A city like Nice has over a thousand places to eat, so I was told by my driver as I was coming in from the airport. I think he may right and I bet at least half of them are located right on the rue Masséna (named after André Masséna one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon). There’s a factoid that should make anyone hungry for more. The rue is really a pedestrian walkway, and one naturally assumes it to be free of autos. My advice is to stay alert to that occasional car slowly sneaking up and around you unnoticed. The Rue Masséna runs parallel to the beach and the famous Promenade des Anglais and it’s lined with little shops, fancy boutiques on the rue Paradis (Vuitton, Chanel and Cartier among others) and more than your share of outdoor cafes and crowded restaurants advertising everything from prix fixe menu to plain ol’ pizza du pays. I was there in November and all I can say is God help those who insist on coming down for the summer. I can guarantee one thing, you won’t see me there unless I just happen to be in Cannes for the film festival to accept my award. Might be interesting. 


Le Milo’s is a busy restaurant at 15 rue Masséna. Le Milo’s, along with most of the other restaurants flirt dangerously on the edge of being a certified tourist trap with all the trimmings of being indifferent to the needs of those not speaking French or worse those attempting in vain to speak French. I realize that not all restaurants appeal to everyone just as not all restaurants deserve to be described as traps. If you are a tourist in Nice, you quickly realize you are not in Johnson City, Nagasaki or Moscow. So my advice (once again) please act accordingly and behave responsibly. Le Milo has a varied menu with a lot of the traditional dishes but this time, I decided to go with the special of the day which happened to be a seafood risotto. I’m glad I did as it was extremely tasty and it arrived table-side with a selection of calamari, mussels and clams over a steaming bed of creamy risotto. On top of it all was a super-sized prawn who was clearly in charge. With the help of a bottle of dry white wine from Provence, I made my way through this most excellent dish. Desert as always is a challenge with so much to choose from. I decided on simplicity with a crepe and vanilla ice cream and concluded with a Cognac. 

SEAFOOD RISOTTO

Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Shallots (chopped) 
2 Carrots (peeled and chopped) 
1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
1 cup Dry White Wine 
6-7 cups Fish or Shrimp Stock
1 pound Rock Shrimp (cleaned) 
1 pound Manila Clams (scrubbed clean)
1 pound Mussels (scrubbed clean and de-bearded) 
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper 
1 bunch Parsley (chopped to yield about 1/4 cup)

Directions:
In a heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add a few tablespoons of olive oil (from Provence, of course). Add the shallots and carrot with a pinch of salt and cook until fragrant. Add the rice and toast until opaque, adding a little more olive oil if needed, about 2 minutes. 

Add the white wine and bring to a boil, cooking until almost dry, and then begin to ladle in the stock to just cover the rice. Cook, stirring constantly, maintaining a level of stock just above the rice, for 10 minutes. 

Add the clams and continue cooking for another 4 minutes. add the mussels and cook until open, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until rice is soft but still very al dente. 

Add the shrimp, cook for just a minute, and then season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and stir in the parsley. Serve immediately. A good local light red, a rose de Provence or a dry white will be perfect.