Marché des Capucins, Bordeaux, France

Le Marché des Capucins is one of the oldest markets in France and it rightfully carries the title “The Belly of Bordeaux”. It’s probably the most important gastronomic center in Bordeaux which makes it a must-visit for anyone traveling to Bordeaux. we went for cheese and charcuterie, and left with that plus local pate, an assortment of olives, and some fresh strawberries that were magnificent. We were not planning to cook on this trip--we hope to do so when we are in France for longer visits, but not this one--but if we were planning to do so, this would have been an excellent spot for seafood and vegetables.

When it comes to local food, oysters are one of the highlights of our region. Bordeaux is just one hour away from Arcachon, one of France’s main oyster farming centers. It’s thus not surprising to find good oysters at the main market of Bordeaux. The place we sampled these was a restaurant in the market, Chez Jean-Mi--we made a coupleof mistakes, basically not knowing where exactly the line for a table was, but were seated within about 10 minutes of our trying to sit down--it is a great place to have fresh seafood ans a great place to people watch. We were there on a Sunday, a day of rest for many a local restaurant, so we were pleased to get a nice meal in the late morning.

Andale Taqueria Y Mercado, Minneapolis, MN

I convinced my spouse (it wasn't hard) to take a trip to Minneapolis, just an overnight away, to have some food in the city and then go to southern Minnesota for a much anticipated baby shower, and then home, barely more than 24 hours on the road. It was early Ocotber when we went and the leaves were mid-peak in turning, so the drive was beautiful, and we very much enjoyed our early morning sojourn to this restaurant and market. We started with a chili relleno and some enchiladas, both of which were very good, and we were happy with the choice for breakfast--and they serve their whole menu all day, so you are not constrained by things with eggs. The market was spectacular--we got some meat at the butcher counter--which caters to Mexican cooks and has all the cuts you would need to make things like asada and pastor as well as some nice chorizo. They had fresh hot tortillas in a cooler and the bakery looked worthy. My favorite was the chili rellonos to go, which we packaged the salsa seperate from the rellenos, so we could air fry them back to crispness before eating them at home--my only regret is that we did not get sides of rice and beans to accompany them, but is was a very good stop indeed.