How to Eat and Drink Through Europe (like a semi-local) Part 2

When we last left, Chef Andrew was in Prague, and departing for Nice (pronounced like “niece”) in the south of France. However, there was one last thing to do. “We got paid in Prague to drink beer,” he recounted. “The local bier garden charged 40 crown [about $1.80 US] for a beer, but if you returned your glass, they paid you 53 crown. It made no sense!”

Despite the promise of free beer for life, Chef departed Prague and went to France, specifically Cagnes-sur-mer, near Marseilles. A beach town, essentially, and thus touristy, but mostly French tourists. He notes that, there is currently a disdain for tourists in Europe, especially for American tourists. While the restaurants in Cagnes-sur-mer were low on service to tourists, he cites the high quality of the food and ambiance as the main reason to dine. The region of Nice claims to have invented gnocchi, and, although the handmade pasta dates back to Roman times, there may be some truth to this claim. Legend has it that French pharmacist Antoine Parmentier, while a prisoner in Germany during the Seven Years War, was fed almost exclusively a diet of potatoes, which the French and Italians used as livestock feed. Upon his release, Parmentier introduced potatoes to the court of Louis XVI, where Alessandro Volta (inventor of the battery), is said to have tried them; when Volta tried to recreate the mashed potatoes he had, he added flour, and thus, created the potato gnocchi as we know it today.

While this is a dubious claim, what is known is that many restaurants in Nice specialize in gnocchi; Chef says the best meal he had in Nice was a gnocchi bolognese, served in a bistro that is famed for the dish. While this was a dish he loved, he spent most of his time on the porch of their apartment over looking the rocky beach, while baby hedgehogs came and slept on their patio.

Not the same baby hedgehogs (“choupisson”), but baby French hedgehogs nonetheless. (Photo credit Chris Luck)

The next leg of the trip that was planned was Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. However, you may have seen the news about the major tourism backlash—the locals cite a lack of affordable housing (although the number of short-term rentals has increased 170% in the last 9 years), rising prices due to the tourist economy, and what many see as the “theme park-ification” of local towns. The Spanish government has begun fining homeowners as much as $650K for renting their rooms for short-term holidays. And so, despite being a native Spanish speaker, Chef Andrew decided to respect the wishes of the Valencians and move on to the last leg of his journey: Mallorca. Come back for part 3, where we have menus that include 1 bottle of wine per person (!), grilled rabbits, and chipanguitos.

Photo: Getty Images.