Champs Libres — Specialty Store in Bercy, Paris

Champs Libres is a specialty shop on Rue de Charenton in Bercy, the kind of small place where the prepared dishes do the work. You walk in off the street and the first thing worth your attention is what is already cooked and ready to go, not the shelves.

The pollock with almonds is the dish to ask for: a generous portion, and the thing that makes a detour here worthwhile. Alongside it, the country-style white cheese and the fresh vegetables are what you add to the bag, the sort of plain, good things that turn a takeaway portion into a full lunch.

The shop works around takeaway. You order at the counter and carry it out; there is no ceremony to it.

Spending stays modest. A few items come to somewhere between €5 and €20, with the prepared dish the main part of that and the cheese and vegetables filling out the rest. It is a place to buy a meal rather than to stock a pantry.

Go earlier in the day rather than late: closing is at 8 pm from Monday to Saturday, and Sunday shuts at 2 pm. If you want a portion of the pollock, that is the window to work with.