Monday 20 February 2012

I (heart) Mouffetard


A couple of weeks ago I dolled myself up in my best t-shirt and headed out for a night on the town with a friend. The t-shirt is a souvenir from Paris and reads "I (heart) Mouffetard". The heart shape is nowadays looking less like a heart and more like a blob from a Rorschach test due to shrinking in the wash (my version) or me getting fatter (my wife's version), but it's still my favourite.

We wound up at Maya Restaurant and got one of their delicious goat curries. At one point my friend nipped to the bathroom and I passed the time in my usual manner - pretending I was Jason Bourne and speculating on which of the other diners could be CIA agents.

In actual fact, the couple next to me were behaving a bit strangely - I was conscious of the woman staring at me furtively before she typed something into her mobile phone and passed it across the table to her partner.

He squinted at the screen and said loudly, "What is Mouffetard?", followed by "Ow! Why'd you do that?". The woman groaned and rolled her eyes in a way that I can best describe as wifely, before glancing at me apologetically.

I couldn't blame her - like firkin or masticate, Mouffetard is one of those words that just sounds dirty. In fact, as I explained to her, it's actually the name of a bustling little street in Paris that's become famous as a great place to buy fresh, high quality produce. 
Check out some of my photos:
If Paris is my spiritual home (and it is), then Rue Mouffetard is the kitchen. I would love to see Perth get its own food street - and maybe Freo could blaze the way.

3 comments:

  1. Okay ... let's get a posse together and go there for a study trip :)

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    1. Sounds good to me! I know a kick ass bistro that does a mean French Onion soup.

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  2. Chase the Space14 March 2012 at 11:15

    That's awesome Swanny, when does the tour begin? Perth used to have something, when the fresh produce markets were located on Roe Street in Northbridge. I remember my grandparents talking about them. I really wish the Roe Street Markets were still there to combine with the myriad of cheap and tasty Asian restuarants and greengrocers which exist now. Northbridge could become a food precinct once again. Let's start a movement to bring the markets back to Central Perth. And of course keep the Freo Markets alive and healthy.

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