Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Plugging away

Before the market square was renovated, there were posts here and there with electrical outlets on them. Vendors used them to get electricity for their refrigerators, lights, and other appliances. When the square was renovated, those outlet posts were removed.

One of the poultry vendors at the St.-Aignan market tending to his roasting chickens.

What replaced them are these underground outlets (you can see one in the bottom center of the photo above). When they're closed up, they look just like the other cobble stones around them. On market day, they're opened up and a big electrical hookup pops out. Pretty cool, eh?

This is one of the poultry vendors at our market. It's not the one we normally go to. But he has these two big rotisseries going every Saturday. The rotation is powered by electricity and bottled gas provides the flames for cooking. Chickens roast all morning on the spits and are sold to customers who want an already cooked bird. As the chickens turn on the spits, their juices drip down into a tray at the bottom of the rotisserie that is filled with small peeled potatoes. The cooked potatoes are sold along with the chickens. Yum!

Since the market square is built on a slope, this vendor uses a few egg cartons to steady his rotisseries on the cobblestones. You can see a corner of the fish monger's stand to the right in the photo.

10 comments:

  1. I love the square. It looks so quaint.

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  2. I'd spend the day there just for the smell!

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  3. So clever, those outlets! And I'm hungry already. Time for breakfast.

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  4. Thanks for sharing so many details with us. I love it that there are potatoes cooking below the chickens, miam, miam!

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  5. Walt

    That's one thing I have promised myself: The next vacation en gîte in France, I will go for one of those poulets rôtis and the potatoes. There is a location in the 7th Arrondissement where the vendor sells poulet de Bresse but never had the opportunity to buy since we were staying in hôtels.

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  6. Next to the fishmonger, I like the
    two guys greeting each others.
    Great idea with those electrical outlets.

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  7. Recently stumbled upon your blog and am really enjoying it. Thanks! (Those "electrified" cobbles are fascinating.)

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  8. Isn't that man clever with his little egg cartons? My cart would be rolling down the hill by now, with chickens and potatoes flying everywhere.
    m.

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  9. When we stayed in the 11é in Paris, there was a place that sold roasted chickens not far from our apartment. They were so good. I didn't see any potatoes though.

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  10. rick, they were going to put a fountain in, but they nixed it at the last minute. It would have made it nicer.

    cubby, I agree, roasting chickens smell great!

    kristi, funny, I'm hungry, too!

    evelyn, :)

    beaver, it's always a good thing to do when you have an apt. and a fridge!

    nadege, I didn't even notice them until later!

    mitch, thanks for coming by! I've read some of the archives from your blog. A great adventure! I'll be reading along as the move approaches - I hope you're able to keep blogging through the process.

    mark, as long as your camera is at the ready!

    starman, sometimes they don't do the potatoes. But when they do, they're good.

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