Underhill

Last month we went with local friends for lunch at Lou Fassum, a newish restaurant in the village of Plascassier---a fortuitous choice, as Julia Child once lived there.The restaurant sits on a hill with a view across to the Esterel coast and the Mediterranean, and there is a large terrace for taking advantage of the scenery in warm weather. The restaurant is named for an old Provençal stuffed-cabbage dish, and diners are given a copy of the recipe. The restaurant has, and more than deserves, one Michelin star. After some discussion (those with French friends know how they love to talk about food) we settled on the tasting menu, which proved an excellent choice. It is served only for an entire table. First came the best black-olive tapenade I've ever had. Tapenade is easy to make, but this one had something special about it, possibly the silky-smooth texture and just a hint of something unusual. It was served with hot toast points. Next came an amuse-bouche of 3 escargots in a parsley purée: different and very tasty. The escargots were followed by a meltingly smooth piece of foie gras, accompanied by a small slice of multi-layered pain d’epices. To add excitement there was a pipette of rose–petal confit to squeeze over the cake (nice homage to the parfumiers of Grasse, that), along with sea salt for the foie gras. We could have stopped there and been happy. The entrée consisted of two large, delectable scallops in a delicate sauce, accompanied by a coupe of asparagus cream purée. Hooked on the side of the bowl was a spoon holding caviar. The main course was succulent slices of saddle of lamb and two rib chops, with seasonal vegetables. By then we were purring. There was a small pre-dessert (I can’t remember exactly what, but puddingish in nature) and then came the desserts, the “surprise du chef.” That day the patissier chose to surprise us with a mini-platter holding a scoop of coffee sorbet, a dark-chocolate open-work "cage" holding whipped cream, and a slice of rich chocolate torte. Finally came several plates of assorted mignardises. We didn’t need dinner that evening.

Could it be one of the restaurants on the Place du Marché St-Honoré? L'Absinthe is a possibility, but I seem to remember that it's owned by a different major chef. How about Tomate?

Alas, the restaurant has closed. I learned from a cyperfriend's friend in Biot that J-P Silva has bought a restaurant for his daughter, in Cannes--no more information than that. I'm really sorry at the thought of never again experiencing Silva's cuisine.

Where do I find his post???

That's the non-working number. Do you have Bob's full e-mail address?

Does anyone have a current number for this restaurant? The original one seems to be out of order, and so far I have had no luck finding a new one. The French directory assistant couldn't find anything either.

What works best for me is baking the carcass before proceeding with the stock. That imparts a lovely dark color and enriches the taste. The stock is then made with the carcass and water, adding sliced carrots and celery; I like to throw in a little curry to bring out the flavor of the chicken. Bring the water to just under boil, partially cover, and let it all simmer for several hours, tasting as you go.

Senderens did quite nicely back in the days when he had L'Archestrate; perhaps nostalgia for the good old days has prompted his decision.

We too had a disappointing dinner at Bistro Jeanty--especially the very fatty daube de boeuf. Quality seems to be slipping. However, our lunch at the CIA Greystone restaurant was very good: asparagus and fava-bean salad, Nantucket Bay scallops with black mussels and artichoke hearts. Definitely worth a return visit.

We were fortunate enough to have known Brother Timothy slightly thanks to a grad-school friend of my husband who was a Christian Brother and in training to become cellarmaster when Bro. Timothy retired. Both were wonderful men, and we certainly appreciated the special wines that they introduced us to.

We dined at Bistro Jeanty last Thursday night for my husband's birthday. Having eaten there two years ago and loved the food we were disappoined to find that the quality wasn't the same--it is because Jeanty has other houses to run now? Escargots were off the menu, unfortunately, and the tomato soup in its puff-pastry tocque wasn't an adequate replacement. My dabue de boeuf was so fatty that I couldn't eat, and the tarte tatin was applesauce rather than apple slices and so sweet that I could only eat a small amount of it. We were saddened to find that our favorite restaurant in the Napa Valley is not what it was. Our trip was saved by lunch at the CIA in St. Helena the following day.

We've had lunch or dinner at Le Feu Follet every year for quite a number and found the food to be consistently very good. The French friends whom we took to the restaurant raved about the food, and they are not easily impressed. I wouldn't miss going there, Mimi; be sure to order the moules au curry and the escargot soup.

In Vieux Nice we always return to L'Ecurie for a meal; it's at 4, rue du Marché, toward the top of the little streets leading off the Cours Saléya. Nothing fancy, but very tasty offerings--including sometimes, as a daily special, farcis Niçois. The pastas are excellent, and I especially like the salad with garlic croutons and dressing. However, we were totally turned off by the rudeness of the woman (the owner?) at La Petite Maison when we asked about a reservation for the following evening and so did not eat there as planned. Local friends introduced us to the Café de Turin and its delicious seafood--don't miss it if that's something you enjoy. Beyond Nice in the old village of Mougins is one of our very favorites, Le Feu Follet. The prix-fixe prices are moderate and the food innovative and excellent, in a pleasant setting. The restaurant is family owned and operated, and it shows in the welcome and service. We've taken our French "family" there several times, and they pronounce everything delicious; it's a comfortable place for family dining, too.

Jack's, if you fancy Bordeaux--or even not. My own preference is for Burgundies and Rhônes, but the bottle of Bordeaux that was selected for me at Jack's last month reminded me of why I used to enjoy Bordeaux so much. The shop is tiny, but the knowledge of the two owners is not. I asked for a wine priced betwee 20-25€ and was offered one for a bit less--it was excellent, and I wish I could remember the château from which it came. Jack's is on the Bd. St-Germain, just down from the Hôtel Madison and the métro stop.

Au Petit Marguery (in the 13th) is always on our dining list when we're in Paris--especially in the fall and winter, when the appetizer of fresh wood mushrooms is on the carte. The prix-fixe menu is now 37€, still a very good buy; the mushrooms require a supplement of 8€ as an entrée (we discovered too late that we could have ordered them as a main course). Next time... My husband and I began with the mushrooms, of course: this time cêpes and girolles gently sautéed in olive oil, a hint of garlic, and parsley--they were delectable and unforgettable. Our friend had melon balls in Sauternes, also very tasty. For our main course my husband had lamb, while our friend chose salmon. I had a pièce de boeuf aux cêpes (again!) in a lovely, rich red wine sauce--in the European manner I used bread to mop up every drop. We had a good bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin to accompany the mushrooms and the main courses. For dessert we had soufflées Grand Marnier, while our friend had her favorite: crème brûlée. It was an excellent meal, and the restaurant remains high on our list for Paris dining. Service is stylish, and the atmosphere is often like that of a celebration--family groups come for birthdays, and everyone seems to be having a very good time. Reservations are a must. Au Petit Marguery is located at 9, Bd. Port-Royal.

We recently had an excellent dinner at the Bistro de Breteuil. The prix-fixe menu costs just 31€ and includes a Kir royale apéritif, three courses (with about a dozen choices for each), AND a full bottle of wine for two people. We began with a dozen escargots each, served in the traditional butter, garlic, and parsley sauce, with piece after piece of excellent bread to pop the escargots on when conveying them to our mouths. The sauce was delectable, and we mopped it all up with still more bread. Our main courses were tender racks of lamb with thyme, accompanied by very good gratins Dauphinois: delicious, and the Côte du Rhône that we selected from the wine list matched well with the food. For dessert I had profiteroles au chocolate; the warm sauce was poured generously from a pitcher, and the profiteroles contained vanilla ice cream instead of the more usual custard filling. My husband selected crêpes flambéed in Grand Marnier, and he pronounced them first rate. The bistro is lively, and service is quick and professional. On the night we were there it was full up; unfortunately the cold weather that evening precluded our dining on the terrace, which looked very pleasant. The bistro de Breteuil (in the 7th) will be on our must-eat list for future trips to Paris.

We lunched at La Table de Mon Moulin on September 20th, eager to taste Jean-Pierre Silva's food again; we had not eaten in his Burgundian restaurant for several years and were wondering whether his style would undergo a chance. Well, yes and no: the creativity is still there, the explosions of taste are still there, but the food is generally lighter, as befitting his Provençal location. We arrived at the mill (which is NOT easy to find) about 15 minutes early and perused the menu handwritten in violet ink of a screed contained in a storage jar set on a post. I could make out only about half the words, but they were enough for us to begin anticipating another delicious Silva meal. A few minutes past the appointed opening time of 12:30 Isabelle Silva appeared to open the wide iron gate and lead us to the restaurant, housed in an old olive-oil oil mill; on the outside one can see the water will used to turn the crusher. The house is tastefully decorated and looked as though it would be very cozy to dine inside during cooler months; however, that daý lunch as al fresco. We were shown to our table on the patio overlooking the mill race and were greeted by a well-mannered spaniel. We began with kirs and were presented with a tray of assorted olives before our first of six courses arrived, a cross between pissaladière and a millefeuille--delectable. We also had a tasty lentil spread served with small toasts and perfect small tomatoes, one for each of us--I could have eaten several, as the flavor was so enticing. Next came a salad of a Spanish ham lsimilar to proscuitto , mixed with rabbit ravioles, circles of green pepper stuffed with ricotta cheese, and thin slices of sautéed courgette. The fish course was salt cod from Bilbao, sautéed and served on a bed of ham jus and lentils; accompanying the fish was a perfect little square of creamy polenta. (At this point I made friends with the restaurant's cat, who expressed great delight on being offered bits of the fish and settled down by my feet to survey hopefully the other diners.) The main course was a daube of Sisteron lamb, surrounded by delectable baby carrots. We accompanied this dish with a half bottle of a 1999 Gevrey-Chambertin, having begun with a half bottle of Santenay. The cheese course was made up of local cheeses, most of which were new to us. The platter was just set on our table for us to serve ourselves. We were happy to have some wine left to accompany the cheeses. Dessert was a lovely pastry floating on crème Chantilly, topped with apricot sorbet. We had no time for coffee, unfortunately, as we saw the plates of mignardises heading for other tables. But six courses of such excellence were really enough. Afterwards I asked Jean-Pierre whether he liked living in Provence now and got a hearty "Oui!" in response. He has certainly done an excellent job of suiting his cooking to the region, but I hope he never forgets the boeuf bourgignon à la grandmère that seduced us at his restaurant in Bouilland.

Well, I hope we are going to be able to eat at La Table de Mon Moulin! Our French friends called in July to book a table but were told it was too early and to call back 2 weeks before. She just called and was told there was no room for the date we wanted; we are wait-listed for a cancellation but do have a table for lunch. I hope cigalechanta had better luck.

A restaurant in the Drôme that we have enjoyed very much in the years since we first discovered it is Les Hospitaliers, part of a small hotel-restaurant complex in the medieval village perché of Le Poët-Laval. The restaurant then had one Michelin rosette, since lost when the owners retired and the formidable chef had to take over management of the entire operation--but my husband and I can't detect any difference in the quality of the food. The carte changes with the seasons and the market and is always interesting, and the wine cellar is first rate. The restaurant is both inside and out, with a terrace that has a view to the mountains in the distance. Part of the terrce is enclosed on three sides and topped with a rustic roof: perfect when the weather turns a bit chilly or windy. At night the setting is absolutely magical and quiet, with nothing to distract from the food and the stars overhead. Le Poët-Laval is located just off the road that runs from Montélimar to the charming small town of Dieulefit, from which one can head south to the town of Nyons for selective shopping at the olive co-op. Montélimar itself has some good restaurants as well, which we've sampled only for an occasional lunch because we can't bear not to eat and stay at Les Hospitaliers.

That reminds of the time my husband was working at the South Pole scientific station and the cook served up steak that was hard as a rock. One of the guys in the dining room tried to cut the meat with his Swiss Army knife, then grabbed a jackhammer and went to work. True!

The Beau Rivage was entirely remodeled last winter and since then has received very good reviews at the tripadvisor.com web site. So we're hopeful. Now all I have to do is whittle those recommendations down for our 2 lunches and 2 dinners! The rest of our time we'll be dining at the home of friends who live near Grasse and with whom we'll be checking out La Table de Mon Moulin.

Evidently La Petite Maison is not far from the Beau Rivage, where we'll be staying--there was a recommendation for the restaurant on the tripadvisor.com site. So that goes on the list. La Merenda is one I've been curious about for years...perhaps this time we'll get there. Thanks, all; I'll post reviews on our return.

We'll be in Nice later this month--suggestions for good but not necessarily starred restaurants? Our hotel is near Vieux Nice; so recommendations for that area would be especially welcome.

I'm very sorry to hear that you had a bad experience at Le Soufflé. It's one of our consistent favorites, and we have a table reserved for lunch next month.