Lille

[magnolia]

Any/all recommendations - or anti-recommendations are welcome!

Thanks!

[Bux]

I've not been there and thus have no recommendations pro or con, but it's odd and interesting you should ask as my wife and I have just been thinking of visiting Lille. It's not ususally considered a hot tourist or gastronomic destination, at least not for Americans and I've not found that the French have the same sort of reverence for the cooking of Picardie and Flanders that they have for that of, say, Lyon or Gascony and the Belgians seem to have more than their share of multi-starred restaurants on their home turf.

A L'Huîtrière stands out in the Michelin for its one star and for its four red forks and spoons, not to mention for it's not so low prices. Still good fresh fish and seafood is not cheap anywhere these days and it seems to offer a 280F prix fixe lunch menu and you did ask about lunch.

Apparenly it's the place where all Lille comes to celebrate life's events and eat the same classically prepared dishes as they've done for several generations. If nothing else, you should take a look at it. Let us know what you find and where you eat.

[Danielle]

Just last January, we decided to go to Lille, largely to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Villeneuve d'Asq; we stayed three days and of course scoured around for good food.  Lille is a beautiful city and a lot of exciting things take place there.  One of the highlights must have been dinner at L'Huitriere, which we found by browsing through the menus French restaurants post outside; it is above a fish market: the food was exquisite, of course superbly fresh, service was attentive without being obsequious.  We found the prices reasonable compared to other "starred" restaurants in France, especially Paris.  After Lille, we drove to Nancy in Lorraine and found a great restaurant there, Mirabelle, just off Place Stanislas.  But that's another post.

[magnolia]

Back from Lille..comparisons with Brussels are accurate. What a beautiful city, seems like there's a lot going on as well. The arhictecture is varied and interested, and of course...there are patisseries every two steps. First stop was "Meert" (I left the address at home but it's the most famous one, and not far from the tourist office...in fact..everything is not far from the tourist office) where they have these fantastic "gauffres" maison - thin, waffle-y wafers with vanilla cream. Very addictive.  Then took a short tour of the city with a very animated guide...well worth the time, and it was very inexpensive. Showed us where the buildings of interest are. Then we ended up at a restaurant called La Compostelle on rue St Etienne, which was pretty but the food was disappointing.  I was really looking forward to the dessert, which was a gratin of peaches in caramel...and I think the peaches were canned! The choice of restaurant was a toss-up between la Huitriere and La Compostelle, both of which came highly recommended. I'm not a *huge* seafood fan but next time I'd try the latter. Plus we saw some really promising-looking places as we were walking around.  

The weather was so nice we didn't go into any museums, though I imagine Lille is the kind of city that  goes all out for Christmas and I plan to go back.

If you have a chance to stop for a few hours in Lille via Eurostar, it's well worth it.  There's a left-luggage place in the Eurostar station, and everything of interest to first-timers is within walking distance of the station.

[Bux]

I appreciate your comments. Lille, and it's surrounding area, have been the one corner of France we've not seen. I suspect we're not alone and from what I've been hearing and reading, it's an oversight on our part. Sorry you didn't have a better restaurant experience, but it reinforces my interest in A L'Huîterie especially as I love seafood.

Almost all posts are welcome here, but it's most rewarding to have readers come back after a trip and comment on their experiences, positive or negative.

[magnolia]

I just reread my post and there were so many typos you'd think I was drunk when I wrote it! Is there a way to go back & correct typos?

[Bux]

Magnolia, do you see a small icon labeled "edit" on the line above your post? If you click on that icon, it should enable you to edit your message. When you resubmit, there will be a comment at the bottom of your post, letting people know it was edited.

On the whole I wouldn't worry too much about typos, they seem to be part of the medium. Nevertheless, I support all efforts made by posters to leave clear and articulate messages. I find clicking the "yes" button to preview before posting, often helps me to edit my own posts. This may leave you wondering how verbose they were before editing. ;)

By the way, I see that La Compostelle, is not listed in either the Michelin or the GaultMillau, the two sources I most use. It is a member of the Châteaux & Hôtels de France group. I find their hotels to be charming and reliable, but the restaurants are often noted for charm rather than food. Oddly enough this group is under the direction of Alain Ducasse, whose own resturant in Paris was represented the last time I looked.

[Danielle]

L'Huitriere is definitely worth a trip to Lille, and it is such a short ride, train or car, from Paris (less than 2 hours), one doesn't even have to stay overnight.  However, the museums are very good, so in that sense, a night at the Alliance Couvent des Minimes (a restored convent! Flemish architecture) is great: it allows a little extra time for walking around, the Grand Place is stunning and the patisseries alone worth a detour.

[Bux]

Danielle, We're planning a drive from Lille to Paris after visiting friends in Belgium. I assume the Alliance Couvent des Minimes is the one the GaultMillau refers to as Alliance Golden Tulip and the MIchelin just shows as Alliance? We were planning using the Carlton, which I understand is a Concorde hotel. We've had good experiences with the Concorde group and have a good relationship with them.

Is the modern museum accessible by public transportation or would it be good to pick up our car first? We're thinking of doing a lot of sightseeing on the trip and will take a few days. Unfortunately I don't see much along the way in terms of restaurants. I'm glad to hear you liked L'Huitiere. It's only one star and with so few notable restaurants in Picardy and the north, I was afraid it might just be a so so restaurant, though GM gives it a nice write up. I'm also interested in the Meurin in Béthune about 40 k outside of Lille. Two stars, 17 in GM and a nice write up.

[Danielle]

Bux, Yes the Alliance Golden Tulip is the Alliance Couvent des Minimes.  I have been to Lille only once, so I don't know how the Carlton compares with the Couvent, but I like Concorde hotels too -- the one in Nancy is especially wonderful on the Place Stanislas (Grand Hotel de la Reine).

If there had been many worthwhile restaurants in northern France, we might have thought less of L'Huitriere, but we really really (not a typo or stuttering, just emphasis) liked it both for food and service, it is unpretentious.  Besides, you practically go through the fish store downstairs to reach the restaurant, and it smells so fresh of the sea, a nice way to get your tastebuds going.  Desserts are good too: I don't remember what I had, but I do remember feeling really good.  I don't know Meurin or Bethune.

We tend to distrust Michelin and the star system as they like more traditional places than GM.  With GM, there are explanations about liking or not liking a restaurant,  so we get a better sense of what will be to our taste.

We had a car because we did a lot of touring too, and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is in a suburb (Villeneuve d'Asq); local public transportation is excellent, so you could easily take a city bus if you don't feel like dealing with a car.  We like the flexibility of driving, so it is always our first choice: after Lille, we drove to Nancy and then to Strasbourg (to see the newest contemporary art museum there: a great collection of mostly European artists).

[robert brown]

Gosh, you all made me remember that I ate at L'Huitriere just before I got interested in serious gastronomic touring. I remember a petite marmite in a ca. 1900 dining room. I guess it's still a tourist place, but it must be fun if it hasn't changed. What happened to Provence and the Cote d'Azur? At least I could say something "au courant".

[Bux]

I ate at L'Huitriere just before I got interested in serious gastronomic touring.

Understandably so. This may well be the single corner of France totally ignored by gastronomes. Picardy the the north of France probably have the largest gap of unmarked space in the Michelin star map. This just piques my perverse curiosity about what's there. That, word of mouth about Lille as a cultural city (or at least news of it's still rather new modern museum) and an interest in visiting a friend in Belgium all contribute.

[Danielle]

[i remember a petite marmite in a ca. 1900 dining room. I guess it's still a tourist place, but it must be fun]

Hi, Robert!  What are you referring to, or what did I miss?  We had dinner there in early Jan. 2001, and it was not much of a tourist place: locals mostly, except for us.  Bux is right, the nortwest is not especially appealing, and Lille is on the map today mostly because of the Contemporary Museum in Villeneuve d'Asq and because it's a place where the Eurostar stops.  I understand from people who knew Lille before the Eurostar and the museum that the city today is much improved.

[Bux]

As I recall from the GaultMillau description, L'Huitiere might well be exactly the sort of place tourists would love to see. It's where generations of Lille's residents have celebrated their special events and business men have conducted their lunches in a restaurant that's not changed. It appears to be a venerable living museum. As Lille is not a city visited by many toursts. I suspect most of the diners are local.

[robert brown]

....especially in January. But give me a break. I'm talking over 20 years ago!!

[Danielle]

Then Robert, you are definitely due for another visit, you won't regret it, both the city and L'Huitriere are worth a visit.  Unfortunately I forgot when it takes place, probably Spring, but once a year, the entire city sponsors a "braderie", or yard sale, where everyone sells everything they no longer want.  Visitors come from all over France to pick up bargains.  The whole city becomes festive; I'd love to go then, although it probably takes a little planning: actually, one could spend the day there arriving from Paris in the morning (TGV or car), and go back in the afternoon, then there is no concern about hotel room.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

The Lille Braderie takes place the first weekend in September.  Most hotels will not book for this period before the first of April, but rooms then fill very rapidly.  Information is available from the Office de Tourisme, place Rihour, 59000 Lille.  tel. 3.20.21.94.21

[Danielle]

Margaret, you are wonderful, and you just saved lazy me a few minutes of research.  Thank you very very much.

Even in today's France that loves a good American idea such as a yard sale, a braderie is a rare event.  Sometimes a school will do it to raise funds for a particular project, but the weekend "my backyard" kind of sale has not yet caught on.  Actually, it's when I took members of my family for a tour of my area of CT that they mentioned Lille.

Wouldn't it be great to go to France just to hit the braderies everywhere, what a wonderful travel theme!  I can just imagine the faces of the customs officers at New York airports!  One year, I brought back dozens of Dijon mustard pots in lovely hand-painted pottery jars; the customs officer's comment: "Don't you have that stuff over there in CT?"

[Bux]

That reminds me of the young woman who was checking my hand luggage on a flight from Paris to Brittany. She came across a couple of bottles of red wine (Zinfandels from California, for those interested) and couldn't help smiling and telling me it would be easy for me to find wine in France.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I hate to tell you, Danielle, that we go to France 3 times a year for a total of about 45 days for two things: to go to major antique/brocante flea markets and to eat!  On off days we visit museums.  The market we will attend this month takes place twice a year at the Hippodrome in the Bois du Vincennes, and opens at 4am.  We will take two Noctambuses to get there at 3:55am, and be home in bed at noon.   We are pros at packing and customs declarations: asparagus plates, pyrogen, 19th C. toy engines, tarbais beans and nougat?

[robert brown]

Danielle, "vide grenier" is another form. I'm sure Margaret has been to a lot of those. You can find good stuff. I'm from Springfield. Does Brimfield beat Montpellier?

Best wishes,

Robert

(Edited by robert brown at 10:20 pm on Oct. 6, 2001)

(Edited by robert brown at 10:24 pm on Oct. 6, 2001)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Robert, tell us a story.  We don't know the term "vide grenier".  Does it mean estate or house sale?  We haven't been to this kind of sale in France, and love new windows. Would they be advertised in the local daily journal? Besides the large shows that are our targets, we find smaller venues in the monthly magazine "Aladin".  

PS: This is the first fall Brimfield we have missed in 17 years.  As my husband describes us, some people go to Hawaii and sit in the sun; we go to France and chase other people's discards.

In answer to your question, although Brimfield is in a definitive category of its own, I'd have to vote for France for both brocante and food! ;)

[robert brown]

Margaret, food for sure. "Vide grenier" is more or less translated as "emptying the attic." I guess they are not written up in Aladdin. I'm pretty sure they are noted in the local newspapers and notices plastered on street-sign posts or hoardings. I went to one the summer before last in a neighborhood of Nice and found an album of annotated photographs taken during a battle in Russia during WWI. Lots of junk of course, but old books too. It's not always a person's attic as, like the flea markets, there is probably a core of regular/part-time dealers. But if you find something, it's bound to be cheap and you can bargain hard.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Oh, Robert.  While we very much appreciate your introducing us to this entirely new venue, you will have to accept responsibility for doing so.  I am boggled as I think of the new possibilities!  You haven't opened a new door; you have opened Pandora's Box!  So much brocante; so little time!  (And all of the towns and restaurants in between!) 

Many thanks!

[robert brown]

Margaret, I dig. Keep your eyes posted for postings; on telephone poles, guys and gals handing out flyers, and if you happen to hit on one, take a quick look. "Vide greniers" are the low men on the "puce" totem pole, but one never knows.