Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - L'École Buissonière, Montjustin

This is a slightly different Thank Friday it's Lunchtime post - you'll see why in a moment!

This week, we decided to visit L'École Buissonière (the School of Drinking, forgive me if I have spelt it wrong) in Montjustin.  Montjustin is a tiny village, perched on top of a ridge on the Eastern edge of the Lubèron.  It's most famous for having been the long-term home of Henri Cartier-Bresson, an iconic French photographer, who has been one of the LSH's heroes for a long, long time.  It is a wonderfully picturesque village, and we have walked there many times from Céreste and even ridden there a couple of times, too.  The one thing it's been lacking for many years, though, is a Café - do the 5km (uphill) hike from Céreste without bringing something to drink, and yes, you will bemoan the lack of shops or café too!

Not any more, though, this winter L'École Buissonière opened its doors to the public!  Business is slow, given that it's mid-winter, and lunch is by appointment only, so we booked in a week in advance.  We mentioned it to a couple of English friends who have lived here for many years, and they said they'd love to come along too - so that's the first Thank Friday it's Lunchtime difference - there were four of us out for lunch.

L'École Buissonière is a very typical French small café in that it serves a set menu only.  We could have asked beforehand what it was, but we decided that we'd just be surprised (and oh yes, we PRAYED it wasn't Andouillette!)

We arrived a little after 12.30.  The first thing that strikes you is that it's tiny.  There's a small bar area and a small dining area, which had a single long table, set for seven.  I'm sure that in the summer, in the height of the tourist season, they will also use the spacious terrace outside, but for our visit, it was like eating in someone's dining room.

The other three guests - well I won't go into details, but it turned out they were local dignitaries.  They were occupying the bar area when we arrived, chowing down on bruschetta, but they greeted our friends warmly and shook hands with the LSH and I  - our friends have lived in the area for many years and they know a lot of people around here!  They moved on to the dining area, while we ordered drinks and sampled the bruschetta (nice!)

Not sure of the protocol (should we have sat down at the same time as the others?) we lingered at the bar while they were served their starter.  We may have goofed there...

The waitress/maître D/possibly chef as well called us à table eventually and we sat down to our starter as the other guests were getting stuck into their main course.  We chitchatted about this n' that, admired their main course and looked forward eagerly to our starters... which were AMAZING!  It sounds very simple, but it was soooo tasty!  It was a chicken samosa with a green salad, served with that lovely dressing the French do, oil, vinegar and a hint of mustard.  The samosa was all chicken - no veggie fillers added!  The chicken had been shredded and marinaded in ginger and lemon... oh it was yummy!  And not at all what I was expecting, it was not French country cuisine, it was French country cuisine meets the Orient halfway.

And here's where we come to the second Thank Friday it's Lunchtime difference.

Ummm, sorry, but we were having such fun, I forgot to take any photographs.  You are just going to have to take my word for it, the food looked as good as it tasted.

The main course was no longer a surprise, because we saw the other guests eating it - it was Moules - Mussels!  Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I don't do seafood, but in the spirit of Thank Friday it's Lunchtime, I tucked in gamely.  The mussels were served in a light curry sauce, with pommes frites (chips/French fries) on the side.  Well, they were ok.  But then I'm a really bad judge of seafood.  Everyone else said they were great.  Fair enough, they were great.

Time for dessert and coffee?  Bien sûr!  Oh no, dessert was chocolate mousse cake!  Well, I'll eat seafood if I have to, but sadly (tragically, in fact) I cannot eat chocolate - I will, without a doubt, get a migraine if I do.  So everyone else had the chocolate mousse cake and said it was yummy.

I had coffee.

Yes, I know you all feel bad for me now.  Don't.  I'm tough.  I can take it.

I'm not sure how it came up, but over the course of lunch, we learned that in the Mairie next door, there are two original (signed) Cartier-Bresson photos, which the Great Man Himself donated to the local community.  On seeing our interest, the waitress/maître D/possibly chef as well offered to let us in for a look - she has the key to the Mairie.  We couldn't turn down that offer, so we all trooped in and admired them.  One of them was a well known one of Ile de la Cité in Paris and the other was one which really struck a chord with me - a man holding a young boy in his arms, a wonderfully expressive shot.  Ask to see them if you ever visit Montjustin.

So, digestively and culturally sated, we headed home.

The cost of our lunch?

Including wine (a couple of glasses each except for the poor misfortunate LSH who had to work for the afternoon and therefore drive as well) and tip, the whole lot came €17 per head - pretty ok, really!

Would we go again?  Absolument!  We'll revisit in the summer and try to remember to take photos next time.... sorry about that!

Food - ✮✮✮✮

Service – ✮✮✮✭
Ambiance – ✮✮✮✭ (possibly helped by the company we were with...)
Value – ✮✮✮✭

Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - Taqueria 3 Hermanos, 1122 1st St, Napa, California

Here's something a little different for Thank Friday It's Lunchtime!

While in California for Christmas, we spent a pleasant day touring and wine-tasting in the Napa Valley.  My sister's son, The Nephew, was our driver and had planned our itinerary for the day.  He had even come up with some suggestions for lunch, one of which was Taqueria 3 Hermanos in Napa.  It was recommended by some of the wine-touring sites, and to be honest when we heard "Mexican" we all said Yes Please!

We made our way into Napa, figured out where the restaurant was, parked the Minibus and made our way back to it on foot.

The exterior could be described as "modest" and to be honest the interior should be described as "basic" - a couple of tables on either side of the square room, a TV in one corner and a counter where you place your order in another corner, with the kitchen area in full view behind it.  It's located in a little square in the middle of the town with a couple of bigger and posher eateries nearby, but I am beginning to understand that "bigger and posher" does not necessarily mean better.

Having just left a winery, we steered clear of the alcohol on offer, although I have to say the very best thing to have with Mexican food (and Indian food for that matter) is beer.  I was tempted by the Dos Equis, but only momentarily - I needed a clear head for the rest of the day's wine-tasting!

You place your order at the counter, take a number, help yourself to cutlery, water and salsa, then sit down and wait to be served.  Fast food, basically - it was served within five minutes of us sitting down.  

I ordered the Chicken Nachos Special.  It was very tasty, not too spicy for my sensitive Irish palate, but there was a wide range of salsas available to spice things up for those who wanted to be more adventurous.  On the downside, the nachos went soggy quickly and the guacamole was a bit bland, but on the whole I was happy with it.

Special Nachos with Chicken

The YD ordered a vegetable burrito.  The burritos in Taqueria 3 Hermanos were the biggest I've ever seen - giant rolls of spicy goodness!  The vegetarian version was packed with beans, rice, sweetcorn, rice, lettuce, rice, tomatoes, rice, salsa and rice.  Very tasty, but very, very filling.  It's probably the perfect lunch for a vegetarian who has been toiling in the vineyards all morning, but it was too much for my petite YD, who only managed to eat half of it.  Too much rice, she said.  Really?

Veg burrito

The Nephew, our trusty driver and tour-guide for the day, had the Super Burrito with beef.  This was even bigger than the YD's veggy burrito and it had proportionately less rice in it.  The Nephew was happy with it, anyway, as was the Brother-in-Law, who also ordered it.

Super Burrito

Another Super Burrito.  All it needs is red underpants and a cape...

My sister ordered a Chicken Chimichanga, which was a little more dainty than the giant burritos.   It came with lettuce and salsa on the side, all of which went down well.

Chimichanga

 The LSH ordered the Super Burrito 49er with Beef.  This burrito came with The Works - tomato sauce poured over it, melted cheese on top with salsa, lettuce, guacamole and sour cream all crammed onto the plate beside it.  He managed to eat it all.  He's a growing boy, after all.

Super Burrito 49er

The main courses all worked out somewhere between $7/8$ per head.  None of us went for starters or dessert - thank goodness, I think we would have exploded - but I reckon that $8 (€6) was amazing value.  Yeah, the ambiance was very Fast Food, but the food itself was excellent.

We waddled back to the Minibus and carried on to the next vineyard.  Strangely, those wines were our least favourite of the day.  Hmm, perhaps the spicy food killed our sensitive wine-tasting palates.  Oh well, it was worth it!

Food – ✮✮✮✮

Service – ✮✮✮✮

Ambiance – ✮

Value – ✮✮✮✮✮

Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - Auberge Pierry, Reillanne

We have pledged to visit a different hostelry in the locale every Friday for the next year and bring to you, our passionately interested readers, our rating and assessment of each and every one.

Yes.  It's a restaurant review.

We have two rules :

1. If there is a Plat du Jour (special of the day) one of us must order it

2. Rule one does not apply if the Plat du Jour is Andouillette.

(Andouillette is basically intestines wrapped up in a sausage skin.  I've never eaten it, but the LSH has resolutely tried it a couple of times, trying to figure out what the French see in it.  The last time, I sat in between the LSH and the ED as they both sampled andouillette in the Café du Cours in Reillanne.  The waiter had extolled its virtues, and convinced them that it was "very, very special."  I might as well have been sitting in a cowhouse - that's what it smelt like.  Both of them tried hard to like it, that day, and both agreed it was in a lovely sauce, but it still ..um.. tasted like it smelled.)

So, no, thank you France, you make great food, but we're steering clear of the andouillette from now on.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Auberge Pierry is very close to our home base.  It's located right on the N100, so it's very handy for anyone who's travelling from Avignon to Forcalquier, say.  We had heard that it had a solid lunch trade, so we were expecting quite a few other diners and were a bit disappointed to find that there was only one other table occupied the day we visited.

I opted for the €14.50 Menu du Midi (lunch time special) : Salade de Crudites, Rôti de Porcelet and a choice of desserts.  The LSH went for the Menu Provençal, at €18.50, which gave a few more options, but he chose Tartare de Chèvre, Lapin à la Provençale and the same dessert options.

We've eaten in Auberge Pierry before, when it was under different management, and felt that while the food was good, the whole place had a very bare feel.  The new management have tried to address this, with curtains hung over doorways, a grey decor throughout, a cosy fire blazing away on one side of the room and a couch, coffe table and a couple of arm-chairs beside the fire.  It needs a little more colour, in my opinion, the grey is a bit bland, but it does feel less cathedral-like.

The starters arrived quickly, along with a small basket of bread.  The Tartare de Chèvre was basically a wodge of goats cheese, nicely presented on a bed of salad, garnished with a couple of pieces of crispy pancetta.

Tartare de Chèvre

The Salade of Crudites was a fairly similar salad, with a few hard-boiled eggs and some grated carrot added.  Both came with a nice, light dressing, and both were excellent.  The endive (chicory) arranged around the outside of the plates was particularly nice - it's in season at the moment and had none of the bitterness it can have when it starts to get old.

Salade de Crudites

My Rôti de Porcelet (roast piglet!) came in a red wine sauce and was served with Tagliatelle.  I seem to be destined to eat pasta at our lunches!  In this case, there was less pasta on the plate than last week, which suited me fine but might not suit a big MAN appetite quite so well!  This was really tasty, possibly a little on the salty side, but that's a personal taste thing, I suppose.

Rôti de Porcelet

The Lapin Provençal (Provençal style Rabbit) was a bit lighter than my main course and came with jumbo potato wedges.  This was also delicious, in fact it was possibly a little more delicious than the Porcelet.
Hmm, I think the LSH chose the better starter AND main course!

Lapin Provençale

Finally, dessert.  The LSH ordered Tuile à Lavande, served with ice-cream.  The Tuile is the biscuity thing.  It was beautifully presented, we both agreed it looked like a sail-boat with its spinnaker up, cruising along!  It tasted as good as it looked, too, and the ice-cream was yummy too - a nice grown-up kind of flavour (but neither of us can remember what it actually was, oops).

Tuiles à Lavande

I went for a light dessert (I'm still trying to shake off a few more kgs) of Faisselle with honey.  Faisselle is a fresh cheese - I think it's best described as being half-way between yoghurt and cream cheese, it's really light to eat, with a yoghurty tang to it.  They were very different desserts, both were excellent, but I think I preferred mine, it was just a bit lighter.

Faisselle & Coffee

Two coffees and a glass of white wine each brought the total bill up to €40.  I have to say that the Menu du Midi is excellent value.  Although we didn't get as much food as we did at the Buffet de la Gare, what we were served was much better quality - top class food at a bargain price, if you stick to the set meal.

Star Rating (out of 5) :

Service : ✮✮✮✮✮

Food : ✮✮✮✮✮

Value : ✮✮✮✮

Ambiance : ✮✮✮✮ Unfortunately with only one other table occupied, it felt a little bare.  It must be lovely in the summer, though, there is a very large terrace with plenty of shade where one can relax out of the sun.

Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - Le Cigaloun, Manosque

We have pledged to visit a different hostelry in the locale every Friday for the next year and bring to you, our passionately interested readers, our rating and assessment of each and every one.

Yes.  It's a restaurant review.

We have two rules :

1. If there is a Plat du Jour (special of the day) one of us must order it

2. Rule one does not apply if the Plat du Jour is Andouillette.

(Andouillette is basically intestines wrapped up in a sausage skin.  I've never eaten it, but the LSH has resolutely tried it a couple of times, trying to figure out what the French see in it.  The last time, I sat in between the LSH and the ED as they both sampled andouillette in the Café du Cours in Reillanne.  The waiter had extolled its virtues, and convinced them that it was "very, very special."  I might as well have been sitting in a cowhouse - that's what it smelt like.  Both of them tried hard to like it, that day, and both agreed it was in a lovely sauce, but it still ..um.. tasted like it smelled.)

So, no, thank you France, you make great food, but we're steering clear of the andouillette from now on.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

This week, we headed towards the nearby town of Manosque.  Our destination was Le Cigaloun, in the Old Town part of Manosque.   I've never been to the old part of Manosque before, although the LSH has spent some time there, wandering around with his camera, taking some shots.  Me, I tend to just drive through the town on the way to the Autoroute or on the way to the supermarket, and have never particularly liked the place.

Having seen the Old Town, though, I've been doing Manosque an injustice.  It's very quaint and inviting, with lots of narrow winding streets and interesting looking shops.  Le Cigaloun is a café located in the main square, with plenty of tables outside for the sunny days, and plenty of trees, too - so essential for shade during the hot summer months.

The inside is bright, clean and modern.  We settled ourselves at a table for two and looked at the menu.  The LSH decided to opt for the Plat du Jour - Rôti de Porc, served with a salad and braised endives (chicory) on the side, while I was tempted by the idea of tagliatelle with cèpes (boletus mushroom).  We also ordered a glass of wine each, white for the LSH and rosé for me, which we sipped while we waited.

  

The Rôti de Porc was totally not what we expected - it was more like ham, but served cold, with a strong, garlicky sauce.

Rôti de porc

Lost in translation, or a regional difference?  Whatever, it was very tasty, if a little strange to be eating cold meat with a warm sauce.  The endive was excellent - I do a variation of this dish, but it's very different, and it's nice to try another version.  The salad was good, and the chips (which were extra) were ok.

The tagliatelle looked like... well it looked like...

Tagliatelle au cèpes

...well never mind what it looked like, it tasted delicious!  I loooove my mushrooms!

Dessert was next - I ordered Tarte au Framboises (Raspberry Tart) and the LSH ordered Tiramisu.  Both were great, they had it all - eye appeal and flavour!

Tarte au Framboise

Tiramisu

Two coffees finished off the meal, and we left just about an hour after we arrived, pleasantly stuffed.  The cost for the meal was just under €38, or €19 each - not cheap, but I suppose you pay for the surroundings and the food itself was good.

Star Rating (out of 5) :

Service : ✮✮✮✮✮

Food : ✮✮✮✮ (The food tasted very good - I'm not sure you can make a plate of pasta look more interesting!)

Value : ✮✮✮ 

Ambiance : ✮✮✮✮ (More sophisticated than your typical little Provençal Café)

All in all, a very pleasant little café where you can enjoy good food and good service, although it's not one of those places you will walk away from saying "I can't believe it was so cheap!!"

Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - Buffet de la Gare, Manosque

We have pledged to visit a different hostelry in the locale every Friday for the next year and bring to you, our passionately interested readers, our rating and assessment of each and every one.

Yes.  It's a restaurant review.

We have two rules :

1. If there is a Plat du Jour (special of the day) one of us must order it

2. Rule one does not apply if the Plat du Jour is Andouillette.

(Andouillette is basically intestines wrapped up in a sausage skin.  I've never eaten it, but the LSH has resolutely tried it a couple of times, trying to figure out what the French see in it.  The last time, I sat in between the LSH and the ED as they both sampled andouillette in the Café du Cours in Reillanne.  The waiter had extolled its virtues, and convinced them that it was "very, very special."  I might as well have been sitting in a cowhouse - that's what it smelt like.  Both of them tried hard to like it, that day, and both agreed it was in a lovely sauce, but it still ..um.. tasted like it smelled.)

So, no, thank you France, you make great food, but we're steering clear of the andouillette from now on.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

So far, we've found excellent food at Chez Eric in Montfuron and excellent value at the Café de France in Céreste.  Now we just have to find a place that combines the two...

On the recommendation of a friend, our next destination was the Buffet de la Gare in Manosque.

It's located literally straight across the road from the Gare de Manosque - Gréoux-les-bains, which is also a stop for many regional and inter-regional buses.

We sat under the awning at the front of the building, and there was a steady stream of heavy vehicles the whole time we were there.  So, not an idyllic or picturesque Provençal location, no.

However, they offer a lunch menu for €14... for starter, main course, cheese, dessert and coffee... 5 COURSES!
Oh yes, and there's a half bottle of wine per person thrown in as well!
Let's just go over that again... starter, main course, cheese, dessert, coffee and wine - for €14!  Well, you can't go wrong, can you?  We both ordered the "menu," sat back and waited to be fed.
NB in France, if you ask for the Menu, you will be given the "Meal of the Day."  If you want the menu, ask for the Carte.

The starter was Tomato á la Russe, which turned out to be half a beef tomato, covered with peas and haricots in mayonnaise (this is the "á la Russe" bit), sitting on a bed of lettuce and grated carrot, served with a sliced up baguette.  Ok, they were prepared some time beforehand and I'm guessing that the "á la Russe" bit came out of a tin and, but it was perfectly edible.

The main course was braised pork, served with gnocchi and mediterranean vegetables (tomato and aubergine).  I liked the fact that the bread was not whisked away after the starter, and it was useful to mop up some of the juice from the meat.  The meat was well cooked and tasty, but very plain.  The gnocchi tasted fine but were a bit rubbery in texture and almost certainly came out of a packet, but at €14 for the meal, who's complaining?

So that's two courses down, now let's see what the cheese course is...

Oh.  Well.  Ok, it was cheese - a foil wrapped triangle of brie.  The bread was still on the table, and it came in handy once again as a vehicle for the cheese.
Again, nothing special, and we're not going to be extolling the virtues of the cheeseboard at the Buffet de la Gare, but there was nothing wrong with it, either.

Next up was Dessert!  I ordered panacotta with fruit and the LSH ordered apple pie.  There was also an ice-cream option.
Well, the panacotta was clearly out of a packet and didn't have the best eye appeal, but, actually, it tasted pretty good.  The apple pie looked a bit more attractive and also tasted pretty good.
We finished up with two coffees (no confusion about double espressos here) and left, full and happy, just fifty minutes after we sat down.

Is this the definition of French Fast Food?

Star Rating (out of 5) :

Service : ✮✮✮✮✮ (prompt and efficient)

Food : ✮✮✮ (The food was basic but well-prepared)

Value : ✮✮✮✮✮ (Outstanding.  I would give six stars if I could!)

Ambiance : ✮✮ (The interior was nice, toilets were clean etc, but it's not a great location, I'd imagine it's pretty hectic in the summer)

You won't get Haute Cuisine at the Buffet de la Gare, but you will get a hearty meal, served quickly, in relaxed surroundings.  If you're a back-packing student, or you're simply touring Provençe on a budget and want to get stuffed (and nicely mellow thanks to the wine) at lunchtime in Manosque, look up the Buffet de la Gare.  If you've just arrived into Manosque on a bus or a train at lunchtime and need to grab a bite to eat, walk across the road to the Buffet de la Gare and get your meal PLUS your half bottle of wine for €14.  I don't think you will do better than this!

Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - Café de France, Céreste

We have pledged to visit a different hostelry in the locale every Friday for the next year and bring to you, our passionately interested readers, our rating and assessment of each and every one.

Yes.  It's a restaurant review.

We have two rules :

1. If there is a Plat du Jour (special of the day) one of us must order it

2. Rule one does not apply if the Plat du Jour is Andouillette.

(Andouillette is basically intestines wrapped up in a sausage skin.  I've never eaten it, but the LSH has resolutely tried it a couple of times, trying to figure out what the French see in it.  The last time, I sat in between the LSH and the ED as they both sampled andouillette in the Café du Cours in Reillanne.  The waiter had extolled its virtues, and convinced them that it was "very, very special."  I might as well have been sitting in a cowhouse - that's what it smelt like.  Both of them tried hard to like it, that day, and both agreed it was in a lovely sauce, but it still ..um.. tasted like it smelled.)

So, no, thank you France, you make great food, but we're steering clear of the andouillette from now on.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

We are very familiar with Céreste, having spent three months of last winter there, and we are looking forward to re-visiting our favourite eateries there, all in the interest of research, you understand.  

The Café de France was the LSH's favourite place to go for a cup of coffee to take a break from work.  It's a modern but basic café, situated on the (busy) main street, with tables and chairs outside which catch the winter sun very well.  They've always served food of some sort, but at the moment, the chef/manager from another bar up the street is working there.  His own premises suffered damage in a fire just before we got here, and he seems to have come to some arrangement with the owners of this place.  Keen to support him when times are bad, we decided that the Café de France would be our next TGIL venue.

The sun was beaming down, it was a cosy 15C, so we (the LSH, Granny and I) settled ourselves at an outside table and indicated we were going to eat.  There was a Plat du Jour, of Salmon fillet with tagliatelle, but I fully expected to be offered something else as well.  However, something got lost in translation, because after setting our table, filling our water glasses and enquiring if we wanted anything to drink, three plates of Salmon Fillet with Tagliatelle in a lemon cream sauce were brought to the table.

Now I'm not great at eating fish, but it seemed churlish to send it back, so the three of us tucked in.

It was simple but tasty, the salmon was nicely cooked, with a good texture, the sauce was magnifique!  The baguette was warm and mopped up the leftover sauce very well indeed.  The only negative was that some of my pasta was not quite cooked.

We had a choice of desserts, Tarte Normande - an open apple pie - or Coulant au Chocolat, a chocolate pudding with a gooey, sticky inside.  Granny and I had the Tarte Normande and the LSH had the Coulant au Chocolate.  The tarte was good, served with a little Chantilly creme on the side and with a little caramel sauce.  The coulant was the winner though, the LSH said it was the best he's had, and he's tried it in a few places!

(photo from recipesallworld.blogspot.com)

We all had coffee to finish, served with those skinny Speculos biscuits that I love.

This lunch was typical of many cafés in France, simple food, well presented, and great value.  The cost for a main course and dessert was €12 per person, and the coffee was €1.50.

Star Rating (out of 5) :

Service : ✮✮✮✮✮ (prompt and efficient, despite being quite busy)

Food : ✮✮✮ (The food was good but not outstanding and I had to take off a star for the undercooked pasta)

Value : ✮✮✮✮✮ (I don't know if we will find better value, but we'll enjoy trying)

Ambiance : ✮✮✮✮ (very pleasant sitting in the sun, but I know the inside is not as nice)

Highly recommended if you're traveling along the N100 between Apt and Forcalquier at lunchtime on a sunny day.  They also do a good panini.

Thank Friday it's Lunchtime - Chez Eric, Montfuron

We have pledged to visit a different hostelry in the locale every Friday for the next year and bring to you, our passionately interested readers, our rating and assessment of each and every one.

Yes.  It's a restaurant review.

We have two rules :
1. If there is a Plat du Jour (special of the day) one of us must order it
2. Rule one does not apply if the Plat du Jour is Andouillette.

(Andouillette is basically intestines wrapped up in a sausage skin.  I've never eaten it, but the LSH has resolutely tried it a couple of times, trying to figure out what the French see in it.  The last time, I sat in between the LSH and the ED as they both sampled andouillette in the Café du Cours in Reillanne.  The waiter had extolled its virtues, and convinced them that it was "very, very special."  I might as well have been sitting in a cowhouse - that's what it smelt like.  Both of them tried hard to like it, that day, and both agreed it was in a lovely sauce, but it still ..um.. tasted like it smelled.)

So, no, thank you France, you make great food, but we're steering clear of the andouillette from now on.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Our very first venue for TFIL is Chez Eric, in Montfuron, a couple of miles from our house in Les Granons.

Montfuron is a tiny village perched on top of the eastern end of the Luberon massif, looking out over the valley of the once-mighty Durance river.  I'm sure it's crazy busy in the summer, but at this time of the year, it's a sleepy little place, consisting of a village square with a cluster of stone built houses surrounding it.  There's also a gentle urban sprawl, which stretches as far as the ruined chateau above the heart of the village to the West and reaches out to the restored Mill to the North.

Chez Eric is in the corner of a house jutting into the village square.  It has a lovely terrace built right into the square, but the day we visited, it was raining heavily, so the terrace was deserted.

The LSH dropped Granny and I just outside the restaurant and we went in, while he parked the Jeep.  My first impression was "this is much posher than I expected!"  It has a very modest exterior, which doesn't prepare you for the smartly dressed waiting staff or the tastefully decorated interior.

Posher also meant more expensive than I expected - a three course lunch sets you back €28.  There was no Plat du Jour, so we went for the main course + dessert option, at a hefty €25 per head.

We were unlucky in that we arrived just after a table of twelve, so it took the staff a while before they even got menus to us.  Apart from that, though, the service was excellent - attentive, but not unctuously so.

The wine list was - well, I don't know that I've ever seen a wine list like this before.  It was like a cross between a phone book and a large family photo album.

We did the cheap thing and went for a glass each of the house rosé.  The fantastic wine list was kinda wasted on us, really.

Wine list

Menu

For our entrées, I went for Carré d'Agneau - it was delicious, very rare but really tender.  Granny went for Filet de Boeuf, which came sitting on a slice of braised tongue.  The fillet was tasty but not so tender - she had some trouble cutting it with her arthitic hands - but the tongue was excellent, tasty and very tender.  The LSH had Joue de cochon - pigs cheeks, and I think it was the Winner of the Day, absolutely delicious, melt-in-the-mouth tender, with a yummy gravy as well.

Filet de Boeuf

Joue de Cochon

Carré d'Agneau

The LSH and I went for Tarte au Figues for dessert - it was a winner, too!  Served with a very good vanilla ice cream and a home-made Speculos biscuit, all with a light caramel sauce dribbled over the top.  Granny had Baba au Rhum, which was much bigger than we all expected, but despite its size, it was very, very light and not at all filling.

Tarte au Figues 

Baba au Rhum, the rum was on the side,
to be poured on as required

We finished off with coffee, an espresso for me and a double espresso for the LSH.  This wasn't quite what he was expected, it was more like a triple or quadruple espresso :

Espresso on right, Double Espresso on left

With iPhone for scale!

(He always asks for a Double Espresso, but there is a huge variety in what he actually receives.  The funniest happened in Morristown, NJ, when he stopped into a coffee-shop near the company offices and asked for a double espresso.  The young lad serving disappeared for ages and eventually came back with the "Double Espresso" - in a 64oz (1.8 litre) cup!!  Surely you'd have a heart attack if you drank that much coffee in one go!)

But back to Chez Eric.  The bill came to €30 per head when the wine and coffee were added on.  To be fair, Chez Eric is not a typical Provençal café, it's a gourmet restaurant, and is priced accordingly.  It's worth splashing out there for a special occasion, but there's better value to be found for a once-a-week treat, or indeed for a tourist lunch.

Star Rating (out of 5) :

Service : ✮✮✮✮ (they dropped one for being slow to get to us at the start)
Food : ✮✮✮✮ (Granny's steak being a wee bit tough lost them a star)
Value : ✮✮✮ (my initial reaction was 2 stars, but I'll be generous)
Ambiance : ✮✮✮✮ (very nice, but I think we will find better)