Back from a Whirlwind Trip

[Carlsbad]

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to Paris and the South of France. My wife and I showed a friend who had not been to France around, so we wanted to see as much as we could. I think I'm too old for this type of travel, but we did have a good time.

Our first dinner was supposed to be at Au Bon Accueil, but thanks to American Airlines deciding not to hold our connecting flight to Paris for 30 minutes, we had a very mediocre steak in a Hilton near the Dallas airport instead.

Our actual first dinner in Paris was at La Fontaine de Mars. We were looking for a traditional bistro in the 7th, and this had been on my long list for years. We had a nice table on the terrace, perfect weather, and the welcome was very warm. The service was gracious, and the checked tablecloths were inviting. The food was respectable, especially the foie gras entree I had.

The next night, Le Troquet was wonderful. Fairly comfortable and very good service. We ordered the 6 course degustation menu, which was a steal at 37 euros. The food was inspired. Nice little wine list. I will go back every chance I get while it lasts.

Our friend wanted to go to lunch at La Tour d'Argent. We had a nice window table, and the view is as spectacular as expected. The 70 euro lunch menu had a supplement of 22 euros for the pressed duck, which we all ordered. There were several quite good amuses. I had the pike quenelles, and my wife and friend had the donine de pigeon et foie gras. Instead of tableside, they have one captain preparing all the pressed duck on what can only be described as a stage in the dining room. Thin slices of duck appear, with a very rich sauce, served with 3 little potato pillows that are mostly air. Next a nicely crisp leg/thigh which I enjoyed, served with a delicate frisee salad, which was the only green I saw during the meal. Desserts were lighter than I expected, especially my "tutti frutti" tarte. With three coups, a half bottle of white Nuit St. Georges "La Perriere" 1994 and a bottle of Morey St. Denis "En la Rue de Vergy" 1990, the total was 540 euros. We got a nice tour of the cellar. Overall, a once in a lifetime experience, but I don't think I need more than once.

The last night in Paris, we went to Bofinger. It's stylish and the dome is beautiful. Service was very good. We had a mountain of shellfish and then our friend and I split the choucroute. My wife had a large roasted lobster, which she raved about. We couldn't decide which of the Loire whites to have with the shellfish, so we ordered halves of all three. (The Ladoucette was the best.) A half of a nice Reisling with the choucroute and a half of Meursault with the lobster. Total was 306.50 euros.

I have to put in a word for the Bars at the Ritz. One night we closed the Hemingway Bar and had a marvelous time talking to the bartender. The Bar Vendome in the front of the hotel is the most beautiful, romantic bar I have ever seen. I'm not too keen on the other bar in the back of the hotel. Bring a fat wallet and have a nice time. I'll talk about the South another time.

[bleudauvergne]

Calnsbad, it looks like you had fun in Paris. How did you get down south? Did you drive, take the TGV, or fly? Where did you go?

[Carlsbad]

bleudauvergne, we took the TGV to Avignon, and then picked up a car from there. We drove to Le Baux and stayed at La Cabro d'Or. We had stayed there back in 1989, and it was as beautiful as we remembered. We had the 6 course degustation menu http://www.lacabrodor.com/decouvrir/maison.html that featured a different local olive oil with each course. Every course was outstanding, and I think that it merits its one star rating. We ate on the terrace, looking up at the rocks, with the sounds of ducks, frogs and buzzing insects in the background. We had two wines from the area, a Mas de Sainte Berthe rose and a 2000 Domaine Hauvette red. Fairly expensive, but well worth it in my opinion.

In Arles, we stayed at the very charming Hotel Nord-Pinus. The women who run this hotel make it a very special place, if you can navigate the narrow one-way streets to get there. Since the restaurant at the hotel was closed because the chef had abrubtly departed, we searched those narrow streets and found a delightful small restaurant called La Gueule du Loup. The very tasty 25 euro menu was a steal.

In Aix, we stayed at the Hotel Le Pigonnet http://www.hotelpigonnet.com, which is a beautiful hotel set on even more beautiful grounds. The 46 euro menu was good, but not great, although the service and setting were first-rate. In Aix, we also had a very good lunch at Le Bistro Latin. Our dinner at Amphitryon, which is also co-owned by Bruno Ungaro, was also very good despite a few service flaws.

We then traveled to Villfranche, where the Hotel Welcome http://www.welcomehotel.com/welcome.html more than lived up to its name. We had a corner room with two balconies looking at the sea and the small square, and we spent hours sipping wine and watching the boats and cruise ships come and go. We decided on La Mere Germaine to try Bouillabaisse, which was good and generous, if not extraordinary. The welcome and service were outstanding, however, and we had dinner there again several days later, which repeated the same warm welcome and service, with excellent food this time. The owner ran after us to leave to wish us a good trip home.

We had two great meals at l'Ane Rouge and l'Univers de Christian Plumail in Nice. At l'Univers http://www.christian-plumail.com, two of us had a degustation of four entrees, and the other Soupe de Poissons de Roche. I liked all four of the degustation entrees, and found the Salade de Langoustines et Ris de Veau aux épices the best (especially the ris de veau), and the signature Carpaccio de Poulpe de Roches to be my least favorite. My Lamb was some of the sweetest lamb I've ever had- a rack and a separate chop. The partridge and veal chop were also first-rate, as were all the vegetables. The two Bellet wines, one red and one rose, were also very good. I can't locate the check right now to see what they were, but I recall the red was Chateau de Bellet.

l'Ane Rouge http://www.anerougenice.com is set on the old port, and is a bit more legant than l'Univers. We had a nice table at a window overlooking the port. We all had the delightful Baie des Anges menu, which is detailed on the website. Everything was outstanding. We drank a cassis blanc and an excellent Corsican red wine, which is listed on the check as "G di Sole Arena Rouge". It was a fine concluding dinner for the trip.