Nice: Bistrot d'Antoine

Far too many of the restaurants crowded around the Cours Saleya marketplace in Vieux Nice cater to sunburned tourists with sadly indifferent pizzas and soulless versions of Niçoise specialties like pissaladière (a pizza-like tart topped with sautéed onions, black olives and anchovies) or petits farcis (stuffed vegetables). But there’s still some excellent eating to be had in this charming neighborhood, if you follow local residents to the very popular Bistrot d’Antoine, whose delicious, reasonably priced southern French cooking is done with first-rate, mostly local produce. I first learned about it when I asked a market vendor for a lunch recommendation, and now I wouldn’t dream of visiting Nice without at least one meal there. At lunch with a friend recently, we started with an excellent rabbit terrine and a dish of fresh Mediterranean anchovies in a peppery sauce made with wild arugula. Then we tucked into chef Sébastien Krieger’s excellent pasta with white coco beans and pistou sauce and a creamy polenta garnished with a suave sauce bolognaise. On other visits, I’ve really liked the cocotte de cochon, a mix of different cuts of braised free-range pork, and a terrific risotto with zucchini flowers. But in any case, I never pass up one of the best cheese trays in town, which usually offers up a creamy slice of chestnut-leaf-wrapped Banon, made in the Provençal town of the same name and one of my favorite French cheeses. Wines by the glass are reasonably priced, and there are lots of pleasant and affordable Provençal bottles too. Not surprisingly, this place is mobbed, so reservations are essential.

Monkfish with Serrano ham and vegetables

27 rue de la Préfecture, Nice, 04.93.85.29.57. €30 per person without wine.

Originally published in the July/August 2011 issue of France Today