Le Moulin de Lourmarin

[lizziee]

I think it is telling that Robert is in France at this moment and has reported in a number of different threads that 2 and 3 star dining in France has changed dramatically since the change to the Euro and post 9/11. From what I can gather, it is a buyer's beware type of experience. It is hard for me to imagine that my memories of certain restaurants, even a year ago, might be so very different today. Thank you, Robert, for your up-to-the-moment reporting.

[cabrales]

I welcome her "defense" of Loubet and his Moulin to the extent that it explains her feelings and even to the extent that she plays devil's advocate. . . .

What's been said will dissuade some potential diners from making a reservation and not others

Bux -- I believe Loubet serves very good meals to his diners, despite service inconsistencies. And I might add that dissuading certain potential diners from making hotel reservations might be best for all parties involved -- those who are dissuaded may be more inclined to end up cancelling the reservation in any event, resulting in lost revenue not only in terms of the room, but potentially also in terms of the lost profits on meals the occupant of the room would have generated.

It was always evident to me that restaurants have to have profit maximization as one of their primary objectives. I stress, not for the first time, that *it may be profit-maximizing not to fill a restaurant*, depending on marginal costs, marginal revenues, the demand curve, etc. So, lest diners who choose not to visit a restaurant believe that the lost patronage is necessarily detrimental to the restaurant, please consider basic economic theory: destination restaurants do not offer fungible goods and services prevailing in the economic model of perfect competition. They are oligopolies or, for the special ones, potentially closer to monopolies arguably. The monopolistic profit-maximizing quantity is, under basic economic theory (utilizing that for now), lower than the perfect competition quantity transacted. In my mind, I could not ask cuisiniers to embrace a model of generosity when I do not volunteer to "donate" extra money to the restaurant. Having an expectation with respect to receiving extra food or different food without extra payment is akin to saying that is part of what makes a good restaurant. While it is always nice to receive special things without payment, that is a bonus when it happens. It is not an entitlement, in my assessment.

Finally for now, I'd like to add that I don't worry about imperfections in service as much as other diners might. If it's not something I can change (e.g., the people carrying trays to those actually serving me) and it does not destroy the quality of the cuisine, I just accept the situation. In fact, few things except inappropriate cuisine bother me in a restaurant. I don't mind what other diners are doing or look like (e.g., smoking cigarettes or cigars) particularly. I don't mind paying a lot for a meal, assuming all diners are subject to the same rules (or I receive better treatment). I don't mind eating at odd times, if necessary to secure a reservation. I don't mind traveling long distances for a meal. I don't mind being told I have to forfeit deposits if I don't show up. I believe diners should guarantee reservations with a credit card (i.e., that that is an appropriate practice) and should be charged at least the sums charged by certain restaurants. I don't mind small tables or little room between tables. I don't mind very expensive bottled water or wine pricing, although I am not averse to BYO. I don't mind table turning in the UK or in the US. I am not indicating any of these things I don't mind occur at Moulin. I am noting it's the cuisine that's key.

[robert brown]

Liz, I would think it is to the detriment of the clientele if the dining room team (and the chef) is hazing certain members of their team. Why would a chef whack the wrist of a waiter if the waiter needs to carry on his duties at peak level? Regardless of the circumstances, I felt bad for the Senegalese waiters.

You will be a better judge than I am of how much luxury dining in France has declined in recent times since you visit more establishments in a year than I do. I believe that the pace of the decline has picked up over the past several months, but it certainly started well before this past February. I am anxious to get your impressions next month.

Cabrales. You most likely give a higher weighting to the cuisine than I do when determining the overall quality of a restaurant. No wonder the chefs love you!!! (How do you put the smiley faces on?). We all know, however, how bad service can often undermine a chef’s handiwork As for the air conditioning, or lack of, at the Moulin de Lourmarin, last summer my wife and I sweated through a lunch in the dining room. Because everyone dined on the terrace when we were there 10 days ago, I do not know if the dining room is now climatized or not. It is hard for me to imagine a restaurant in the warmest part of France during the height of the travel season receiving a third star when it makes people suffer though a meal. (In all fairness, I have to say that our hotel room at the Moulin had serious air conditioning).

Bux and Steve. On this thread and the Mirazur one, the discussion seems to point to the matter of what constitute the “baseline” of up-scale dining. Can we eat, enjoy, feel good about, and so forth, the fruits of talented chefs in a situation in which there is little or no choice, and where the food and the client is served in a maladroit or haphazard fashion in plebian surroundings?

[cabrales]

As for the air conditioning, or lack of, at the Moulin de Lourmarin, last summer my wife and I sweated through a lunch in the dining room. Because everyone dined on the terrace when we were there 10 days ago, I do not know if the dining room is now climatized or not. It is hard for me to imagine a restaurant in the warmest part of France during the height of the travel season receiving a third star when it makes people suffer though a meal.

The indoor dining room is almost unbearably hot in the summertime. I don't know if it's a lack of air conditioning period (which could have been the case, given how hot it was), or inadequate power from a system that at least exists. However, it was uncomfortable even walking through the indoor dining room to the washrooms on the "upper" floor when I dined there during the summertime.

[Bux]

It is only when you bring up air conditioning, or even fresh air for that matter, that I remember the French are insane. What the French do not like are air conditioning, cool air and drafts. I have seen Frenchmen and Spanish men pull out sweaters and put them on when someone opens a window in a draftless 90 degree (F) restaurant. The fear of draft is almost paranoid. Things are changing, especially in the places that cater to an international crowd of North Americans and Asians.

As for hazing in restaurants or physical abuse of the staff by the chef, it's no worse than the mental or financial abuse that has been common to the trade over the decades. A French kitchen is probably less democratic than the French army. This is not to condone such a situation, but one shouldn't be surprised to hear of it.

[PaulaJK]

Bux, If you recall my recent experience with H. des Frenes and

--to my mind/ eye---an unarticulated cancellation policy that

resulted in a 31 E charge when I cancelled 3 months in advance,

you have the right person re: cancellation fees!!! I have become

much more alert to same and am finding a plethora of them

in Provence!

No, the night that M de Lourmarin fit into our 'stay' schedule,

the restaurant is closed .....so we booked dinner for a night

when we are in Chateauneuf-de-Pape. BB notes and a map

suggest that it is too far to drive.....so we may cancel. Their

cancellation policy is at least 48 hours in advance you are

charged 182E for the table. Since I don't cancel without calling

this would not present a problem except if ill struck. I emphathize

with late cancellations but I would mind paying 182E in such

a case!

We did reserve Sunday lunch [after the antique market] at Mas de

Cure-Bourse. In their reply they req'd cancellation by fax, apologizing

for a 10E charge if none is rec'd. They explained that they have been experiencing a lot of no-shows and that this was a problem for them.

L'Oustau e Baumaniere...no cancellation fee in DR

Augerbe la Regilado...no refunds within 21 days of check-in

Le Prieure--116E with 2 weeks notice and one night's charge for 3 days

Crillon le Brave--I don't see any comment re: cancellation

[Bux]

I understand the need for cancellation policies and charges, but they should be reasonable. I certainly appreciate anyplace that apologizes for the need and charges a fee that is understandable. In NYC, no shows at restaurants are a problem and the lack of a cancellation fee results in restaurants over booking to compensate.

[Paul Bell]

Having just returned from France I was interested to read the comments above. I confess my views regarding the Moulin de Lourmarin are broadly similar to Robert Brown's. My wife and I had lunch there last Friday and whilst enjoyable it was neither that good nor good value. The food was inventive to a certain extent but lacked substance both in terms of portion size which were some of the worst excesses of 'nouvelle cuisine' and in the way certain dishes stand out, none did particulary unlike say the Oustau de Baumaniere or the Jardin des Sens (where every dish was better than that at the Moulin). If this sounds like I regret having lunch there I do not, but I probably would not return.

We found Monsieur Loubet to be charming enough, although got the impression that the waiting staff would have preferred him to be in the kitchen. He was out much of the time arranging tables, moving chairs etc, which I have a certain degree of respect for, I can't imagine Gordon Ramsay doing it, then again he is watching the food coming out of his kitchen!

We did eat inside (after starting in the garden) as did a number of other people as the weather was quite humid and was affecting the herbs in the garden, to the extent that they were paticulalry pungent and attracting significant insects. It was Loubet himself who suggested we might like to move tables. We did not find inside particularly warm so maybe the air conditiong has improved.

The service was OK although probably not that which would normally accompany two stars, it is always a bad sign when I have to get up and pour my own wine, which did not happen here but almost got to that point. The above points re: waiting staff being inexperienced etc were I think well made.

On the whole we had a nice (no more than that) lunch which was very expensive, which was not really justified in anyway. I think comments about mean spiritidness are possibly rather too close to the mark for comfort. (I was particulary impressed when we had the lamb, two staff staggered out with a cast iron pot to show us two racks of lamb smoking in their bed of hay and only one appeared between the two of us. We could not work out whether the other one was someone else's or they have one pot that gets brought out all the time).

Paul

[Bux]

Paul,

I thought that was a particularly good follow up to Robert's post. Welcome to this board. I hope we'll hear more from you in regard to the rest of your trip. I'd like to hear more about Jardin des Sens. It's a restaurant we've loved but in which we haven't eaten since it's had three stars. In the meantime I've heard very mixed things about it. Please feel free to start a new thread unless you discover an old one about the restaurant.

[robert brown]

Paula, maybe certain hotel-restaurants these days find cancellation fees the most proitable part of their business. A 182 euro meal cancellation fee is unbelieveable. No one told me anything about it when I booked for a room and dinner at the Moulin last month.

Paul, was Loubet moving furniture around because people needed to move to the dining room? If I recall accurately, some top restaurants I have been to set all the tables, indoors and outdoors, in case of situations like this, or when the weather is iffy and it could rain during the meal service.

I thought that some of the dishes of Loubet were remarkable. We loved the lamb. It is funny,though, what you wrote. Did you notice if the waiters then went over to another table to show them the steaming lamb chops? I wonder how long they remain steaming because when the waiters showed us ours, they were not steaming. Maybe the smoke extinguished itself between another table and ours.

[cabrales]

There is no meal cancellation fee at Lourmarin, thankfully. I wouldn't mind some of Loubet's lamb dishes, regardless of whether they are presented to me with steam effects.

[cabrales]

E Loubet has published his first book -- entitled, translated, "A Springtime in the Louberon region with Edouard Loubet". It's a bit too focused on the chef in some parts for my liking, and the local herbs and other products may be difficult to secure in the US. However, Loubet's cuisine is one I like considerably, and the recipes are appealing-sounding.

http://www.chapitre.fr/frame_rec.asp?sessi...ubet&source=all