Le Crabe Marteau, Paris

 

Do you love crabs? Yesterday I met with Solli & Francesco for serious crab 🦀 eating.

Did you know in the middle of Paris, you can transport yourself to Surf City,N.J. or Maryland or Brest by heading to le Crabe Marteau 🔨  I got there early and chatted with a lone Normand devouring his whole crab. 

When I was 6, we went crabbing in a rowboat on the Jersey shore.

For blue crab

He was crabbing in Fecamp, not far from Étretat. A place where I made a big mistake.

I took what I thought would be a serene boat ride or ‘balade’ as the French call a gentle promenade, to the cliffs of Étretat. Instead it was a jolting, choppy ride. I was the only one who wanted to swim 🏊 to shore 😱

Meanwhile Solli & Franc were outside looking for me. It’s rare I’m early ⏰ 

The menu at Le Crabe Marteau/hammer 🔨 

The restaurant opened first in Brest, Brittany in 2004. 

It’s a bit hidden off Champs-Elysées on 16, rue des Acacias, not too far from l’Arc d’Triomphe. The 1 train stops at the corner.

I thought I’d want a whole crab 🦀 but these French crabs/ Tourteau are huge. We got the 1/2 crab with 1/2 dozen oysters

Solli got the 1/2 crab with langoustines

Accompaniments are delicious, tender little boiled potatoes 🥔 from Guipavas,Finistère.

Plus 4 dips. Plus rustic brown bread, all sitting on Brest newspaper you can read while waiting for your crab 🦀 

We got protective bibs. Blues music like, ‘Sittin’ on the dock of a bay…’ was playing in the background.

The big deal is the wooden hammer 🔨  You place a piece of crab on the wooden board & go to town hammering away. We were lucky. Not too many other guests at Saturday lunch. In the evening the din of hammering! They place a bucket on the floor for all your shells etc. The staff couldn’t be nicer.

I didn’t think we could manage dessert but Franc got a Café Gourmand, which had every sweet specialty from Brittany. Can you name them? Hint. They’re all listed on the blackboard above. I helped Franc out natch..

We were very happy end of the meal 👍

Coming home, picnic tables looked like a fun place to eat crab 🦀

Or maybe eat crab 🦀 on a bateaux-Mouches 🛥️ 

Or perhaps on a Paris rooftop, surrounded by a bunch of cats 🐈‍⬛ BON DIMANCHE PBers