A last minute vacation in France...West and SW...

[zoeadler]

Hello all, I'm new to the group and hope I can add a bit of help from the french side and also ask for some advice, like now, to help plan a last minute trip around France.

A bit of introduction. I'm a NYer who moved to Paris 2 years ago. Raised as a total foodie in Manhattan, I've been slowly experiencing some of the restaurants in Paris, both the well known and the not so well known. So far our (french boyfriend and myself) hands down favorite is L'Atelier Robuchon. Although we had a great experience at L'Ambroisie but much less interesting than L'Atelier.

So here's what I'm hoping for some help with. We are staying with friends most of August but we'll be traveling quite a bit in France to get to each place. As we are going by car and I thought it would be great if we could plan our stops based on food! I was hoping to get a few reccomendations of great places you have experienced....perhaps some that are "break the bank" experiences that can't be missed, and others that are just great food experiences that won't be as expensive as the first set. Since we just decided to do this and it's haute saison here, the more reccomendations the better as I assume many places will be full. Also, I promise to post our experiences as soon as we get back!

Our travels are going to be as follows -

2-3 days traveling around Brittany - mostly near the coast and exploring from Saint Malo towards Brest and a bit below since that is where our friends are.I read one post about Maisons de Bricourt...going to see if we can get in but welcome other suggestions

1 night around La Rochelle or vicinity

1 night between or around Cahors/Toulouse...I read a post about Le Vieux Pont....but again going to try and get a reservation but suggestions welcome.

We'll also be staying in Calvi for a week in Corsica, so any wonderful tables in or around....

Thanks again et a bientot,

Zoe

[John Talbott]

I assume you've seen the August Gourmet which lists Calellu, Quai Landry 04.95.65.22.18 which I cannot vouch for (indeed our trip to Corsica last winter was marked by very disappointing food experiences - if I never see or taste civet sanglier again in my life I'll die happy).

[Bux]

I assume you've seen the August Gourmet which lists Calellu, Quai Landry 04.95.65.22.18 which I cannot vouch for (indeed our trip to Corsica last winter was marked by very disappointing food experiences - if I never see or taste civet sanglier again in my life I'll die happy).

Was it banal, or just too often the only choice? Here in the middle of NYC, I can't manage to get enough wild boar, though I've suffered bores and boors enough.

Steve Jenkins, the cheese master from Fairway in NY, listed a couple of Corsican cheeses--Venaco and Golo--among his favorites when participating recently in an eGullet Q&A. I don't know them, but it would seem they are worth looking out for.

Menton1 posted about a Corsican restaurant in Paris called l'Alivi, 27 rue du Roi de Sicile in the 4th arr. It looks like the real thing and I see a 20 € menu. It might be worth it to ask for advice on where to eat in Corsica. I also see a Corsican beer made from chestnut flour on the carte de boissons. I don't expect it to replace beer beer any time soon, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to taste it once. I felt the same way about buckwheat beer in Brittany.

[menton1]

Yes, L'Alivi in Paris certainly seemed to be the real thing, from the Corsican artwork on the walls to the Corsican bottled water!

The best meal I've had in the Southwest was a "Table d'Hote" at the gorgeous Moulin de Fresquet in Gramat, about 15 km from Cahors. This is a home cooked meal made for the guests, and the night we were there she prepared a lamb dish that was superb. If you want a lovely room and a great meal at a shockingly low price, try for this place. Here is their web site: Moulin de Fresquet

Cahors is a great place, and try to have coffee on the river banks facing the Pont Valentré, one of the great bridges in France, from the 12th century. Also a terrific Saturday market in Cahors; and finally, go to the caves of Peche-Merle to see astounding drawings of animals drawn over 15,000 years ago on the walls.

Bon voyage!!

[John Talbott]

I assume you've seen the August Gourmet which lists Calellu, Quai Landry 04.95.65.22.18 which I cannot vouch for (indeed our trip to Corsica last winter was marked by very disappointing food experiences - if I never see or taste civet sanglier again in my life I'll die happy).

Excuse me for back-tracking but we did eat at U Calellu on March 14th, 2003 and I can vouch for it; it was one of our two good meals on the Island and we had very good fish which bore different names than I was used to farther north. The other good meal was at Le Bon Coin in Bastelicaccia. Replying to Bux's query; the sanglier was tough, dry, overcooked with a watery sauce; not at all the sanglier I love in the hexagon.

[zoeadler]

thanks for the advice.

so far our trip is shaping up quite nicely and we're sure to have some good reports when we come back. so far our plans are as follows. if anyone can comment on any of the places we've chosen, or anything to order in particular that would be great. thanks.

day one

Lunch Relais Gourmand de Olivier Roellinger no dinner avails

Dinner and night stay at Trebeurden Manoir Lan Kerellac

day two

Stay at Hotel de la Plage Saint Anne la Palude 02.98.92.50.12

stay with friends one week in brittany...then drive to the south...

day one

Drive to Bordeaux, stay at HautRive St. James.

day two

Possibly lunch at Le Vieux Pont in Bergerac...worth a special stopover just for lunch???Bux?

...they were booked for the eve and hotel.

Stay evening at Chateau de la Treyne in Lacave

day three

Drive around Perigord then down to coast

Stay eve at Abbaye de Sainte Croix Salon-de-Provence

Off to Calvi the next day for one week with friends.

[Bux]

thanks for the advice.

so far our trip is shaping up quite nicely and we're sure to have some good reports when we come back. so far our plans are as follows. if anyone can comment on any of the places we've chosen, or anything to order in particular that would be great. thanks.

day one

Lunch Relais Gourmand de Olivier Roellinger no dinner avails

Dinner and night stay at Trebeurden Manoir Lan Kerellac

day two

Stay at Hotel de la Plage Saint Anne la Palude 02.98.92.50.12

stay with friends one week in brittany...then drive to the south...

day one

Drive to Bordeaux, stay at HautRive St. James.

day two

Possibly lunch at Le Vieux Pont in Bergerac...worth a special stopover just for lunch???Bux?

...they were booked for the eve and hotel.

Stay evening at Chateau de la Treyne in Lacave

day three

Drive around Perigord then down to coast

Stay eve at Abbaye de Sainte Croix Salon-de-Provence

Off to Calvi the next day for one week with friends.

I'll be interested to hear about Hautrive St. James in Bouilac. We had lunch there sometime ago and returned another year to stay for a couple of days and eat in both of the restaurants. It's a striking hotel designed by Jean Nouvel, as you likely know, and shares with much of his work that I've seen, inherent maintenance problems. In one room almost an entire wall slides with some effect to reveal a rather small closet. Behind the door, there's a small door stop that hits the side the closet. The weight of the wall and the inertia with which it hits the other wall seems destined to tear down that wall. Damage was already apparent when we were there. The problem is that the walls themselves are a work of art. They're plaster with threads in the mix and it appears impossible to patch or repair them nicely. I suspect that by now, they've had to paint some of them. And then there are the partially glass enclosed bathrooms that look gorgeous, but present their own problems. I like to shower at one temperature and sleep at a much colder one. The high free standing beds offer a great view out the windows at least in some of the rooms we've seem. All in all, they were thrilling rooms in which to stay. I wonder how they are holding up.

What made it special for us was Amat's cooking. I see the restaurant still has a star, but I seem to recall hearing that Amat was forced out by his backers, or by the owners. At one time he had two stars and I though he was headed for three, but Michelin thought otherwise and demoted him. I was surprised and others expressed similar opinion, on eGullet, if I'm not mistaken.

It's hard to say if Le Vieux Pont, in Belcastel (near Rodez), not Bergerac, is worth a stop for lunch. It's a favorite of ours, but I don't think it's quite in the class of Roellinger's place. It all depends on how convenient it is. It's east of Lacave and it wouldn't make sense to drive back after lunch going east from Bordeaux. If you mean the next day, that's another story. There's also Michel Bras not far north. I didn't mention it, as it's on everyones' list.

[Mrs. B]

I was curious to find out when the Hauterive Saint James in Bouliac was last renovated. I searched several sources at my fingertips and was unable to get that information. It is still a Relais Chateaux so it must be kept up. In their website http://www.saintjames-bouliac.com/ they mention the chef Michel Porto, Amat is long gone.

Another suggestion for Bordeaux if you prefer to stay in the center of the city is the Hotel Burdigala with more reasonable prices. There are several one star places to eat within walking distance. If you want a superb but not starred dinner, try La Tupina. I am sure that if you do a search here you'll find several reviews and comments.

[Bux]

La Tupina is one of those restaurants that doesn't aim to garner a Michelin rosette or to be a destination restaurant, but it's the kind of place that develops a reputation by word of mouth and eventually winds up in the notes, journals and memoirs of every gastronome who stays more than a night or two in Bordeaux. Should one be lucky enough to visit in the colder months, anything cooked on a spit in front of that wall of fire is a good recomendation, especially a pigeon cooked so that the breast meat is still rosé. Whatever you do, think simple roast meats rather than haute cuisine.

[menton1]

day three

Drive around Perigord then down to coast

Stay eve at Abbaye de Sainte Croix Salon-de-Provence

Off to Calvi the next day for one week with friends.

This is about a 6- hour drive! Leave yourselves plenty of time...