Dinner with Depardieu

Saturday we decided to make an early start and stroll down the Champs Elysee before all the tourists arrive (early in Paris means before 10am as most shops don't open before that). A pleasant day and a good opportunity to study some of the surviving Art Nouvea buildings - interspersed with modern travesties including maccas and subway. There were a couple of arcades which we had not noticed previously as well as new ones with all the brand name shops (just like any mall anywhere in the world).
At the end of the main shopping stretch we jump onto a numer 24 bus which is heading across the river toward Sevres-Babylon - perhaps we will get some lunch at the Bon Marche Epicerie. The bus heads down past the old haunts in the 7th, around the Ecoloe Militaire and along ave de Breteuil where we spot a market we have not seen before so we decide to jump off and investigate. This remarkable market is set up like all the others down the centre of the road (ave de Saxe) but unusually, it is staffed entirely by French shopkeepers. This may sound strange for a Parisian market but we have usually found the markets to be staffed by a mixture of French and Arab shopkeepers with lots of noise and shouting (like the Italians at Paddy's Market in Sydney). At most markets there are supplies of plastic bags and you help yourself before handing the bag to the stall holder to weigh but here it is all strictly ne touchez pas and one waits to be greeted and served personally - slow but refreshing. In fact, watching a French woman shop is an education as she discusses the shape, colour, size, etc before agreeing to purchase what the shop keeper presents to her or asking for an alternative. We settle on a lapin terrine and salad piémontaise which, together with a baguette, makes for a very French lunch in the adjacent park. Back on the 24 we head for Montparnasse where we will transfer to the 96 for home.
Walking around the back of the tower we discover that there is another market where the Sunday Art Market is held and, since it is getting late we drop in to see what's on sale - large crunchy spiced, stuffed green olives, a bag full of mixed lettuce and a large bag of zucchini and we're off home at last.
Sunday we stay in waiting to hear from a friend and I work on trying to make sense of the latest gleanings from the Bibliotheque. At 1pm we phone them and leave a message before heading off for the Bastille market - this is undoubtedly the best market in Paris both for quality and variety. Emerging from the metro we discover that we are at the finish line of a fun run (which explains why the bus we were going to catch was diverted). There is a group of Swiss Alpenhorn players playing by the Bastille memorial which is interesting enough to make a short movie of before crossing to the market. We really only visited the markets to get some cheese, oranges and apples but soon discover that most things are marked down because it is near closing time. We collect cheese, corned beef (home made - yum yum) and eggs then load up with apples, oranges, peaches (1 euro/kg) strawberries (2kg/5 euros) and vine ripened tomatoes (1 euro/kg) and struggle back to the metro with our haul.
A friend in Hobart sent us an email telling us about Gerard Depadieu's Le Fontaine Gaillon restaurant which is near the Opera and we have made a booking for lunch on Tuesday. Not sure what to expect but the write up by Decanter (http://www.decanter.com/archive/article.php?id=275270) sounds fascinating and by 1205 on Tuesday we are settled at our table just inside from the terrace where we can catch all the activity. Marcia opts to have just a main but I'm ready for the 3 course menu.
One of the specialities of the house is oysters and I select an entree of minced raw salmon, oyster, echalotte and parsley which arrives in the form of a rectangular mold - exceptionnelle! My main is grilled fish steaks (possibly swordfish) but Marcia's is a whole large whiting which has been filleted by splitting it along the back and removing the bones and then lightly deep fried. The accompaniment is sieved mashed potato and egg mayonaise (with chunks of egg).
Dessert is a triple sorbet and each scoop is enclosed in it's own brandy snap basket . Although Marcia has opted for just the main the waiter had also set a place for her with each course and she couldn't help but share the sorbet which was superb (it has to have been Berthillion sorbet which is the best in Paris). While we had been waiting for the dessert the waiter had placed a small plate on out table with a selection of bite sized petite fours (sesame snap, coffee macaroon and apricot jelly) and he now gave us another (just to push us over the edge while I was enjoying my cafe express).
2 1/2 hours to enjoy the best meal we've had since De Niro's Nobu restaurant in New York and we stagger away from lunch needing a long walk so decide to revisit Galleries Lafayette to relook at the interior design which we have discovered was designed by Majorelle, the famous Art Nouveau artist from Nancy.
Eating out in Paris is definitely something to experience but we would rather buy remarkably fresh produce from the markets and prepare our own and save our money for something exceptional like Depardieu's Le Fontaine Gaillon rather than dine out regularly on average restaurant food - not snobby but we do appreciate excellence.