went.

The parking lot was full. This is not your typical restaurant where you find a table, read a menu, wait for the wait staff, and place your order. Instead, we joined a line snaking past tubs of fresh oysters for sale and tried to figure out how things worked.

As the line advances, you come to a chalkboard with prices and a guy who asks what you'd like. If you appear to be a newbie, he prompts you. We wanted a couple of dozen oysters, shrimp for three, and a few raw mussels to taste. Did we want lemon? Yes. Mayonnaise or aioli? Aioli. Wine? Yes, a liter of white. He gave us a numbered, handwritten stub that we took to a cashier. She asked if we'd been there before. No. Keep your stub. In about 15 minutes, you come back and pick up your food. We paid and were given our wine, a carafe of water, and a plastic garbage bag.

You can choose from tables and chairs indoors or picnic tables outside facing the water - the etang (bay), not the Med. We found a table under a little thatched umbrella. Connie and I went back inside and picked up six glasses - real glass, three plates, knives and forks and lots of paper napkins, and a bucket for the oyster and mussel shells only. The plastic bag would hold the rest of the trash. After a few minutes, I went back for the seafood, oysters on a bed of ice, opened and with the shells replaced so that they almost looked as if they hadn't been, good-sized pink shrimp scattered throughout, the mussels and lemon halves and a little jar of aioli on top.

La Perle reminded us of the seafood shacks with which we are familiar in Louisiana. Off the boat fresh. Sweet shrimp. Briny if not overly plump oysters. Raw mussels were a new taste, interesting but not in our wheelhouse.

61 euros and change for the lot. Just great. Next time we'll bring hot sauce.

Read more of my reviews HERE.

RESTAURANT LE 29 AU BORD L'ETANG, BOUZIGUES - A REVIEW

Bouzigues fronts the Bassin de Thau, a saltwater lake (etang) separated from the Mediterranean by a strip of land that reminds one of the Outer Banks. The waterfront is lined with restaurants, all featuring the oysters and other seafoods from the etang and the Med. It's not the most picturesque of villages but the flavor of the place is certainly more inviting than the more crassly commercial towns directly facing the Med. There are souvenir shops to be sure, but they are somewhat restrained and don't appear to be the raison d'etre of Bouzigues. Rather, the work of harvesting the bounty of the etang and the sea seems to take precedence.

Cathey and I both chose from the 22 Euro menu at Restaurant le 29. Cathey started with the plateau de coquillages (6 oysters and 6 mussels served on a bed of ice). The oysters were as advertised. Bouzigues oysters are recognized as about the best to be had in the region. It was Cathey's first try at raw mussels on the half shell and, with the vinegary sauce in a squeeze bottle added, she enjoyed the taste. (Don't try this at home. The mussels have to be fresh, fresh, fresh.) I had the baked Camembert on toast with bacon, onions, and mushrooms and a small side salad. Creamy, tasty good. Cathey's main was the Parmesan encrusted fresh morue (cod) topped with herbs and lemon. Cathey raved. Superb, she said. Excellent. These are words that Cathey seldom uses in restaurants. And the distinctively prepared side of rice also took her fancy. I had the pork filet with a honey and ginger sauce. (Yes, seafood is pretty much lost on me.) Totally satisfactory.

For dessert, I had a lemon meringue torte, Cathey the rum baba. Both with pastry cream and whipped cream, both a pleasant quality surprise at the finish.

With a bottle of picpoul and coffee for me at the end, 64 Euros.

I suggested that we might try one of the other restaurants along the waterfront next time. Cathey would have none of it. We'll be back to le 29 the next time that friends visit who enjoy seafood.

Read more of my reviews HERE.