Le Sole Mio in Port-Vendres

This is fideuà, a Spanish dish that is a type of paella with short pasta strands instead of rice. This one was made with fish stock and large "gambas" (shrimp), and served to me and a group of wine writers recently at the beachfront Le Sole Mio restaurant in the picturesque southern French town of Port-Vendres near the Spanish border. With it, we drank some lovely local wines, Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure rosé (Syrah and Grenache) and Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure blanc (Grenache blanc). The restaurant is next door to Clos des Paulilles winery, the makers of some very good fortified Banyuls wine.


This last picture is of a very smart cat who waited until the humans were finished to sample one of the gambas.

Typical Sicilian Street Food?

I don't know how typical it is, but across the street
from the excellent Caruso and Minini winery in Marsala, I encountered a street food vendor with this pile of spiky sea urchins looking like round porcupines.  

One of my traveling companions, wine critic and
educator Michele Shah, forked over two Euros for
two of the creatures and the vendor cut them open with what looked like a pair of pruning shears and  then offered them for eating right there on the street. Michele offered a taste to everyone, but I wasn't hungry.


Even after living for almost six years in Japan, I am not a big raw fish eater. Interesting-looking, though.