Backcountry Bistrots in France

[Busboy]

If you are like me and are often as happy to spend an afternoon lazing in a great local bar -- especially if the food and view are above-average -- as to drop a couple hundred dollars in some swell joint with sommeliers and tasting menus and plus fours and whatever, and you expect to find yourself in France, this is the website for you (in French, but you can figure it out).

Bistrots de Pays claim to offer local food, practical information, a warm welcome and, often, great views, a sense of history and a chance to rub elbows with the locals -- all in towns of under 2000 residents. Most of the descriptions don't even offer a street address -- if you can find the village, you can find the cafe.

Bistrot de Pays network exists largely in the South, and East, from Midi-Pyranees, around the Med and up to Fanche-Compte, and it may be difficult to find the heart on one of the 15 networks spread across such a larg area. Nonetheless, well worth checking out -- so it seems -- if you're planning to go through France and get off the beaten path.

Sample description

Chez Norbert

83840 La Roque-Esclapon

Tél : 04.94.76.80.04

Dès que vous poussez la porte de chez Norbert, vous êtes reçu comme un ami de longue date. Invité à déguster sa cuisine élaborée avec produits et petits secrets du coin, vous ne pourrez que prolonger votre séjour dans l'une des quelques chambres de charme mises à votre disposition.

(Correct me, Bleu...) "As soon as you open the door Chez Norbert, you are welcomed like an old friend. Invited to taste their elaborate cooking, made with products and secrets of the area, you can't help extend your visit in one of the several charmng rooms at your disposal."

Soon as I can figure out where La Roque-Esclapon is (somewhere in the Haut Var), I'm there.

[menton1]

A very interesting site, Busboy; Thanks. A nice little resource for "off the beaten track". I, like you, am very comfortable is these local informal places, and have many times found the food to be on a very high level.

The only part of the site that is a bit of a turn off is that the little blurbs read too much like an advertisement. I don't know the way this site is assembled, but it seems that it is a paying site, and it is hard to see if there are any checks and balances on what the restaurant can say about itself.

It is also generally pretty easy in France in a small village to park, take a little stroll through the town, read the cartes in the window, get a little feel for the places and the town, and decide to go in somewhere and have lunch. 9 times out of 10 it turns out to be a good experience. But this little guide can facilitate things if you happen to be near one of the bistrots on the site.

[Busboy]

I got the feeling that a single person involved with the site wrote all the blurbs themselves -- rather than try to track down a hundred bistro owners and make them write -- and so they all sound similar and a little brochure-ish.

I found out about the site from an article in le Monde -- unfortunately, you'd have to pay to read it, so I didn't link to it -- and I got the feeling that the organization was fairly organic, like an olive oil co-op or something. You can't just buy in, there are certain requirements that must be met to become a member, and the bistrots the article profiled were far more a part of village life than the tourist world. Though they are eager to bring in enough tourists to survive, the owners also adopt multiple roles in their villages to bring new customers in and get the regulars in more often --playing informal post office, hosting community meetings and art classes, and so on.

I think someone needs to do a comparison of these guys versus the un-affiliated bistros of rural France, and see how random exploration stands up against putting yourself in the hands of network.

I volunteer.

[chefzadi]

Dès que vous poussez la porte de chez Norbert, vous êtes reçu comme un ami de longue date. Invité à déguster sa cuisine élaborée avec produits et petits secrets du coin, vous ne pourrez que prolonger votre séjour dans l'une des quelques chambres de charme mises à votre disposition.

(Correct me, Bleu...) "As soon as you open the door Chez Norbert, you are welcomed like an old friend. Invited to taste their elaborate cooking, made with products and secrets of the area, you can't help extend your visit in one of the several charmng rooms at your disposal."

I took a look at the site. Yeah, alot of the descriptions are pretty much the same. "In a village perched on a hill...."

Sounds like the village I'm from.

A friend of mine's father had a restaurant in an even smaller village. It's not even on the map, but people would come to try it. Most would drive past it a few times before realizing where it was.

[Busboy]

Dès que vous poussez la porte de chez Norbert, vous êtes reçu comme un ami de longue date. Invité à déguster sa cuisine élaborée avec produits et petits secrets du coin, vous ne pourrez que prolonger votre séjour dans l'une des quelques chambres de charme mises à votre disposition.

(Correct me, Bleu...) "As soon as you open the door Chez Norbert, you are welcomed like an old friend. Invited to taste their elaborate cooking, made with products and secrets of the area, you can't help extend your visit in one of the several charmng rooms at your disposal."

I took a look at the site. Yeah, alot of the descriptions are pretty much the same. "In a village perched on a hill...."

Sounds like the village I'm from.

A friend of mine's father had a restaurant in an even smaller village. It's not even on the map, but people would come to try it. Most would drive past it a few times before realizing where it was.

←

Remind me to hunt down your village, then, next time I'm bumming around the greater Macon metroplex. In the U.S., a good view almost assures that the food will suck.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I really like Busboy's link, but the limited range of the current recommendations made me wonder what we could assemble if we, here on eGullet, put together just such a list (non-starred, 'simpa' dining rooms that are full of locals, good food, inexpensive or good value. As starters, here are a couple of places, several certainly not virgin discoveries, that have pleased us during the past year (2005).

In Provence: Le Bistrot du Paradou, 57, avenue de la Vallee des Baux Paradou 04.90.54.32.70 tel and fax. I know, I know. Peter Mayle turned this place into a zoo, but the tourist mobs have fled to newer and more hip destinations now, and on several visits this year, we were the only English-speaking people there. The food is well prepared classic stuff: roast chicken, leg of lamb, sliced rack of lamb. The meal is the same at lunch and dinner. 39 euros. That sounds steep, but it includes choice of escargot or composed salad, large daily plate, very large cheese plateau that is left at your table perhaps 5 minutes, choice of some half dozen desserts, a full bottle of either red or white local wine, coffee. The service is happy as are all of the other diners.

In Gard/Langdoque: Can Peio, Gare de Junas-Aujargues, Junas-Aujargues (near Sommieres), 04.66.77.72.83. Can Peio, a Catalan bistrot, located in an old railroad station. The dining room is darling: white, tall windows, lots of sunshine, beautiful tile floors, hams hanging from the rafters, sweet service. The food is authentic (good ham, octopus, rabbit, lamb, peppers, prawns) and unusual to the French palate. We have visited twice, and will return although the food is not as endearing as the ambience. Good pot wines. Probably about 25 euros a person.

In l'Yonne/Bourgogne: Hotel de la Poste, 149, Grande Rue, Vincelles. 03.86.42.22.63 Now we get to type of place that I hope to discover in this thread. The first time we stopped this place, we were looking for a simple Sunday night supper after a long drive. My husband went in to check it out, came back to the car and grunted, "It's just a grubby bar. All men, no food." So we wound up at an awful place across the river that served pretentious food at outragious prices. On a later trip, we drove by at noon to find that the place was teaming with locals, enjoying good looking plates. The format: 11 euro menu includes a run at the 'salad bar' (an entire counter in the bar + the contents of an adjacent refrigerator including the normal grated carrots, celery rave, beets, hard boiled eggs, olives and pickles, marinated fish, several cheeses, sausages and some excellent country ham). There are two choices in main plate, one vegetarian, one meat. On our two visits, the choices were lasagna or braised beef with carrots, couscous or veal with basque sauce and pasta. Small cheese course. Desserts are generic but not bad. With a little wine, a tab for two hovered around 27 euros.

Also in l'Yonne/Bourgogne: La Coup du Fren, center of the village of Tannere en Puysaye near St. Fargeau. Another 'bar-in-the-daytime' find. I don't know about lunch at this place, but dinner is adorable. There is seating in the back garden, in a small dining room or in the bar. Simple plates like andouillette, ham Chablisienne, entrocote/frites are all good, especially considering the 15 to 20 euro 3 - 4 course menu at night. Good local wines, darling service (by the second night, the waiter had adopted us). We ended one evening with a quite nice and decently priced Deribaucourt (label) calvados.

In Ain: Auberge du Mail, center of the village of Chazey sur Ain, southeast of Meximieux or Perouges. I asked our hostess to book at a restaurant that I had read about, but her face told me that she thought little of my choice. I followed her recommendation and was rewarded with the Auberge. This is another gathering place for locals who come for the generous plates of salad with poached egg and lardons, enormous casseroles of frog legs, meltingly tender veal steaks with cream sauce, rowboat sized individual portions of scalloped potatoes, followed by a sizable cheese plateau and dessert. With wine and coffee, 47 euros for 2. Another place where we were somehow adopted by the hosts. Most of these small places have no experience with English-speakers, much less Americans, and we have been treated to extraordinary hospitality.

These are my only addresses that are current enough to post. We spend a fair amount of time in the boonies, and I, for one, would love to see a growing list of unexpected places that have pleased. Contrary to what Michelin would have us believe, I think that there are many such places out there that are well worth a small detour if only we knew about them.

[John Talbott]

I really like Busboy's link, but the limited range of the current recommendations made me wonder what we could assemble if we, here on eGullet, put together just such a list (non-starred, 'simpa' dining rooms that are full of locals, good food, inexpensive or good value.  As starters, here are a couple of places, several certainly not virgin discoveries, that have pleased us during the past year (2005).

This is a terrific idea Margaret. When Busboy put the thread up I tried to find ones in the area Colette and I had been in two weeks ago without success. So I think an eGullet List of Backroad Bistros would be great. I'm not going to merge the two because I think this thread will stand on its own. Again thanks.

[Busboy]

As I find myself in the very early stages of planning a trip to France for early next summer --somewhere between Avignon and Lyon, I suspect -- I look forward to seeing this thread fill out, and perhaps to adding a contribution or two myself someday.

If you don't mind, I'm going to link my thread to this one, as well, so I can find them both more easily when I need them.

[Jonathan Day]

Chez Norbert

83840 La Roque-Esclapon

Tél : 04.94.76.80.04

Dès que vous poussez la porte de chez Norbert, vous êtes reçu comme un ami de longue date. Invité à déguster sa cuisine élaborée avec produits et petits secrets du coin, vous ne pourrez que prolonger votre séjour dans l'une des quelques chambres de charme mises à votre disposition.

"As soon as you open the door Chez Norbert, you are welcomed like an old friend.  Invited to taste their elaborate cooking, made with products and secrets of the area, you can't help extend your visit in one of the several charmng rooms at your disposal."

←

Just a quick note on the translation -- only posted because it's very relevant to the food. Elaborée in that sentence doesn't mean "elaborate". It means "developed", or "built from" or something to that effect. The sentence means, "Invited to taste their cooking, which has been developed from products and little secrets of the immediate area, ... ".

In other words, the food at chez Norbert could be very simple.

This is a great thread, I hope we can all add our favourite "bonnes addresses".

[Jonathan Day]

A few more small places in the Alpes Maritimes.

Biot: Les Arcades -- comments here. The marinated herrings are good; they bring a big bowl, and you take as much as you want. Off-menu dishes are often excellent here.

Mougins: Le Bistrot de Mougins -- good for kidneys, civets and the like; pleasant in the winter, when the long-cooked dishes they like to make taste particularly good.

Mougins: Resto des Arts -- good tête de veau, decent rabbit. Similar dishes a few metres away at Le Petit Fouet.

Nice: Aux Rendez-Vous des Amis, up in the hills near Falicon. Also La Merenda, near the old flower market.

Cannes: La Cave, in town. Sadly, they seem to be using the microwave more and more, and I haven't been back in a few years.

In Gorbio, a village just above Menton: Beau-Séjour; in the gastronomic desert that is Menton, this was a pleasant oasis.

[Busboy]

Chez Norbert

83840 La Roque-Esclapon

Tél : 04.94.76.80.04

Dès que vous poussez la porte de chez Norbert, vous êtes reçu comme un ami de longue date. Invité à déguster sa cuisine élaborée avec produits et petits secrets du coin, vous ne pourrez que prolonger votre séjour dans l'une des quelques chambres de charme mises à votre disposition.

"As soon as you open the door Chez Norbert, you are welcomed like an old friend.  Invited to taste their elaborate cooking, made with products and secrets of the area, you can't help extend your visit in one of the several charmng rooms at your disposal."

←

Just a quick note on the translation -- only posted because it's very relevant to the food. Elaborée in that sentence doesn't mean "elaborate". It means "developed", or "built from" or something to that effect. The sentence means, "Invited to taste their cooking, which has been developed from products and little secrets of the immediate area, ... ".

In other words, the food at chez Norbert could be very simple.

This is a great thread, I hope we can all add our favourite "bonnes addresses".

←

Argh -- another "faux ami." just when I got assister and attender down pat.

More on topic, let me throw out my one potentical contribution, in Vacqueyras, in the Southern Cotes du Rhone wine region. There's a little cafe called RESTAURANT DU COURS, Cours Stassart, 04 90 65 87 08 that sits under the plane trees, across the street from the bell tower that serves fine and inexpensive grilled meat in a perfect setting. Vacqueyras is an old walled town of 1000 souls, and the cafe sits atop what was once the moat surrounding the wall, on what is now a narrow street lined with houses and shops. About the time the bell tower strikes seven, Le Patronne ambles out, throws a little cardboard, some wood and some grapevine cuttings into the grill they've rigged up in in front of his place, and the grilling begins. It's the French version of mesquite grilling, I suppose, quite distinctive and not for everyone. There's a lot of good, cheap wine to go with it, mostly grown within walking distance of where you're sitting. They don't speak much English, but I like that.

A lovely place to hide from the hustle of monied tourists (though a few show up) and wine that you have to "taste" as opposed to drink (you'll get enough of that in the tasting rooms during the day).

BTW, if you're in Provence, the very helpful Provence Beyond website offers more than a few tips on local eating, classified by town, often at the bottom of the page.

[nyokie6]

Very interesting, we are considering driving from Lyon to Paris this April. We've been told everthing from no way to great idea. We are hoping to stop and dine at smaller (more local) places along the way. I have only done a little looking at our sites, and a little at some French sites, but my French is not up to understanding many of them. This looks great, and I hope to see more. Also if anyone knowes of some places that offer rooms as well as dining the information would be welcomed. We find a mixture of small Bed and Breakfast style places - that rent a room or two and provide local food and HYatt type hotels and famous names more fun than just one or the other. Thanks!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

...we are considering driving from Lyon to Paris this April.... We are hoping to stop and dine at smaller (more local) places along the way....We find a mixture of small Bed and Breakfast style places - that rent a room or two and provide local food and HYatt type hotels and famous names more fun than just one or the other. Thanks!

←

nyokie6, I think this is a wonderful idea! It is, in fact, much the way we travel in France. I recently came across (Vin et Cuisine magazine, #106, October '05) a hearty endorsement for one address that may work with your plans.

In the tiny village of Denice in Beaujolais, Sylvaine and Bruno Chevalier offer one 3-epis room at 61 euros per night for two people, including breakfast. They also offer an evening meal by reservation for 20 euros each. We have met some of the most interesting people in this way, enjoyed a room more comfortable than we would have found in a local hotel, and learned much about regional cooking. While English is usually limited or non-existent, good-will is a universal language.

Sylvaine et Bruno Chevalier

Pouilly-la-Chatel

69640 DENICE

br.chevalier@free fr