The South of France

Six days in the South of France: a hole in the wall in Nice, a starred restaurant near Monaco, other special Nice restaurants and a visit to a tiny town near Avignon.

My six day vacation prior to foot surgery was in Nice and in Provence. My friend, Simona, lives in Nice and we met the first afternoon to dine at La Zucca Magica. This is a lovely vegetarian restaurant at the port. There are no choices: you are served a five-course meal. This is what we had: court bouillion de legumes with a ricotta flan flavored with safran and zestes de citron--lovely; courgettes de pays farcis de pesto et fromage: sandwich d'aubergine, parfumé de vinaigre balsamique; cannelloni of red peppers, olives, smoked scamorza, shallots and tomatoes; and a lovely tarte aux fraises. It was a copious, delightful meal. Although this restaurant is not in the Guide Michelin, it was written up in the New York Times several months ago. It is very famous and quite popular among the Nicois.

The night before, I had chosen to go to a one-star restaurant run by a Japanese chef. The name of the place is Keisuke Matsushima (name of the chef). Everyone who works there is Japanese and so I spoke to them in Japanese, of course. They have a 35 euro menu but everything you would want to order comes with a supplement so I chose the 60 euro omakase (chef's choice). I started with a parmesan macaron served with summer truffles. The first course was a soupe de courgettes with trompettes de la mort (a wild mushroom). Next was a risotto de courgettes, morilles, and Iberian ham--this was a terrific dish. I go crazy for morilles. The fish course was rouget with a purée of chic peas and a sauté of three different colored sweet peppers. And the main course was gigot d'agneau with basil, lardons and baby vegetables. With each dish came a wine to bring out the flavor of both. At the end, I was so full that I chose a salade de fruits exotiques. With the coffee came pine-nut financiers(small almond cakes). I had a very good meal at this restaurant.

Perhaps one of the most famous places in Nice is Merenda. Of all things, the restaurant has no phone. It is small so that reservations are required. You can either pass by and reserve or write a letter. They do honor your reservation either way. The kitchen is in the diningroom and there are only low stools at small tables. The food is delicious, provençale, seasonal, and cheap. I started with beignets of fleurs de courgette, and then a wonderful dish of saucisses aux lentils. With a half-bottle of a simple Côtes de Provence, I was in heaven. The dinner came to 35 euros.

The next day, I took a taxi up into the hills near Monaco. We drove on the Moyenne Corniche until we arrived at La Turbie and the Hostellerie de Jérôme. This place had been recommended to me by a Japanese foodie and I have always wanted to go there. It is a beautiful little restaurant with a pretty terrace surrounded by flowers. I had a lovely dinner there: classic cuisine but perfectly prepared and served with delicious wines. As they say, I would return in a heartbeat. True to form, the people outside of Paris treat their dinner guests like royalty but are friendly at the same time. At this hostellerie, the maître d'hôtel was very warm but also pleasantly formal. One of the amuse-bouches was also one of the best things I tasted that evening: a chausson de canard aux mousserons (wild mushrooms)served with a cream sauce of mousserons. It is like a braised duck envelope and the pastry dough and meat are both succulent and wonderfully flavorful. It is a grande classique de la maison house specialty).

My appetizer was a beautiful steamed 1/2 lobster served just warm with apricots--a very light dish. I think I would have preferred more of a substantial sauce. This was really very light. However, it was just the thing to introduce my rich main course: ris de veau croustillés, green asparagus, truffles, comté and large cèpes. (See the photo.) This dish was served with a creamy mashed potato dish that only the French can transform into a dish for a king. I marked in my book that this dish was FAB!!!! with several hearts. It is rare that I don't order sweetbreads when they are on the menu, and this preparation was particularly memorable.

After this wonderful meal, the dessert followed in style. I had a tarte aux pêches that were roasted with verbena served with a delicious verbena ice cream. This modern pairing of peach with verbena has become a grand classic in French cuisine and is also a favorite of mine. I was so impressed by the restaurant that I sent my friend who recommended it a thank you card. The ride back to Nice was very pleasant and I was ready to have a nice sleep after such a delicious repast.

For my last evening, I wandered down to the port and dined at a fish restaurant called Aux Pecheurs. I found it in the Guide Michelin and it was quite good. I had another lobster salad to start and frankly, I preferred this one. It was served with an acacia honey sauce which made for an interesting flavorful combination. After that,I had a whole grilled daurade served with ratatouille. Dessert was a wonderful panna cotta with passion fruit coulis.

I left Nice the next day and took the train to Avignon, from where I drove to Venasque in a rented car. Venasque is a very picturesque tiny village in the Mount Ventoux area. The village is so small that there is only one restaurant and no ATM machines! For the time that I was there, the few galleries that do exist were closed. As a result I drove to the next town (St. Didier) which had a bustling food market, one ATM machine, and three restaurants. This is an area from which to explore the beautiful provençale villages. I stayed in a chambre d'hôte--that is, in the home of a couple that opens up its rooms to travelers. They serve breakfast and dinner on their terrace and you admire the stunning view while you are eating basic but good French cuisine and drinking local wines. The first evening, I ate in the restaurant next door and had an excellent dish of ravioli with an interesting pesto cream sauce, a daube de poulpe (octopus stew) and a wonderful crème brulée à la lavande. The next evening, at the chambre d'hôte, we were served a fried quail egg and pancetta to start, a refreshing gazpacho, and finally a confit de canard with home-made ratatouille. I enjoyed both meals quite a bit.

It was good to get home to the crowds and noise and ATMs of Paris. I am really a city girl at heart and although it is nice to do nothing from time to time, I am always happy to get back to my life.