New discoveries in Old Nice

Beyond the sunny shore, a mix of cultures beckons

By Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent | September 29, 2004

NICE, France -- If you want, Nice can be simply about sun and sea. The Baie des Anges, that arc of smooth stones against the Mediterranean's azure expanse, seduces most visitors into a happy nap-swim-eat routine.

But if you explore the back streets of Old Nice, the city reveals pockets of other pleasures. Yes, there are the markets, restaurants, and shopping. But even more rewarding can be unexpected encounters with locals eager to share the area's culture and history.

Going back to the fourth century BC, when Phoenician-Greeks sailed over from Marseille to establish this trading port, Nice's seafaring roots have encouraged foreign affairs. Romans showed up and built baths and arenas, then Dark Ages invaders plundered the city.

Rebuilt by the 14th century, a fortified Nice, allied with the Italian counts of Savoy, upset French kings, who blew it apart again. In 1860 the city became part of France.

Shortly thereafter, the British turned Nice into a luxury destination, and painters such as Matisse discovered the Riviera's sunshine. The grand quai-side casinos still speak of this golden age, even as most visitors nowadays pass them by, opting for budget rather than palace hotels, dressing in tank tops rather than formal gowns, and traveling by Rollerblade rather than Rolls-Royce.

By chance, the dates of my visit coincided with the annual Festa de San Péire. Fishing boats garlanded with flowers and colored lights lined Castel Beach while a statue of Jesus was carried from a church in the old city into the water. After a pagan-like burning of a boat effigy, young folkloric dancers took the stage with middle-aged crooners belting out songs such as "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

Just before this blessing of the fleet, I was enjoying my favorite post-beach Nicois tradition: a plate of "socca," a chickpea crêpe baked on a mammoth copper pan in a wood-fired oven. In line at René Socca, my preferred takeout joint, I struck up a conversation with Jean-Pierre and Maguy Mouret, Nicois who now live in Grenoble. "You have to eat it hot," said Maguy, recalling a childhood memory of eating socca to ward off the winter cold. Between bites, her husband spun tales about battles before the now-gone city walls. They gave me a quick tour of their personal history. "This is where I was born," Maguy said as we walked down the rue St. Francois. "This was bombed by the Allies in the war." The walk was quite a contrast to my usual Nice afternoon of carefree sunbathing.

While I have visited this fifth-largest French city probably 10 times, this was the first time I ducked into the free Palais Lascaris, a fresco-festooned 17th-century palace with vaulted ceilings and quirky objets d'art.

The premises were all but deserted, except for a small French-language tour group that allowed me to tag along. The guide told us stories about the Flemish tapestries, regal portraits, silver ex-votos and reliquaries, and a reconstructed apothecary on the ground floor. This same Baroque mansion, in ruins then, had sheltered Maguy's cousin with her five children during World War II.

At the market on the Cours Saleya, the gastronomic belly of Old Nice, you can stroll by the stalls and soak up the flashy colors of zucchini blossoms and buckets of green tapenade. Food is such a serious matter that a cannon rings out each day to mark high noon and lunchtime.

You can learn more about the food scene by hiring Rosa Jackson, a Canadian gourmet who runs Les Petits Farcis ("stuffed vegetables"), a market tour and cooking class business. "I want to give people an opportunity to shop and cook as if they lived here," Jackson said.

Nicois specialties include an onion, anchovy, and olive tart called a "pissaladière," the sweet Swiss-chard pie "torte de blette," and a corn-and-almond cookie called "estouffadou." Yet the city's traditions have ceded some ground to hipper restaurants such as Terres de Truffes, a truffle-themed bistro serving risotto, foie gras, and smoked brisket.

All you need for a long weekend is within walking distance of Old Nice, that triangle of crooked streets defined by the Quai des Etats-Unis to the south, Boulevard Jean Jaurès to the north, and the looming Colline du Château (Castle Hill) to the east.

Many of the shops sell typical -- and avoidable -- Provencal-themed tourist items such as straw shopping baskets and chirping ceramic cicadas. Look for anomalies such as the Espace Loas (Haitian Art Center, 36 rue Droite) or the Water Bar (rue de la Loge) for sampling designer mineral waters. In the old city, amid mostly pedestrian-only alleys, mustard- and tomato-colored buildings predominate, punctuated by clock towers and steeples of churches that seem more Italian than French.

One Sunday morning, I turned an aimless amble through the cool, shady streets into a hunt for the city's best homemade pasta. In less than an hour, I had found four shops displaying tortelloni and panisses (chickpea flour disks) like precious colored seashells.

After all, Nice is only 12 miles from the Italian border. This also explains the profusion of gelato shops (the best being Fenocchio on Place Rossetti, with dozens of flavors including tomato-basil).

Outside the old city, there's the endless boardwalk to the west. But don't neglect Nice's lesser-known eastern end. You'll either have to take the route around the château hill, along the Quai Rauba-Capeu (literally, "cape of the flying hat," because of the winds), or climb over it; choose the latter for panoramic views. Down the other side lies the restaurant La Zucca Magica and the placid Port Lympia, where yachts moor and massive ferries embark for Corsica.

If you have a few extra days and crave a taste of small-town Cité d'Azur, Nice is an ideal base for exploring coastal villages such as the 1,400-foot-high Eze, as well as Cap Ferrat with its 6-mile coastal path.

No need to rent a car: Take the local train that hugs the sea from Cannes to the Italian border. You can make a day trip and be back in Nice in time for supper.

Relaxing at a cafe along the Cours Saleya, it's easy to understand why Nice, which combines the chic Côte d'Azur with the feel of an easygoing Italian town, attracts families, retirees, and party-going college students.

For me, just watching the water turn from milky-blue to iridescent gray at sunset is reason enough to return. That, and a plate of hot socca, a glass of wine, and an unexpected encounter make Nice live in all the senses long after one returns home.

Ethan Gilsdorf is a freelance writer based in New England. He can be reached through www.ethangilsdorf.com.

NICE ITINERARY

by Ethan Gilsdorf

friday

1 p.m. Lofty lodging
Hôtel La Pérouse 11 Quai Rauba-Capeu 011 33 4 93 62 34 63 www.hotel-la-perouse.com Tucked into the Colline du Château, this affordable four-star perched above the quai traffic noise has a private pool garden, restaurant and many windows with sea views. High-season rooms $265 and up.

2 p.m. Nap and swim routine
Beach, Baie des Anges
Here the Mediterranean waters average 70° in summer. Bathhouses have toilets and lockers, and some private beaches rent chairs and umbrellas. Bring waterproof sandals; the stony beach is painful on bare feet. (Note to men: sunbathing can be topless; stop ogling and get over it).

8 p.m. Fungus fantasy
Terres de Truffes 11 Rue Saint-François de Paule 011 33 4 93 62 07 68 Entrees $19-$30 Every dish on the menu of this classy bistro features truffles, from the potato gnocchi to the truffled brie cheese course to the molten chocolate truffle cake.

saturday

9:30 a.m. Hunt and gather
Les Petits Farcis www.petitsfarcis.com
Take a gourmet walking tour of the Cours Saleya produce market, visit butchers, olive vendors and pasta makers, then go back to Rosa Jackson's 400-year-old apartment and make lunch. Market tour and cooking class, 9.30am-2.30pm, $240 dollars per person; Market tour, cooking class and afternoon gourmet tour, 9.30am-6pm, $348 dollars per person. Book ahead online.

3 p.m. Culture shock
Palais Lascaris 15 Rue Droite 011 33 4 93 62 72 40 Free
A luxuriously decorated Baroque palace with an impressive staircase and an eclectic collection of art. Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Tuesdays.

5 p.m. Ice cream break
Fennocchio 2 Place Rossetti 011 33 4 93 80 72 52
The city's best gelateria, with more than 50 flavors, overlooking a spacious square and the Cathédrale de Sainte Réparate, Nice's patron saint. Open daily 9am-midnight. One scoop $2.40, two scoops $4.20, three $5.40.

8 p.m. Pumpkin time
La Zucca Magica 4 bis, Quai Papacino 011 33 4 93 56 25 27
No fuss, five-course Italian meal so fresh and fabulous you'll forget it's all vegetarian. Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, 12:30-2:30 pm; 7:30-10:30 pm. Fixed price dinner menu is $32.50 (without wine); lunch $20.

sunday

Morning Château ascent
Take the stairs or elevator just below the Tour Bellanda, check out the site of the old castle, wander the fountains and enjoy the views. Then, from the cemetery, descend the Montée du Château to finish in Vieux Nice before the shops open and most tourists arrive.

11 a.m. Brunch
Le Pain Quotidien 1 Rue St François de Paule 011 33 4 93 62 94 32
Big bread baskets, pastries, eggs, coffee at this bright and airy breakfast spot right on the edge of the market. open every day 7am-7pm; breakfast of coffee/pastries starting at $5.60; weekend brunch $23.50

4 p.m. Socca it to me
Chez René Socca 2 Rue Miralheti 011 33 4 93 92 05 73
Grab a plate of the famed chickpea crepe (or other Niçoise treats like fried squash blossoms), then grab a table across the street and order a pitcher of rosé wine. Linger with the locals. in business for 40 years. Open daily (closed Mon and January) 9am-11pm (until 9pm off-season); prices: portion of socca $2.40; other dishes $1.80-3.60, glass of wine: $2.60

TRAVELER'S TASTE

Italian chef keeps his Magic meatless in France

By Ethan Gilsdorf, Globe Correspondent | September 29, 2004

NICE, France -- Marco Folicaldi doesn't fit the vegetarian stereotype. At about 250 pounds, he's not exactly skinny.

"You don't need to eat meat to be strong," said Folicaldi, proprietor of the meat-free Italian restaurant La Zucca Magica (The Magic Pumpkin).

"Animals are precious," he said one Saturday morning as he peeled garlic on the sidewalk terrace. "It's OK to eat them if they're at the end of their natural lives. But hyper-production is crazy." He was referring to factory-farmed chickens, cows, and pigs raised without natural light, air, or grass, and to the overfishing made possible by sonar and satellite technology. "Pork is sold as cheaply as a newspaper," he said. "We don't have respect for them."

As vendors of fresh pasta arrived with their daily deliveries and a cook asked how to prepare a rice dish, Folicaldi put his prep work aside and invited a visitor to join him for breakfast: croissants and strong espresso with dollops of hazelnut ice cream.

Folicaldi chose an off-the-beaten-path location -- Port Lympia, just over the Colline du Château from the beach crowds -- for the restaurant he opened eight years ago, sister to the place he founded in Rome. Folicaldi is Italian, as are lots of Nicois.

"Nice isn't really truly French," he says. "Plus, you can get all the Italian products. Italy is only 20 kilometers [12 miles] away."

Folicaldi's business card states "La Zucca Magica: vegetables, egg and cheese restaurant," but the influence of his native country is evident. He incorporates roasted red and yellow peppers, pan-fried squash concoctions, and vibrant tomato sauces poured over locally made pastas.

"I wanted to show that you can have vegetarian food without worrying about the pleasure," he said. His ethos is also against depleting the planet, so his kitchen is run in tune with the seasons. "No cherries at Christmastime," he said.

The only aspect of his restaurant not in harmony with the calendar is his perpetual Halloween-themed decor: pumpkin posters, lights, and ceramic doodads everywhere. But another trick (or treat) sets La Zucca Magica apart. Diners don't order: A five-course meal magically begins to appear once they're seated at the tables with red-checked cloths.

La Zucca Magica's menu changes daily, and Folicaldi likes to know in advance how many diners he'll have each lunch and dinner. That's why it's good to make a reservation. One evening, he served a chilled cucumber and yogurt soup with an olive-stuffed croissant. A pepper and squash gratin with crispy cheese arrived next, followed by a slice of smoked mozzarella and eggplant parmesan. A tangy and supple ricotta-stuffed cannelloni was the final savory dish before dessert: figs stewed in brandy and served with praline ice cream and a biscuit.

For this self-taught chef, food is theater -- and the script should be unpretentious. "Simplicity, rapidity, everyday food" could be Zucca Magica's mantra. Folicaldi quoted his mother: "The best food is what you make with what you have."

May he be forever blessed with plenty.

La Zucca Magica, 4 bis, quai Papacino, 06300 Nice. 011-33-4-93-56-25-27. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday -- 12:30-2:30 p.m. and 7:30-10:30 p.m. Lunch is $20, dinner $32.50 (without wine).