robert brown

That was a great job, Albiston. I own a couple of guides from the Critica & Guida Golosa. They are worth owning for the gastronomic travler as they provide a lot of addresses for food and wine purchasing. I haven't made a thorough study in terms of how "accurate" they are. I don't have complete list of the volumes, but I own the Lombardia and Piemonte ones.

I forgot to add that the bouillabaisse at the Maurin des Maures must be ordered a day ahead.

Something in my bones and the mild weather and some rain for a change this summer tells me it could be a great season for white truffles. Anyone agree?

Salima. Les Maurins des Maures in Rayol-les Canadel is fun. We went there for bouillabaisse, and while it came up short in the soup department, it was generous and quite okay. It's a combination bar-restaurant in a nice situation. I can't tell you about the other dishes, mostly fish. It's worth a visit and quite lively and colorful. Le Lavandou is also lively and picturesque and Bomes-les-Mormosas is beautiful.

With an abode in the Berkshires, I depend mightily on Guido's. There is also one on the Pittsfield-Lenox part of Route 7. The Great Barrington store is, I believe better stocked. I would avoid the fish department. The meat purveyor is decent, but not up to the best in Manhattan. I don't know why a butcher told me that Stone Church Farms got out of the poussin business when I saw the birds at Eli's Manhattan. Some of the produce is good and they have lots of ersatz packaged brands. Cheese is weak there, but what else is new? Overall, I enjoy shopping there more than anywhere in Manhattan. It's a friendly place and they make an honest effort. It always makes improvements.

Bux, it was the tail end of last August, admittedly a transitional period. Yet, I was still surprised because there must have been 20 people in the entire place. Unlike San Sebastian, the city was very quiet.

Kerriar, even though we didn't check into the camp grounds behind La Tamarissiere, we left the hotel-restaurant as very unhappy campers. Beyond the quiet and powerful Mitsubishi air conditioner in our room, this establishment typifies the "leave the paying guest hung out to dry" attitude that is everywhere in France. Our dinner typified that of a burned-out, couldn't care less chef who lost his sense of pride (if he ever had one) probably years ago. My oysters were served room temperature, which I brought to the attention of the waiter (but after I ate most of them since my wife doesn't always like me to cause a scene). He was surprised, but as has happened to me before in France, he avoided us for the rest of the meal. The bread had spent the afternoon in the refrigerator and the ice cream had been refrozen. The main courses were banal; my bourride (a specialty of the house) was rubbery and heavy-handed, far from the elegant one I once had at Bacon on Cap d'Antibes. We couldn't wait to leave. By contrast we are at a Relais-Chateaux in Spain that is a miracle of service and hospitality. I'll write about it in the Spain & Portugal forum. Oh yes, the charm that the village of La Tamarissiere clearly had at one time has been fairly demolished by tacky, commercial over-development. It's unfortunate since its position alongside a canal that ends at the sea is captivating.

Do people still go? It was empty when I was there.

Last July I had a similar opinion about my lunch to that of Silly Disciple. I think I posted words to that effect at the time. Victor has a good point, I suspect since my brother, who has spent months of each year in Spain since 1959 said the same after he dined there last year.

Kerriar, we booked a room and table there for next Monday as a stopover en route to the Spanish Pyrenees. It sounded pleasantly old-timey. I'll post a few words at a time that is based on the computer atmosphere of where I am going.

Fine caviar has a price. Vitorrio didn't skimp on the quality or the quantity. I would order the dish again.

Albiston, what are you doing reading "L'Eco di Bergamo"?. I felt fine after eating at da Vittorio!!! The restaurant can't be missed by anyone who does gastroomic travel in Italy. I wouldn't begin to speculate on any underlying causes for the citations. There's a lot of the Baroque in that country.

“The dinner we had in Bergamo, at da Vittorio; what are your first thoughts?” “After seeing the restaurant so many times in the Relais & Chateaux Guide, I thought it would be one that’s contemporary in its design and the cuisine. I never thought it could be a remarkably rare coming together of mid-20th century décor and the lost art of good, old-fashion care and feeding.” “When you think about it, it’s really the ultimate expression of a local or regional restaurant. It’s in the Relais & Chateaux Guide and gets two stars in the Michelin, but other than us, the clientele was clearly from, let’s say, between Milan and Verona. Mostly Milanese, I’m sure. It was classy in that way.” “Vittorio himself and the restaurant are, I fear, a dying breed. True, his two daughters do the cooking and another waited on us. I think, though, that Vittorio is what makes the restaurant the way it is. Once he’s gone, I’m afraid the restaurant will have lost its soul. Did you hear the daughter tell me that Vittorio used to be the chef, and that he started the restaurant in 1964? Maybe he’s 70 now and on the heavy side, but he was certainly all over the place. Maybe I’ve seen it once, if ever; that move he made in which he asked you if he’s given you enough pasta, and once you’ve said “yes”, he brings the rest to a client-friend. I liked it, too, when he got the delivery of shrimps and branzini from Liguria still in the Styrofoam boxes and we saw him lovingly pour water over them.” “Our dinner was also remarkable. I thought it was as good as the one we had eight years ago at Gambero Rosso and, I hate to say it, better than any meal we’ve had in Piemonte. We didn’t even dine on what looks to be the specialty of the restaurant—the fish and shellfish. The 280 euro seafood serving is something we’ll have to try when we are with another couple. It looked sensational.” “It occurred to me later that seafood takes pride of place pretty much since I realized that the décor suggests a ship with its polished wood walls and the etched glass. It’s like a yacht in certain of its touches. I would say the only mistake was not knowing we could have gotten by with sharing portions of at least the pasta and main courses. The starter, egg with potatoes “gratinate”, sour cream and caviar at 70 euros, was too small a portion for sharing. Just as well, though. It was as rich, soothing and luxurious as it gets and the caviar was probably Osetra. I wish there were more, even.” “The pasta Vittorio gave to our neighbors was Italian for “short sleeves”; I just looked it up: “Mezze Maniche, a variant of rigatoni. It had pieces of Piccadilly tomatoes, and a “fonduta” of cheese. Vittorio prepared it at the table with a certain motion he used to add in the cheese, lots of it that made the dish creamy. It was one of the great pasta dishes of my life.” “The vegetable lasagna was a close second, although the details of it escaped me. But the stewed beef cheeks I had no trouble eating. It was a huge portion and I could have kept on going. Remember my saying they came the closest of anything I ever ate to literally melting in my mouth?” “My suckling pig with a Madera sauce was just as sensational. The crackling skin was lacquered and crispy and eminently edible, unlike a lot of others I have had. It wasn’t tough at all. I can’t imagine one better.” “We saved the dessert menu, which was novel. All it said was: ‘Desiderate un dolce fresco e leggero a base di frutta?’ ‘Siete dei veri golosi e amate de crema?’ ‘Per gli estimatori del cioccolato proponiamo le nostri selezioni di cacao.’ “Whether fruit, cream or chocolate, each of the desserts was on the mark: the coffee crème brule; vanilla ice cream with honey and cinnamon; the “baba” and fruit soup; and chocolate with a coffee foam. Nothing fancified or convoluted there.” “I think we can consider ourselves well-traveled eaters, and for us to discover for ourselves a real treasure these days is almost a stroke of luck. There wasn’t anyone there who spoke more than passable English, but it was fun to go over everything in fractured Italian, French and English. Most important, they offered their cuisine with generosity and by appealing to one’s gastronomic center, if you know what I mean. No spoon-feeding, constant palate-teasing, dictating what to eat or drink, but doing everything possible to make you happy and appeal substantially to whatever it is you’re in the mood for or strikes your fancy. Let's come back soon with some eating pals. A great restaurant always keeps a lot in reserve.” “

Great report. It all strikes me as an example of a new internationalism that is infecting the upper-economic echelons of dining. It's not eating in Italy as I know it.

It's the Languedoc, but does anyone have a line on La Tamarissiere in Agde? We're spending the night and having dinner on 8/9 on our way to Spain. I'll write something after.

Gerry, the Tapies-Hotel is where we'be staying, so at least one meal there is inevitable. I have innate scepticism of Relais & Chateaux food. But thanks for the recommendation of the other place in town. I may try to go to the more distant places, but all I can conjure up is being stuck behind an RV on a narrow mountain road. Thanks Victor, and I look forward to hearing from you, BCN.

I'm heading for a week to relax in La Seu d'Urgell. Other than going to Andorra to buy some stogies, I wish for some eating addresses and insight in driveable distance, if any of you have any.

Watch out, I'm jumping into the fray for a week, having changed my original plans. Does anyone know this little hotel in Peratallada called Castel de Peratallada? I'll be there from 8/16-21 if anyone is around. Pedro, Rafa is great. I've been there two or three times and will be there maybe more than once on this next trip. Any more recommendations I'll greatly appreciate. I'm spending a week near Andorra, but will start a thread RIGHT NOW.

My French pal who was my Paris mentor long ago cited Benoit recently as a restaurant that has lost it. He says the son doesn't care like the old man did. Allard, however, is a restaurant he told me hasn't changed at all. Has anyone had his experience at Benoit, or has my friend become a curmudgeon? I liked it a lot, but haven't been in seven or eight years.

Let's not get too many people there. Between this and the wine at La Table du Mon Moulin, we don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Our man Jellybean says the restaurant's Burgundy prices are very fair indeed.

John, have you or anyone discussed the new book about one meal at Taillevent?

There’s a recently-born afternoon’s outing you can indulge yourself in the next time you’re in the South of France. It rivals any other you can name. I found it more enthralling than Monaco, Eze-Village, even Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and compared to its Fondation Maeght, no comparison. But that’s the somewhat biased opinion of a former researcher in the field in question. You should begin with lunch in the town of Le Rouret where there are two excellent restaurants. One is Le Clos St. Pierre, a Michelin one-star and the other, to which I haven’t been, but will before the summer is out, is the newly-arrived La Table du Mon Moulin (see dedicated thread). After lunch, drive as if to Grasse and after 3.5 kilometers turn right toward Gourdon, eight kilometers more. Don’t be put off by the town’s touristy nature: the cute restaurants, little shops selling pain d’epices and junked-up souvenirs. Instead go to the Chateau de Gourdon, making sure you have made an appointment a few days in advance (although we made ours the morning of our visit) to book a time for a private tour of the Musee des Art Decoratifs et de la Modernite.( Phone 04-93096802). The museum is the collection of Art Deco furniture and other objects (rugs, tapestries, screens, lamps among others) formed in just the last 10 years by the chateau’s owner, the son of the founder of Vedior Bis, France’s largest temporary employment agency. The hour-long tour is extraordinary. We left feeling overwhelmed by the quality and the rarity, which is no easy task for someone like myself who has devoted his career and alleged intellect to the decorative arts of the early 20th century. To the neophytes of the field, there are a few names you may recognize among the mostly artistes-decorateurs. There is the largest rug of Fernand Leger. Outside the period, but magnificent is a tapestry from the 1960s by Francis Bacon. Jacques Ruhlmann, whose furniture will be exhibited in Montreal and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is represented by several extraordinary examples. One room is devoted to Eileen Gray and there are many works by the illustrious French architect and designer Robert Mallet-Stevens. The admission is 10 euros plus the tip you should give to the guide who speaks little English, but knows the collection well. We think he is the curator since he mentioned that M. Negro, the owner, lets him use his swimming pool. When you leave the exhibition and are at the back of the immense chateau, you are in a magnificent multi-level topiary garden that extends for acres. Here you can grasp the privileged setting of the chateau. Approaching it, the chateau sits high above on the top of a hill. Yet, it also sits in a valley while looking down into a very deep gorge. It’s quite incredible.

Bux, did you get a chance to visit IVAM, the modern art museum?

It looks like I'll be leaving Barcelona and heading down the coast to Valencia before heading back into France. Other than Barcelona, does anyone have any dining and hotel tips? I'll be doing this from August 12-19, or thereabouts.