Tag: restaurant reviews

Postcard from Avignon, France: A brief restaurant sampler

postcardsfromsanantonio1 Comment
A colorful illustration of a French baguette with a decorative ribbon and text saying 'La baguette de pain française'.

Above: Perfect for the indecisive, a sampler platter at L’Epicerie Restaurant.

We didn’t stay in Avignon many days, so the list of restaurants we experienced is shorter than normal. Don’t be confused by the inclusion of two unrelated epiceries. Both have pleasant outdoor seating, but the food experience is totally different.

L’Epicerie de Ginette is more a cafe than a restaurant, but its seating on the tree-shaded plaza across the street is ideal for people-watching. Caramelized goat cheese on toast atop a salad was substantial, while a croque monsieur was spartan, a slim slice of ham and a paucity of cheese. The luscious raspberry custard tarte represented redemption. Perhaps best to stick with dessert and people-watching.

Continue reading “Postcard from Avignon, France: A brief restaurant sampler” →

Postcard from Aix-en-Provence, France: Vegetarian, Italian, North African, and, oh, French flavors

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment
A decorative postage stamp featuring a French baguette with a blue, white, and red ribbon.

Above: Shrimp risotto at Lou Mao

Off we go through the alphabetical list of restaurants we tried in Aix-en-Provence. The “c” ones clump together first – ones that would make a Happy Cow vegetarian list – but simply scroll down farther if you are vegetable-averse. Meat and fish are much easier to find than vegetable dishes when eating out.

The tomato Saint Marcelin salad and an ample vegetarian mezze bowl at the pleasant Cafe du Temps helped reward our quest for vegetables. The seitan burger was not to our tastes; we prefer veggie burgers that taste more like vegetables.

Continue reading “Postcard from Aix-en-Provence, France: Vegetarian, Italian, North African, and, oh, French flavors” →

Postcard from Nice, France: Keep diving for pearls of flavor

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment
A postage stamp depicting an open oyster with a blue background, labeled 'Les huîtres' and marked with a value of 0.50€ from La Poste 2004.

Above: A no. 2 oyster, probably a Charente Maritime, dressed with a dash of vinegar at Le Gambetta

And I had my first oyster. Now, this was a truly significant event. I remember it like I remember losing my virginity – and in many ways, more fondly….

I took it in my hand, tilted the shell back into my mouth as instructed by the now beaming Monsieur Saint-Jour and with one bite and a slurp, wolfed it down. It tasted of seawater…of brine and flesh…and somehow…of the future. Everything was different now. Everything. I’d not only survived – I’d enjoyed.”

Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, 2000

Anthony Bourdain credits an oyster tasted in France when he was ten years old for propelling him toward a lifetime obsession with flavor. While this Virginia Beach native loves oysters now, it certainly was not love at first swallow. I didn’t learn to enjoy them un-fried or un-Rockefellowed until late in high school.

Continue reading “Postcard from Nice, France: Keep diving for pearls of flavor” →