The sparks behind Spark Live Fire Kitchen
Spark Live Fire Kitchen is my new favorite restaurant in Nice: unique, creative, fun, and extremely welcoming and delicious.
The Concept: It’s all about fire: there is no stove… all cooking is done in a custom wood-burning oven, modelled on the ancient communal ovens of Pompeii, and only available in Naples. The oven is used around the clock with the cooler daytime temperatures used for slow-cooking ribs, and baking their own bread and desserts, so Spark can only be open for dinner.
The Chef: Michael Webster is a native of Calgary Canada whose travels led through Paris, Chengdu China (where he met his wife Aiqing and ran 4 restaurants), then Bangkok, back to Paris (cooking under a Michelin-starred chef), and finally to Nice, where he’s now doing his own thing, letting his far-flung influences spark his own culinary vision, especially with vegetables, which are his passion. The last time I was there, a diner came up to the chef to say, “Wow, you just changed my concept of Brussel Sprouts!”
The Menu: It’s subject to change on Michael’s whim, but a recent menu featured 10 vegetables (8-12€) including Maple Lime Butter Sweet Potato, Sichuan Cauliflower, Citrus Glazed Fennel with Burrata (and of course the famous Pancetta Brussel Sprouts); along with 4 succulent meat choices plus specials ranging from 12-25€ (the Sticky Ribs with Maple Bourbon Glaze are killer!) The dishes come out one at a time to be shared, vegetables first, and I recommend sitting at the bar where you can watch it all happen.
The Welcome: Aiqing is the service side of the duo, and she couldn’t be more charming and bubbly. She speaks English but not much French yet, so extra fun for expats, and her eyes light up when talking about the food, their shared vision, and the rocky road to make it a reality!
The restaurant is tiny, so call ahead for your reservation at +33 7 60 92 51 32 or reserve on their website www.sparklivefire.com. Open for dinner Tues-Saturday, 3 rue Centrale just off Place Rossetti (around the corner from Fenocchio), and right across the street from the newest Old Nice jazz spot Bistrot Rossetti with early live jazz Wed-Sunday from 7pm-10pm, so make a night of it! Tram stop Cathedrale
See related pages: Best Restaurants in Nice, Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Nice, and more for Foodies in Nice.
Photos: Best of Nice
Last June marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day: the storming of the beaches of Normandy. But that was just the start, as battles raged all summer, including the storming of Toulon/Var beaches on August 15th. Town by town the Nazi occupiers were eradicated and villages liberated, each at tremendous cost.
Saturday Aug 24th: Giant free 40’s style big band retro dance ball, 6pm-midnight, Theatre de Verdure. The American tanks arrived in Nice two days later, and that elation is the theme of tonight’s American-style 40’s swing celebration. Costumes encouraged, food trucks on site.
In medieval times, ancient Convent of the Visitation in Old Nice was an austere abode for pious nuns. The nuns are long gone and the convent has been boarded up for decades, but nevertheless the locals fought tooth-and-nail to stop its transformation into a lavish 5-star hotel, fearing the introduction of an ostentatious luxury resort would forever alter the feel of the vieille ville.
It’s rare to find a hotel with such a sense-of-place: the guestrooms are sober yet elegant, the spa evokes Roman baths, the terraced gardens beg to be strolled, the restaurants serve on antique linens and vintage glassware …and they grow their own herbs, just like the nuns used to do.
It’s a conundrum: you want to visit Nice’s Bellet wine region, tour the picturesque wineries and taste lots of wine, but the vineyards are spread out in the backcountry, necessitating a car, and driving the windy roads isn’t exactly compatible with the tasting, sampling, and savoring that is the whole point of the trip…
After a scenic 20-minute bus ride up to the hilly vineyards, the first stop is maybe the most famous, 