Lyon, Cavalaire and the South of France

[BCinBC]

Jmahl - La Pyramide was at the top of my wish list, but unfortunately time and circumstance didn't allow. However I am assured by C that the next trip will definitely include a visit. Thanks for the tip on Amphitron.

Cheers,

Brian

[Mooshmouse]

Bravo, Brian... c'est très bien fait!

Like Arne, I love the interior shots of Au Bec Fin. And thank goodness I wasn't looking at your beach photos on our rainy Sunday; otherwise, I would've been cursing you in cooking class last night!

Can't wait to see and read more about your trip.

Edited October 19, 2005 by Mooshmouse (log)

[BCinBC]

Before I forget, Lucy – I wish I had ISO’ed you for Lyon! We just didn’t know how long we were going to stay there, and what our time commitments would be like. But after your blogs, I would have loved to have met you. Also regretfully I never made it to Les Halles, but a trip with you would have been perfect! Next time…

Saturday, September 24, 2005 (Part 1)

Another day, another marché – this time Saint Tropez. After the experience in Sainte Maxime, I didn’t know what to expect, but obviously I was hoping for more food stalls.

As you drive into town, you skim by the water. It is quite beautiful – and, it is filled with large expensive personal yachts (really, I thought one was a ferry but N insisted (correctly) that it was a yacht. She pointed out the personal helicopter on the stern).

We parked near the market and the center of town, right beside a gorgeous Ferrari, and wandered over. At first we encountered a lot of touristy stalls selling clothes, remote control cars, sunglasses, etc… But I soon found what I was looking for:

These paella guys were a bit surprised, and quite humoured, that I would ask to take a photo of their stand, so they invited me to join them. Obviously I was enjoying myself – you will note the huge stupid grin on my face. The mussels smelled wonderful, but the paella was a real masterpiece. Chock full of squid, shrimp, crawfish, mussels and chicken – not to mention the saffron rice which was soaked in the juices of the above. I bought a large portion for 6 € - a steal!!!

The next stall along the way was…

Garlic anyone? The table continues to the left of frame, and it may have contained more garlic than I have ever seen in one place. Alas, I did not buy any because we weren’t doing much cooking. In retrospect I wish I’d bought just one bulb, to roast and spread on a baguette.

A couple of other shots:

Spice stall

Unfortunately the photo does not quite do justice to the smells, textures, and colours of this stall. Plus I love the chalkboards and the bamboo scoopers.

Jambon and saucisson guy

Everyone seemed surprised when I asked them if I could take photos of their stalls. The ultra-polite nature of Canadians I guess. Anyway, I would have loved to purchase some of this guy’s jambon cru to bring home, but I didn’t think I could have made it back into the country. Still it was beautiful to watch him slice it!

I did not get a good photograph of any of the produce stalls, but some were excellent. The furious energy of the ladies behind the tables made me smile.

After walking the gamut, I got tired and left N to shop for clothes while I enjoyed a coffee at Le Sporting café. Because of the sheer volume of people in and around the market, I had to wait almost 20 minutes to get a good table outside with a view of the action. It was worth it – some of my favourite espressos were here. The waiter actually forgot to bring me my first one, so he comp’ed me (which was unnecessary but nice – I left him a tip). N joined be a bit later, and she sipped a Perrier while I had another shot. In front of us, all forms of cars, trucks, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles rolled by. It was like some sort of industrial ballet.

On the advice of Menton1, we decided to visit Port Grimaud afterwards. (Warning: not a great website.) Filled with restaurants and shops, and closed to all but local motor traffic, it is a curiosity to say the least.

After a bit of wandering, we bought an Orangina and a Diet Coke (or “Coca Cola Light”) and sat down to have some lunch. Here I am using half a mussel shell to scoop some rice from our paella picnic:

I described the contents above. It was delicious, at that point the highlight of the trip for me. N had also purchased some sandwiches, but we couldn’t even get to them because there was too much paella. (Well maybe exactly enough; I finished it.)

It took very little time to explore the town, so we left after about an hour. On our way out, I noticed a small photocopied sign that said (in French) that picnics were not allowed, obviously to promote eating in one of the many restaurants there. Oops.

Our next stop was in Gassin.

Gassin from the road below

The drive up to Gassin was like a shorter but much more enjoyable version of the drive from Le Luc to Grimaud. Tiny road laden with switchbacks, sometimes under a canopy of oaks, other times falling away to the vineyards below.

Gassin quickly became the new highlight of the trip! It is a beautiful little medieval town sitting atop a hill, overlooking the Saint Tropez gulf. If you follow the link, you will see many scenes that N and I coincidentally took photos of – it is picturesque literally everywhere you look. Narrow streets, tunnels, nooks and crannies with glimpses of the dramatic views over the hills and the sea... Also, there is a row of restaurants all with patios overlooking a little olive-tree-laden valley. It makes for a beautiful meal – or in our case, a drink! If you are in the area, and can only visit one town, Gassin would be my recommendation.

[BCinBC]

Saturday, September 24, 2005 (Part 2)

The morning’s explorations left me a little tired (still fighting off illness), so I had to return to Cavalaire for a rest. IIRC N went for a jog, in preparation for the event that night: Dinner reso’s at Les Santons. (The link to Guide Gantie doesn’t appear to be working at this time, but hopefully it gets fixed by the time you read this.)

As per the posts above, Les Santons has one Michelin star and two Guide Gantie “branches”. Also, Bux mentioned above that there is a difference between a one-starred “rural” (my word) restaurant and a one-starred “urban” restaurant, and I think I can see what he meant now.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the restaurant and really enjoyed the experience. The service was excellent, and one of the servers was kind enough to help us out when my poor French ran its limit and we had to switch to the dreaded French-English combo. However, there was a marked difference between dinner here and a lunch we had later in the trip at a restaurant that doesn't even have a star yet (Maison Borie in Lyon). Here the food was quite rustic in presentation; also, while the male servers were in suits, the women were a little more casual - and the guests were in general very casual (no ties for the men, and some late-teenaged kids with their parents were wearing non-plain T-shirts). Coming from Vancouver I don't really have a problem with this, however I was surprised to see it as I was expecting quite different.

Despite this, I was quite reluctant to take photos inside this restaurant. However, once I saw flashes going off at another table in the room, I decided what the hell… (And I’m glad I did, it really helps to remember some of the details of the dishes and of the evening itself.)

And now some food porn…

Okay that was a tease, as I did not actually photograph the amuse or aperitif. Those were fried cheese breadsticks and kir royales, respectively. The breadsticks were very light and delicate, but still heavy with cheese aroma.

And now photos from the 48 € menu:

Entrées:

La Terrine Maison du Moment au Foie Gras et aux Pistaches, Gelée au Porto et Confiture d’Oignons

Le Risotto crémeux de Homard

As I said, I was reluctant to take photos at first, so you only get to see this course half-way through. The terrine was good, but the risotto was excellent. However the risotto was also very rich; with lobster and cream (and probably cheese), it was like a meal in itself. Advantage: risotto.

Third choice: La Salade de Saumon marine et les petits artichauts violets en carpaccio

Plat principal:

Le Civet de Chevruil Grand Veneur aux deux purées

Les Aiguillettes de Caneton des Dombres aux fruits de Saison

The venison stew was delicious: The sauce was thick, rich and deep with the game, and the accompanying pearl onions provided a wonderful sharp contrast to the richness. The meat was braised very well. The duck was also very rich, especially paired with the figs as it was. I know that duck and figs is a classic combination, but I would have liked to have some sort of good citrus or other acid to cut through the duck a bit. Advantage: venison stew.

Other choices: La Caille des Dombres rôtie aux choux d’automne, marrons et pommes vertes; ou, Le Poisson du jour et sa Garniture

Incidentally, on the 68 € menu one of the mains was La Volaille de Bresse Homardine et ses petits légumes which looked just excellent.

Cheese porn:

My selection (clockwise from top): ash chèvre, l’Epoisse (vache), another chèvre which I’ve forgotten, and Roquefort

The epoisse was absolutely outstanding, I cannot overstate my enjoyment of this cheese. Obviously it was the first time I’ve had it, but I have since learned that it is carried by a local cheese shop so I will be having more soon! I don’t know what the milk fat level is, but my guess would be close to 50%. I want to describe the flavours, but cannot for fear of remembering something incorrectly. So all I can say is, if you have had this cheese, you know what I mean; if you have not, make a point to seek it out!

As mentioned, the cheeses were very high in fat (much moreso than we’re used to at home) and sadly I could not even finish the four small portions on my plate. But I did finish the Epoisse.

L’Entremet du Jour et ses petits fours frais faits Maison

This was a vanilla ice cream on a wafer and a three-chocolate mousse on a hazelnut cracker, served with crème anglais with pistachios and strawberries. Petits fours are in the background. The ice cream was unbelievable, I swear there was one whole bean in that one scoop. However the star was the mousse on the hazelnut cracker – such depth of chocolate captured in the mousse, and really an incredible cracker accompaniment. By far the best dessert I had on this trip.

Café with remaining petits fours, and chocolate truffles

My copy of the menu does not contain the wine list, so unfortunately I do not know exactly what we were drinking. It was a Bordeaux with a blue castle on the label, IIRC. Anyone??

I was so full at this point that I could barely see straight. So in a leisurely fashion, we walked back up the stairs to where the car was parked (instead of taking the street-side elevator! Seriously. Did I mention Grimaud was on a steep hill?), and drove equally leisurely back to Cavalaire.

It was truly an unbelievable day.

[bleudauvergne]

I am taking a moment this morning to savor your wonderful trip report again, and especially Lyon - you were in my neighborhood and we may have well passed each other on the street! Your stairwell shot was taken on my 'stairmaster'! Do you remember by chance a blonde huffing and puffing her way up?

We started with escargots with garlic and pesto:

The escargots were so tender, garlicky and juicy.  They were great.  Even N, who is traditionally on the squeamish side, tried them and liked them.  Also I loved the springy clamp contraptions they provide to hold the shells while you fish out the snail.

This butter perparation is classic to the snails - it's actually called beurre d'escargots, 'snail butter'. You can get the prepared butter or even the prepared escargots ready to pop in the oven at many of the traiteurs around town or make it yourself, quite easy. Here's a quick recette translated from Paul Bocuse's La Cuisine du Marche, obviously for a whole lot of snails but you can divide as necessary:

Beurre d'Escargots

1 kilo of fine butter

20 grams of sea salt

1 gram of ground pepper (L: I guess you'd say a pinch)

a grate (L: or two) of nutmeg

50 grams of minced garlic

40 grams of minced shallot

50 grams of mild almonds

100 grams of finely minced parsley.

Method: Put the salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic, shallot and almonds into a mortar and mash down until you have a smooth paste. Once that's done, add the parsley and softened butter. With the pestle, mix it gently just until everything is incorporated. This should be kept cool in a ceramic container until ready for use.

(L: It should be noted that not everyone uses the almonds.)

Here is a “group” shot of lunch.

In the foreground is my salade Soleil with foie, seared duck, gésier, some sort of crawfish (not a St Jacques or a langoustine, can someone help me out with the name?)

Indeed that's a crawfish, called ecrevisse in French which is typically simmered in a vegetable stock with a bouquet and then served cold in a salad like this.

and saumon fumé.  N had quenelles crevettes with the pommes gratin dauphinois (top left and center), while C had the salade Lyonnaise (top right).

My salade was excellent, I was especially pleased with the gizzards.  They were rich but not too organ-like, if you know what I mean (not bloody / coppery tasting, not chalky in texture). 

I also love the gizzards, and we find them everywhere here, confit. The great thing about the confit process is that it lends well to canning and we can keep a few cans for whenever we're in the mood for these. I had a wonderful salad at a friend's house in which she sauteed some potatoes in the poultry fat in which they were preserved, and then served them warm over the potatoes. The first time I tried them I was really pleased too, since the gizzard actually a very flavorful muscle that is constantly worked throughout the life of the bird, it's smooth and meaty and tastes great.

...

Another stop on the tour was at Pignol patisserie.

We tried a brown toque-shaped cake, which again I’ve forgotten the name of (in the photo it is on the top shelf, approximately 4 items in from the left),

the cake 2 items right of that with the large button of chocolate in the middle, and the obligatory lemon tart (bottom shelf, 4 rows from right).  The toque-shaped cake was my favourite, very dense but moist.

That cake is called a cannelé, a specialty of Bordeaux, actually. A nice dense rich traditionally a rum flavored cake. Pignol is a traiteur local to Lyon, and they do a nice job of things on the whole, and from time to time they have a tendency to call things by one name but not prepare it in the expected way, adding their own little Lyonnais 'twist' to it. It may have been parfumed with another flavor - so did it have any particular flavor? Was it a rum flavored one?

[BCinBC]

Thanks Lucy for the recipe, and for filling in some gaps for me! The parsley butter sounds terrific, I think I will make some up to use with fish. (Escargots are not that common around here, or at least I haven't seen them much.)

Funny about the cannelé, we were told it was a Lyonnais specialty! As I recall it did not have a dominant rum flavour, as I usually don't like rum pastries. I think it was very slightly nutty, but I did not notice any distinct pieces of nuts inside. The cake, although dense, was also very "smooth" in texture (as opposed to coarse).

PS: We didn't pass any blondes on the stairs, however we did pass a woman who let out a huge sigh about half way up. Guess she didn't want to spend the Euro for the tram up the hill.

[BCinBC]

Sunday, September 25, 2005

N and I both had trouble sleeping the night before, and we both woke up feeling kind of hung over. Which is odd, since we only had the one bottle of wine plus a Kir each. Has anyone ever had a food hangover? I wonder if this is a real phenomenon.

It was shaping up to be a lazy Sunday anyway. We frittered away most of the day by walking to town to check out the Jetski Grand Prix, then lying / reading / swimming at the beach, and generally doing very little. On the way back home we picked up a baguette from La Tarte Tropezienne, as well as an actual slice of tarte Tropezienne, which looks like this:

Tarte Tropezienne – note the saucy blonde pâtissiere (is this the correct feminine noun??)

Again, the bready-cake part was okay, but the custard was excellent. You can see how thick and rich it is as it actually holds its own sides, plus the cake above, after slicing. My theory is that it incorporates whipped egg whites.

Otherwise it was a repeat of the salade/saucisson/paté dinner two nights ago. Chosen for its relative lightness! Sadly but inevitably the cheese absolutely paled in comparison with the cheese plate from the previous night at Les Santons.

[BCinBC]

Sorry for the break, this crazy “work” thing is, well, crazy.

Monday, September 26, 2005 (Part 1)

After retreating from the madness of the Saturday market, N and I decided to return to Saint Tropez to see the town in peace and quiet. But first we did a little side tour of the beaches to the south of town. We stopped at Plage Tahiti, a beach that we had been led to believe was filled with all sorts of interesting people to watch. Well, perhaps not at the end of September. There was a family and less than a handful of others there. Even the beachside bars were empty.

We continued on to Saint Tropez, this time parking near the water and the casino. Once you leave the parking lot / harbour, you are faced with quite a beautiful old town packed with touristy shops and vendors. There are painters everywhere with all manner of Côte d’Azur or Provinçal landscapes, harbour shots of Saint Tropez, etc. But if you either accept it or block it out, you can actually have a very pleasant stroll. Like I said, the town itself is quite beautiful, very colourful. There were the obligatory millionaires with their yachts, many of which were from London. One yacht from London and another from Germany actually looked like they might only recently have been cut from running in the America’s Cup.

Eventually we wandered up to the Citadel, which is situated on a hill overlooking the Med. Here is the view to the southeast, or perhaps east-south-east (at the bottom you can see the cemetery which all but overhangs the water).

The Citadel was hosting a sculpture exhibit. Here was one, being appreciated by a local.

Pope and Peacock

The peacock is a neat bird, it’s like a really colourful turkey.

And speaking of turkey, or meat, or food… After the Citadel we went back to town, stopping near the Place des Lices, the site of the market, for a couple panini. While I waited for them, N went to grab a bench in the park.

Lunch delivered...

Mozarella, tomates et salade panino w/ Perrier ; Steack et tomates panino w/ Orangina

Mmm. Mine (steack) was reminiscent of a gyro. Nice bread, tender steak, and very generous at almost a foot and a half long! Also, the two non-alcoholic drinks I became addicted to in France were espresso and Orangina. In fact I currently have a 2 litre bottle of Orangina in our fridge; expensive, but it scratches the itch!

And naturally, after lunch, we returned to Le Sporting for another café and Perrier.

As it turned out, these were the highlights of Saint Tropez, for me. The food. Anything related to food totally outdid touristy paintings and pottery – some of which was nice, just really expensive.

We had a lazy drive back to Cavalaire, and stopped at the big Champion (not the little one we’d gone to earlier). The big Champion is surreptitiously placed on the north end of the main one-way-north-direction street, just out of the downtown strip. It is on the other side of a boulevard, on a hill, hidden by many trees. I wish we’d known about it earlier!

We ended up stocking up a bit on commodities such as wine, chocolate and foie gras. Here is the display for all things duck:

Foie, confit, cassoulet, all sorts of goodies stacked in one convenient location

For the afternoon, we read and lazed on the patio back at the villa in preparation for another dinner out.

Non-sequitur

Being from a non-tropical climate, this was quite the curiosity for me: The neighbor’s lime tree. I was quite tempted to hop the fence and steal a lime, just to see what it tasted like, but since we were guests there I never did. Merde, I regret it now!

Edited October 27, 2005 by BCinBC (log)

[John Talbott]

Wow, that's great. Thanks so much.

[BCinBC]

Thank you, John.

Monday September 26, 2005 (Part 2)

It was time for dinner at La Table des Saveurs. (Here is the link in English.) This restaurant is just at the entrance (or exit, depending on your perspective), and is not really marked or advertised well. However as long as you know about it, it is quite easy to find.

The 31 € Menu du Marché

When we arrived (at around 7:30-8 PM), N and I were the only ones in the restaurant. (I had tried to call ahead with reservations, but they didn't ever answer the phone!) About half an hour later another couple arrived, and they were followed shortly thereafter by a group of about 8 or 10 German tourists. Still we didn’t even fill the “patio” area of the restaurant. Quiet night.

The host / waiter / sommelier seated us and ran through the menus and substitutions (tonight the Mousseline de lotte was being replaced by a Filet de julienne (another type of fish)). He then helped with the wine selection – a half-bottle of Chateau Sainte Marguerite 2003 Cru Classé red.

Amuse: foie mousse with crouton

It was nice, if a little grainy. Flavours good though.

My entrée: Éventail de toasts aux truffes d’été servi avec son œuf brouillé aux herbes

I have not eaten a lot of truffles in my time, however I was surprised that there was not a strong earthy earthy aroma at all from the truffles – perhaps this is indicative of the summer variety. Still it was an excellent dish, very rich in flavours. Truthfully the eggs were my favourite part.

N’s entrée: Crêpe de riz roulée aux crabes et pamplemousse, sauce cocktail à la menthe

The grapefruit was quite strong, but overall I did enjoy the taste combinations here. Also I liked the usage of the rice roll.

Palate cleanser

This was too much like pink lemonade ice shavings, too candy-ish.

My plat: Cœur de Rumstek bœuf de Bavière mariné au gingembre et citron, paillasson de patate douce

I did order medium-rare and it came out much more on the rare side – which is fine, but it was a little sinewy / chewy.

N’s plat: Filet de julienne

This was quite good, and in retrospect I wish I had ordered it as well. I have never had julienne, but IIRC the flesh was like a cod or snapper, but a little thicker like halibut. Nice tomato-based vegetable sauce to accompany.

Fromage: La pièce de fromage et sa salade aux herbes

I could not finish this cheese. You know how stinky cheese doesn’t actually taste exactly as it smells? Well this one did. It tasted like feet, and I was not really into eating feet. The salad was refreshing.

My dessert: Crème brûlée aux ___ et ses chips sucres

Sorry, I have forgotten what the fruit was and as you can see in the menu photo, the flash happened to go off right over the word. I think it was fig. The brulee itself was very good; a large surface area made for a lot of crunchy topping (which I love).

N’s dessert: Brochette de fruits du saison, confit au caramel, sur vermicelle au lait de cardamome

This was only okay; I liked the idea, but the fruit came across as a bit bland. Perhaps not enough caramel?

Carte de café

More coffee, I had the Ethiopian. All in all it is a relative bargain at 31 € per person, and there were some great ideas being played with here. However, there were not that many home runs that night, at least in my opinion. If I had to do it again I’d go with the egg/truffle entrée, the fish main, the crème brulee (or perhaps the sorbets, they looked good as well – as ordered by some of the Germans), and change the type of cheese. To Epoisse!

I understand that the menu changes every few weeks, and I would not hesitate to go again to see what the chef is thinking about with whatever ingredients are seasonal.

Edited to add: I realize this is an un-manly admission, but I really liked the silverware.

Edited October 28, 2005 by BCinBC (log)

[BCinBC]

Apologies for the neglect of this thread, it’s amazing what is expected of one at work! Picking up where I left off…

Tuesday September 27, 2005

Our time in Cavalaire had drawn to an end. From a recommendation from one of C’s friends, we decided to spend one night in the Luberon, specifically at Les Merronniers, which is a participating member of the Gites de France, in the town of Valensole. So we left town via the back door, i.e. towards Marseilles, and shortly thereafter had to wonder, “Why didn’t we visit this side of the coast before?!” It is quite a spectacular drive just west of Cavalaire, with windy roads on dramatic cliffs above the crashing Med. Passing through Le Lavandou and Les Mimosas… Very romantic, very cool. We turned north at Hyères, and proceeded through Var towards Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

Along the way we witnessed a dramatic change in landscape, from the blues and oranges of the Mediterranean coast to the more lush greens inland. As we approached the Alps, the farmers fields turned to a beautiful brown. Some of the fields that had been recently ploughed were quite dramatic in their colourful striations. We saw quite a few olive groves, and were told by more than one person to return next year when the lavender went in bloom, as the sight (and smell) was truly something to behold.

Me in an olive grove, heading north through Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

On the drive we stopped at a few places: coffee at a medieval village the name of which I’ve forgotten (though I have not forgotten the restroom in the café – medieval indeed!); just outside of Quinson, where we took quite a few photos quite similar to this view (you will see a bit of the brown fields); lunch in Barjols, which is apparently famous for its fountains, and so on. I think it was the drive itself that was the highlight. Staying off the A8 route nationale was the way to go – much more relaxed and really beautiful scenery.

When we arrived at Les Merronniers, we were greeted by a rather large Doberman cross, who was cheerful and friendly as heck. She was a sweetheart. I forget her name, but she was named after a Greek goddess, like her predecessors. Our hostess, Christiane, immediately asked us if we would like coffee, tea, or another refreshment. She seated us outside on the patio, and shortly thereafter returned with a tray of coffee, tea, and a beautiful fig tarte.

The property is basically a farm where Christiane and her husband (Roget? Damn, this is why you don’t wait to write these reports out!! I think it was Roget, or Roger, but I’ll call him R from now on) live, work, grow and entertain. Speaking of entertaining, we were in for a treat for dinner too.

The rooms were beautiful; unfortunately I don’t have any interior shots, but they were wooden and plaster as you might picture in the French countryside. The best part, or one of the best parts, was the shower! It produced the best water pressure we experienced during our whole trip! Funny what you miss from home.

Anyway, Christiane invited a few of her friends over for dinner, to kind of round out the experience. One was a pilot for Air France – he flies 777s from Paris to various destinations in South and North America. He spoke fluent English and was quite a character, as they all seemed to be. Also he proved very helpful when the conversation (in French) was going full-tilt and became next to impossible to follow.

We started by relaxing with a glass of 2000 Bordeaux Haut Médoc (two websites: Bordeaux and Terroir France) Buneré and a few dried goats cheese tidbits (I never found out what these were called, but they were quite popular in this region and in Lyon. I’m sure Lucy knows what I’m talking about). Then we sat ourselves at a long dinner table, and were served a wild boar stew with figs, potatoes with basil, country bread, and a salade with basil. All of the vegetables and herbs came from the farm, the bread was made by R earlier in the day, and even the boar was a local. I’ve never had this particular pairing of potatoes and basil before, but it was quite fresh. And much bread was used to mop up the rich broth. Wow! Like I said, the meal involved a lot of discussion, sometimes getting quite animated (especially after opening another bottle of the Haut Médoc, then a bottle of 2000 Bordeaux Lafeurnin (?) Côte de Blaye).

From there R and the pilot, and Christiane, had a friendly but heated argument – R claimed to not be able to taste the difference between any bottle and vin ordinaire. This prompted Christiane to test the theory, bringing out a bottle of 1987 Domaine de la Croix, Côtes de Bezut. It could have used a lot more breathing time, but it was such a treat nonetheless. After swilling and swishing for a good hour, it barely started to open up, but the mouthfeel was quite luxurious and smooth.

Dessert was more of that fig tarte, savouring of the La Croix, and finally a digestif of homemade Mirabel pear liqueur. This time the liqueur was quite fragrant, distinctly of pears, as opposed to the glass I had a L’Ouest in Lyon. Still much too strong for me to sip a full decanter of, but I could definitely see the appeal of this. On a colder fall or winter evening, this would be very good.

[BCinBC]

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

We woke up to a foggy autumn morning, all cozily tucked in at the farmhouse. But we had a breakfast appointment to keep! So we enjoyed (relatively) high-pressure showers, and headed downstairs. Christiane had provided a simple breakfast of bread with homemade jams and some local lavender honey, along with coffee and tea. The jams were delicious, though I must say that I was leery of the lavender-flavoured honey. I don’t know if anyone was following the PBS show Cooking Under Fire, but when Katie wanted to make the lavender crème brulée I was perplexed to say the least. Turns out what do I know, as Katie ended up winning the show and I ended up quite enjoying the honey.

The dog also loved the bread and honey – when Christiane offered her some, she took it, walked away and savoured it, then returned. Christiane offered the dog a second piece, and she savoured it in the same manner. When she returned again, Christiane told her, “C’est ça! Allez a ta maison!” The dog lingered with the most hopeful expression for another second or two, then turned around and trotted off to her “house”. I swear that dog had more personality than some people I know!

Before we left, we had a couple more tasks to do: The first was to pay the bill, which totaled 70 € (!! This included one nights accommodation for two, plus a fabulous dinner – accompanied by some spectacular wines – and breakfast!!). The second was to do a quick tour around the farm.

Here is the old farmhouse on the right, and the main house in the background. Our room was the top right window.

Here was one of the fig trees that was producing the beautiful figs that went onto the tarte and into the wild boar stew for last night’s dinner.

And the garden where Christiane grew the vegetables for dinner.

When we entered the garden to take a look, we heard the weirdest noise. Really I had no idea what it was. Then, through the misty morning, this Eeyore-like figure emerged and slowly sauntered over to say hi. I had fleeting images of him delivering serious internal injuries while kicking me out of his pen, but in reality he had a very sweet disposition. He was just as curious as I.

A quick trip back into Valensole to pick up some post cards and see what was there (not much, except a prolific amount of dog shit all over the roads and sidewalks, perhaps only matched in amount per square foot by Amsterdam). There was however this historic church (something to do with Cluny ?? – sorry but I’m not much of a theologian), and behind the church there was a beautiful wild flower garden. If anyone is ever planning to get married in Valensole, this would be the place to do it!

Garden behind the famous church in Valensole

And then we were on our way back to Lyon, first heading west to Manosque, then north towards Sisteron and onto Lyon. Here is a scene that is quite typical of the farmers fields that I spoke of in the post above:

On the road to Lyon, we noticed a touristy interest stop at a town called Les Mées, featuring a rock formation called Les Pénitants. We both wanted to see this Stonehenge-like display, so naturally we stopped.

Driving through town, there are a few signs with arrows pointing towards Les Pénitants, so we kept following them. We ended up going straight through town, to a point where a bunch of people were parking their cars and hiking into the mountains on a trail. People were actually trekking in to see this phenomenon! However, as we were short of time, we kept driving along a very narrow access road that led up to the mountain. We stopped close to the summit to take in the beautiful views and snap a few photos. But no sign of Les Pénitants. And a little further along the trail, there was a crossroad and a sign showing the summit in one direction, “no exit” straight ahead, and private property in the form of a Gite in the other direction. No mention at all of Les Pénitants. We were totally baffled, but were lucky enough to encounter the only other group that drove up the tiny road, so I asked them where we could find the famous rocks. They couldn’t figure out what we were talking about – did we not see them when we first entered town? To cut a long conversation short, they explained that Les Pénitants were actually geological formations on the sides of the mountain, several hundreds of feet tall – not a bunch of 12 foot obelisks in a small circle. Dumb tourists!

Anyway, we returned to town, turned around and saw this:

Yeah, those humongous rock formations hovering over the town, how did we miss those?

North of Sisteron, we had a spectacular drive through the Alpes du Dolphiné (passing through Serres, Die and finally Valence). Lots more windy narrow roads with no guard rails, many of which I could not imagine people using when it is snowing or icy. But they do! A large moving truck allowed me to pass on one of the blind hairpins - very civilized.

The drive ended by getting lost in Lyon during rush hour. That was not fun, and the experience was not enhanced by the fact that N and I were both starving. But we eventually remembered that we had to continue on the A6 towards Paris to get back to Limonest.

That night we ended up going out with a bunch of C’s friends. One of them had just moved into a new apartment that he’d bought and spent the past 6 months waiting for the previous tenants to move out before he could renovate. During those 6 months, he had to live in an old folks home. He surprised the nurse the first day by not needing any help to go to the washroom.

We relaxed in the traditional manner, with some more dried goats cheese, saucisson, olives and pistachios. After almost two weeks in France, I must say that my conversational French was getting pretty good as I was able to follow most of what was going on in the seven-person conversation happening all around me! For dinner we had tagliatella à la carbonara, and dessert was chocolate pudding with apple tartes (and a Gauloises blonde, which another fellow there insisted that I try to experience the difference in smoothness – he was right. I’ve had them in Montréal, but they are not the same).

The evening ended relatively early (around midnight), as it was a work-night. To be fair to us, even C got lost trying to get out of the neighborhood and back to Limonest. But all in all it was another successful day.

[BCinBC]

Once again sorry for dragging this out, however I am finally at the end!

Thursday, September 29, 2005

What can you say when you wake up to the last day of your French vacation? Au revoir, I guess. Or just keep quiet and enjoy a pain-au-chocolat. A light breakfast, though, as lunch plans are already on the table.

One of the places I wanted to visit was Ferdinand Point’s* La Pyramide, as I mentioned to C the first night we got to Lyon. Unfortunately we ran out of time this trip, so she promised that we would visit next time. And in lieu of, lunch today would be at Maison Borie – on her. Ah, those overtly generous French.

Maison Borie is apparently an up-and-comer; it does not yet appear in the Michelin guide (not that that means anything), but perhaps one day it will. The restaurant is in the style of an old house – the foyer is a nice place to sit and have an apéritif, and from there you can proceed into either the main dining room or the enclosed patio.

We (S, C, their mother, N and I) sat down to a Champagne apéritif. However, after the initial taste, the three others exclaimed that the bottle was corked! (While N and I quietly sat sipping ours, totally oblivious to the “spoilage”. Champagne neophytes!) One of the bartenders quickly gathered up the glasses, and replaced them along with a new bottle. This one, the experts concluded, was adequate. !! While enjoying the apéritif, we also were served an amuse course of tuna mousse with dried lemon slices. The mousse had a distinctly fishy odour, which didn’t bother me so much but the girls decided it wasn’t for them. The lemons were almost excruciatingly sour (which again didn’t bother me, in fact I was quite intrigued as to how they concentrated so much flavour into the small slices). Following this we were seated on the patio.

The girls decided to go with the “express menus” which really is 2 courses instead of 3; S took a dessert instead of an entrée, but the others went the entrée/principal route. Myself, I went for the three courses. Why would you not??

Being two months removed from this meal, my memory is a bit hazy, but IIRC my entrée was a heaping portion of foie mousse served atop a crouton which in turn is on top of a salad with a reduced balsamic dressing. Excellent, rich foie flavour and did I mention it was a huge portion? The salad was refreshing, and the balsamic added a nice acidic tang.

N had the carrot velouté, which I tasted but cannot recall the details of. Sorry!

My plat principal was a hachis parmentier (shepherd’s pie) variation, with duck confit as the base. Excellent dish! Not original in concept, but very well executed. The duck was moist and tasty, and the dish on the whole was seasoned very well. It was sauced with a grenache reduction, which was also expertly done. Obviously this was my favourite course. I can’t even remember what N had.

Lunch was complemented by a Bordeaux, again no details.

At this point, C and C’s mother had to return to work, and sadly it was goodbye time for them (or at least C). However S stayed with us to enjoy her dessert, which was the same as mine: a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and crème anglais, and café. (And profiteroles.) The cake was quite rich but of a reasonable portion (unlike the foie mousse, which was rich and huge). Also the presentation was unconventional with this one, though if you were to ask me to draw it I don’t think I could. IIRC it was served on a long rectangular plate with each component separated. Damn faulty memory. Anyway, they “made” me finish the bottle of wine so I took some time to savour the coffee.

All in all it was a great meal, definitely superior to L’Ouest earlier in the trip. The Maison Borie lunch menu is 28 €, while the express is 23 €. Quite reasonable, given the quality of the food and service. Plus the venue is quite nice, the inside dining room could make for a very romantic dinner.

After lunch, S took us down to the prefecture where they regularly have “exhibitions” on display on the outside gates. From June 6 to October 31, it happened to be for Les Toques Blanches Lyonnais. Very cool! (Well maybe only on this site.)

The exhibition was basically composed of large posters/photos of food porn, along with the dish’s chefs, a bit of running commentary from a few of the chefs about food and it’s role in (French) life, and a bunch of recipe leaflets! I managed to pick up quite a few, including:

• * Soupe au potiron – Paul Bocuse
  * Jambonnette de volaille de Bresse au Château-Chalon – Richard Soibinet
  * Hachis parmentier ( !) de pigeon, émincé de poitrine rôtie, jus aux éclats de truffes – Gilbert Reboule
  * Soufflé glacé à la praline et crème anglaise à la pistache – Michel Pascual
  

Hey that’s not a bad sounding meal!

Me and Chef Bocuse

Afterwards, we made a quick trip into Vienne to see C and S’s parents’ office – where the Mom had dug out a case of Orangina glasses for us to take home! All this as a result of me making a passing comment about the glasses, which were all over their houses (in Limonest, Vienne and Cavalaire). Now they sit proudly in our liquor and glassware cabinet. I have even used them since, for Orangina at home in Vancouver. It’s almost as good as having Orangina in Lyon. Almost.

Our final stop before the airport would be the giant Carrefour, to load up on stuff to smuggle-I-mean-take home.

Carrefour in Limonest

One of the red wine aisles in the Carrefour

You may not be able to tell from the exterior shot, but it truly is huge for a supermarket. They do sell other stuff like clothes, flatware, etc. But by any standard it is enormous. I picked up a couple bottles of Beaujolais, as well as some saucisson sec. Wish I had more time to explore!

But that was it, it was time to speed off to the airport. On the drive over, a fierce rain storm hit. S remarked, “See, France is crying because you are leaving.” Ha, what a sweetheart.

Anyway, so concludes our trip to the South of France. A great trip, lots of good memories (food-related and otherwise). Merci, au revoir, et à la prochaine!

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*Follow this link to an amusing painting of Chef Point. For an excerpt from Kitchen Confidential by Chef Bourdain, click here.