Tag: where to eat

Postcard from Avignon, France: A brief restaurant sampler

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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.

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

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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.

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Postcard from Lecce, Italy: Sampling seafood and pasta served Apulia-style

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lecce seafood ravioli radici

Seafood Ravioli at Radici – Market, Food & Caffetteria

With only skimpy sandwiches for lunch, we were ready for a sit-down meal after arriving in Lecce well after nightfall. We walked out the door of our apartment and crossed the street upon the recommendation of our landlord and entered what became our favorite restaurant in Lecce, Osteria 203.

The intimate restaurant had us hooked with the contorni, a varying trio of seasonal vegetables. Unlike in Naples, vegetable sides and antipasti were easy to come by in Lecce. But Osteria 203 also provided the Mister with his favorite dish of the entire trip, stinco di maiale. The enormous braised pork shank was falling-off-the-bone tender and was served in a pool of a rich red wine sauce. The fried young artichokes were highly addictive, and how can one resist trying purple gnocchi. Our only disappointment with the Osteria 203 is that it closed during our final week to repaint the interior, depriving the Mister of his third order of stinco.

Il Rifugio della Buona Stella is an unpretentious family-run restaurant with generous antipasto plates and regional pasta dishes, such as pasta with rape, turnip tops, all offered at resident-friendly prices. On our second visit there, we were accompanied by our daughter and fidanzato, and it proved a most pleasant experience.

Next to us was a family birthday celebration, a table of about 16 from multiple generations. The group was not rowdy at all, just enjoying exchanging family stories. We lingered sharing multiple courses, as did they. When it came time for them to cut into a luscious cake, they sent the youngest girl over with plates for us. And then they poured glasses of prosecco for us to share in toasting the young woman who was their guest of honor. There was something so warm and touching, and we felt so flattered to be embraced by locals instead of being dismissed as just tourists at the next table. It helped our standing that the Mister was able to go to the other room and ask the owner for a simple birthday toast and thank you he offered to them in Italian.

La Cucina di Mamma Elvira contourni
La Cucina di Mamma Elvira ravioli
La Cucina di Mamma Elvira fettuccine with swordfish, eggplant and almonds
polpette di cavallo
Enogastronomia Povero eggplant stuffed with vegetables
Osteria 203 contourni
I Latini fried seafood platter
Il Rifugio della Buona Stella vegetable antipasto
Radici salmon with couscous
Crianza Chianina hamburger
Osteria 203 stinco di maiale, braised pork shank with red wine sauce
La Cantina delle Streghe eggplant and burrata bruschetta
I Latini pulpo polpette popped into our mouths so quickly we neglected to take a photo before pausing to see who got to eat the last one
La Cucina di Mamma Elvira vegetable antipasto
Osteria 203 fried artichokes
gelato
Radici ravioli with parmesan sauce
Il Rifugio della Buona Stella pasta with meatballs
L’Ostrica Ubriaca linguini with clams
I Latini seafood linguini
Il Rifugio della Buona Stella orecchiette with rape (turnip tops)
Osteria 203 seafood-filled ravioli
I Latini chickpea and clam soup
Il Rifugio della Buona Stella maccheroncini with swordfish, rape (turnip tops) and tomatoes
L’Ostrica Ubriaca tuna carpaccio
Osteria 203 purple gnocchi with lime-cured cod carpaccio
La Cucina di Mamma Elvira eggplant polpette
Osteria 203 pasta with porcini and pumpkin
I Latini pistachio-crusted tuna
L’Ostrica Ubriaca fried seafood
Radici fusilloni with pesto

Other spots we visited represented by photos above:

  • Crianza – If you are pining to sample some of Italy’s prized Chianina beef, the Mister swears his was about the best hamburger he has ever eaten.
  • I Latini  – This spot felt touristy, but it was always open when others failed us. Despite that initial feeling, we must admit the seafood dishes, such as linguini, pistachio-crusted tuna and clam and chickpea soup, were delicious.
  • La Cantina delle Streghe – A good spot for wine and bruschetta
  • La Cucina di Mamma Elvira – Great vegetables and pasta, but do not fail to order the eggplant polpette.
  • L’Ostrica Ubriaca – We trekked to the one way outside the walls. It was a little spartan, but the seafood was always fresh. A new more upscale version recently had opened right outside the old city gate, but we did not try that location.
  • Radici – Market, Food & Caffetteria – Contemporary and casual, attracting a host of locals. The fidanzato highly recommends the seafood ravioli in the featured photo.

Hopefully, all of these restaurants made it through quarantine times and are beginning to welcome diners back.