A meal at this warm, relaxed auberge will leave you feeling as though you have family in Provence.
Brigitte Pizzecco lovingly cooks traditional homestyle
Proven�al dishes like a sublime soupe au pistou, brimming with fresh
vegetables and arriving with a fragrant floating swirl of fresh pesto;
rabbit
in aspic with tarragon; rack of lamb; and a superb a�oli, which is of course
one of the greatest classics of southern French cooking. Here it comes as
snowy salt cod, boiled potatoes, zucchini, carrots, and occasionally
artichokes with a side of freshly made, bright yellow a�oli, or garlic
mayonnaise. Hugely popular with the locals, this place is the real McCoy and
the atmosphere is of hearty good times. So don't come expecting a decorating-
magazine version of Provence. Instead, you'll encounter something rather more
fulfilling � the generosity and bonhomie that made the region so popular to
begin with.
Based in a recently constructed auberge on the outskirts of Lourmarin, one of the prettiest villages in Provence,
Reine Sammut is one of the best known female chefs in France.
Her contemporary dining room, with gently vaulted ceiling,
brilliantly arranged tables (you almost never face anyone but the people you're dining with),
a small fountain, and red and yellow slip-covered chairs, is a fine setting for her delicious food,
cooked in a personal style that falls somewhere between bistro and haute cuisine.
Sammut likes authoritative flavors but can also be subtle and nostalgic; her family is originally from Tunisia but she grew up in France's eastern Vosges region.
To begin, try the powerfully rich and ruddy shellfish soup with tortelloni stuffed with eel,
or the fluffy gnocchi with summer vegetables and strips of bacon.
A la recherche du temps perdu, she serves a main course entitled
loup "complete" in the style of La Goulette, which is a seaside suburb of Tunis;
it translates to a beautifully roasted piece of sea bass garnished with deep-fried zucchini flowers, a poached egg, and red peppers.
The "petit melon" of lamb is a treat, too: a ball of lamb slow-roasted for seven hours and served with caponata, or Sicilian-style roast eggplant and capers.
There are some superb Gigondas on the very good wine list, which is run by a very able sommelier.
Within the last five years, the Pourcel twins, the two-star chefs at Le Jardin
Nestled just behind the Palais des Papes, or old papal palace in the ancient heart of Avignon,
La Mirande, a former cardinal's residence, is one of the most beautiful hotels in France.
Whether you're seated in the tapestry-hung dining room under massive beams or
in the graveled garden filled with heirloom roses and lavender,
a meal here is an unfailing pleasure and a welcome relief from the tourist throngs.
Chef Jerome Verriere produces a classical southern French menu that corresponds perfectly to the refined surroundings.
Try his terrine of lobster and roasted tomatoes or maybe the crabmeat with violette
mustard to start, and then go with the saut�ed langoustines with vegetables
pickled with basil, turbot with grilled asparagus and jabugo ham in Parmesan
sauce, or rack of lamb roasted with fresh thyme. Desserts are superb, too,
including the chocolate soup with baby bananas and the saut�ed fresh cherries in season.
Add to that impeccable service and a superb wine list, including some very well-priced Ch�teauneuf-du-Papes.
This simple restaurant in the handsome village of Curcuron has become known
This very popular bistro in an old bakery built into a cliffside grotto in
Bonnieux is the last word in rustic chic, as befits its location in the
Luberon, the French equivalent of the Hamptons. A recent redecorating has
given it a sleek modern look that has some of the locals referring to the
place as Chez Flintstones (i.e., a space-age look for a cave dwelling).
What makes it memorable, though, is that the food's delicious and the service
attentive and friendly. The prix-fixe menu is an excellent buy in a pricey
region, too, with a changes-daily offer that runs to starters like mille-
feuille of eggplant and tomato, or saut�ed baby squid served on salad,
followed by main dishes such as duckling roasted with figs in pear juice or a
veal chop with seasonal vegetables. Finish up with the delicious fig tart with
a cinnamon crust or selection of goat cheeses � fresh, salted, herbed, and rolled in ashes.
From a list with many great southern French bottles, the La Vieille Ferme Cote du Ventoux red is easy drinking at a gentle price.
Note that there's a very pleasant terrace out front for warm summer nights, and that reservations are essential.
Sitting on antique folding wooden chairs and sipping chilled ros� wine under
dappled plane trees at this popular restaurant, it's easy to let a whole
afternoon drift by. Located in one of the more charming towns in Provence,
this is a straw-hat type of place, the kind of restaurant where a long list of
errands suddenly vanishes on a warm sunny day and the important thing becomes
enjoying the company of friends over good, homestyle Proven�al food and easy-
drinking wines. Chef Daniel Hebet does a market menu that runs to salads,
terrines, and baked vegetables to start, followed perhaps by roast lamb or
cheese-filled ravioli in pesto sauce. Hebet formerly cooked at La Mirande in
Avignon, which explains the occasional haute cuisine flourish you find in his
appealing country cooking. Very popular with local antique dealers, so be sure
to book, especially if you want a table on the terrace outside.
This handsome old stone mill near the ch�teau at the edge of this beautiful
village was renovated in the '70s with mixed results, but the dining room has
an appropriate rusticity and is a pleasant setting for the racy creativity of
chef Edouard Loubet. Monsieur Loubet was much marked by the time he spent
cooking with three-star chef Marc Veyrat, and this shows in his bold use of
herbs, including herbal essences, and affection for vegetables, most of which
come from a large garden out back. He has some good ideas � the duo of foie
gras (fresh and saut�ed in a carmelized pine-cone-scented sauce and then in
terrine with green-tomato jam) is delicious, as is his rack of Sisteron lamb
served in a large cast-iron casserole filled with smoldering thyme, rosemary,
and other herbs and accompanied by grandmother's gratin (potatoes, garlic,
leeks, and duckling roasted with cedar bark). Sometimes things become
overcomplicated, like an astringent herb soup with snails, which was fussy and
false-tasting, as though too much herbal essence had been added to boost the
flavor. So order the simpler dishes where he's found an appetizing truce
between the impulse to be sophisticated and the country setting, and don't
miss the pumpkin cake for dessert.