Marché Moderne fetes Bastille Day with an authentic bouillabaisse

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Hurry! Florent Marneau at Marché Moderne in Costa Mesa is celebrating Bastille Day with bouillabaisse from now through July 19. That’s just one week more.

This is the real deal, not some tricked-up California-style fish stew. Marneau is so obsessed with authenticity he’s flying in seafood caught off the coast of Nice, Marseilles and Toulon, France, every day. That’s the only way to get the flavors right. Depending on the day’s catch, his bouillabaisse might include rouget (red mullet), Saint Pierre, dorade grise (bream), and rascasse (scorpion fish), plus octopus, scallops, mussels, clams and shrimp.

The seafood stew also includes fennel, potato and roasted tomatoes bathed in an aromatic broth. The traditional rouille and croutons are served on the side, along with Marneau’s basil-scented tomato tartare, fennel pollen emulsion, lemon-garlic emulsion and tapenade.

The bouillabaisse is priced at $50 and served at dinner only through July 19.

What to drink? Rosé de Provence, of course, from Château Saint-Martin.

For reservations, call (714) 434.7900.

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-- S. Irene Virbila
twitter.com/sirenevirbila