I’ve been meaning to hit up “Le Food Market” in Belleville for pretty much as long as it’s been running, but I’ve never managed to make it out there. While Belleville is quickly growing into one of my favorite Parisian neighborhoods, it does have one unfortunate downfall: it’s almost an hour from where I live.
That said, it just so happened that the monthly Thursday upon which the market fell was this past Thursday, and a friend who lived markedly closer than I do agreed to meet up and pay it a visit.
The Market, the event website explains, is “just like a fruit and vegetable market,” but filled with street food stalls. About 20 are present on any given night, including a few places to get beer and soda. A live band animates the evening with music, and long tables with benches are present at either end of the market, which stretches along a section of the boulevard de Belleville, so that you can enjoy your street food sitting down.
This, as an aside, was a major plus, in my opinion. I’ve visited street food markets in Copenhagen, Berlin, and London, and each time you basically had to find a corner into which to wedge yourself to eat out of your hands. There’s something very civilized about the presence of tables.
One thing I loved about this market was how present international cuisines were.
Peruvian…
…Thai…
…Spanish…
…Mexican. (These guys saw me snapping photos and demanded I take one of them!)
Of course, there were also a few things that would be a bit more familiar to French palates, like these grilled cheese sandwiches…
… which were made with cheese that had been melted in little frying pans!
I’ll have to try them next time.
For this particular visit, my friend and I were both in the market (hee hee) for things we wouldn’t generally find in Parisian restaurants (read: spicy).
She went for the tamale depicted up top, served with a salsa so spicy it made even her eyes water – and she’s Indonesian!
I, meanwhile, went with a Venezuelan arepa, with black beans, fried plantains, and avocado.
The food is fairly reasonable, at about 8-10 euro per portion, and the combination of delicious choices, wonderful smells, and live music makes for a fantastic ambiance.
I have faith that despite the distance I need to trek to get there, we will be back.
Le Food Market – 24-34 boulevard de Belleville, 75020