On Saturday, Mr Piglet, Baby Piglet and I descended on the in laws in Provence as we were going to a concert in nearby Vaison La Romaine and had persuaded Mr Piglet’s Mum to babysit and me to leave Baby Piglet for the evening.
Even though we had lived with them for three months and I had tried to eat my way through all the local restaurants and gourmet stops, there were still some stones left unturned. One of which we got to try on Saturday lunch time, the fabulous L et Lui restaurant in Saint Paul Troix Chateaux.
I’m quite a foodie but I’m also very conservative and have been known for always choosing the “safe” option. I appreciate good food but am often left disappointed in restaurants which has led to me spending more time cooking at home than eating out.
L et Lui had caught my eye whilst I was staying with my inlaws earlier this year. I was fascinated by the terrace that was hidden behind a red wall and by the blackboard outside announcing that there was “no menu”. What could this mean?
My investigations enabled me to discover that the food served was seasonal and changed daily according to what vegetables and produce was available. Whilst pregnant I wasn’t keen, fresh produce was of no interest to me as I was only attracted to ice cream and junk food, plus I had eaten far more leaks and seasonal produce between February and April than I ever cared for so tempted I was not.
Come the summer however I was keen to eat out and now that Baby Piglet is keeping more sociable hours last weekend was the ideal opportunity.
I was delighted to discover the garden, beautifully shaded by a variety of trees, offering a secluded, calm space within the town. Private and cool, despite the 30 degrees Celsius on the thermometer.
The waitress gave each of us a menu, which I opened to see a list of drinks and some text explaining that in fact there was no menu. Perplexed, I wondered what this meant and I looked around to see if there was a blackboard. Just in time the waitress came back and asked each of us if there were any foods we didn’t like or were allergic to.
A short while later she came back with an amuse bouche to whet our appetites:
The tastes were truly amazing and even though it felt like I was eating grass and I was very skeptical I was surprised how each item was like an explosion of flavour in my mouth. The disavantage of not having a menu is that you have to have a good memory to remember what you ate (or write it down) and unfortunately I have neither a good memory or the forethought to write things down before I forget. I think some of the herbs we ate were mustard and garlic but have no idea on the others.
After we had a salad and watermelon:
The salad was courgettes with raviolis and apricot dressing with some herbs that I can no longer remember what they were and the watermelon was a watermelon and red pepper juice. They were absolutely delicious!
The main course was seabass with boulgar and the dessert was a type of Panna Cotta. By the time the main course was served I was totally engrossed with the food and savours that I forgot to take any more photos!
I wasn’t too keen on the panna cotta dessert but I’m not a great fan of Panna Cotta at the best of times.
The three course menu was 27 Euros or you could have two courses for 22 Euros. Given the freshness of the produce and the variety of flavours as well as the fact that most of the produce came from the owners garden I was very impressed. The food was as good as some of the Michelin starred restaurants I had eaten in for a fraction of the price! A definite recommendation if you should be nearby.
Do you like to try different foods when you eat out or do you prefer sticking to the “safe” options?
It sounds wonderful. Even if you don’t remember what herbs were used and that you forgot to take photos! I haven’t had a chance to get up that far, but when I do, it’s on my list. Thanks Piglet! And here’s to your night out!
LOL! I will have to go back and try some more for the sake of this blog… afterall, how am I meant to make your mouths water if I can’t tell you what I ate or show photos?
If you do get chance to go that far it’s definitely an area worth discovering 🙂
That sounds a lovely evening, and I agree with you about restaurants – they are often disappointing.
When I go out I make a point of eating dishes which I wouldn’t do myself either because the boys don’t like it so I won’t do it for one, or it’s too expensive. I also try anything that isn’t horsemeat, frogs legs or tuna.
At my most recent dinner out, at a paillote at Palavas, I had gambas, and before that, I shared a menu of mixed planches. Neither was disappointing, but both restaurants are tried and true favourites of either me or my friend.
I like being able to go to restaurants and taste dishes based on recommendation, unfortunately no-one in my circles seems to like food as much as I do 😦
Have been to Palavas once and had a dreadful meal, how I wish I’d had the address of where you went. I love gambas!
Only been to a “no menu” restaurant once, and it was also a wonderful experience! I’m not the best chef, so having a professional cook what goes well together and play with the flavors was very educational. Your blog reminds me we should get a babysitter one night and repeat the experience!
Do get a babysitter and go! I’m glad the concept exists elsewhere, I love it! Hopefully it will catch on and we will see lots of new talented chefs!
I love having nice food cooked for me, I just don’t have the budget to go to nice places hence why I often end up with food that I could have cooked better at home 😦
How lovely! TBH I love the concept! Keeps the menu fresh and exciting and by the sounds of things the chef’s enthusiasm was on good form too as they couldn’t get bored!
Let’s go next time we’re down! You’d love it!
I lile ths concept, but I also fall in love wth certain plates and get disappointed when can’t have it when I crave it.
I know what you mean, I love veal milanese and once made Mr Piglet drive to 3 different restaurants before I found one that served it!
This is part of me being adventurous I guess, I love the concept now but maybe that’s because I like the produce that’s currently in season?
Sounds wonderful! Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux is not very far from our house in Sablet and we will definitely do a road trip to try it out when we return in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing your meal with us.
Do try it Michel, it’s lovely! I do hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Have you ever visited the market on a Tuesday morning? It’s lovely during the summer. Plus the old church is worth a visit (I got married there!), the organ is very old, I can’t quite remember how old but it was very special.
I would have loved that!
I like to eat things i can’t cook myself, and try new tastes and I’d just about given up going out when we lived in France.
Now I have Argentinian and Peruvian food to try….not to speak of Caribbean….but all with menus, though a friend tells me of a ‘slow food’ restaurant on a finca the other side of the Central Valley that does a ‘no menu, fresh on the day’ lunch…so I’m keen to try.
I envy you and your adventures! I love Caribbean food so much, I am a huge fan and so far have enjoyed the South American food I have tasted. French food is beginning to get a bit “old” for me, hence why I enjoyed this restaurant so much.
I must admit i always stick to the ‘safe’ option when eating out of having takeaways but for some mad reason when my son was a baby we left him with his auntie and went to a fabulous restaurant where i had pigeon and red peppers in a basket, it was amazing. never been so brave since.
Son is now 19!
LOL! You must try! I used to go for the safe option as well and then started challenging myself. Next time you go to a restaurant why not think back to how much you enjoyed that pigeon and be daring? Having said that, I’m not sure I would order pigeon!
I dont know what came over me either, i dont even eat duck because i like them alive too much!
But i will try to have something different in future, well sometimes Lol