French Food, How I Have Missed You !

I am afraid coming back home with a few more pounds will not be too difficult ! It is almost a rite of passage when traveling to France. But I feel every ounces are worth every bites ! I hit two restaurants this week-end, where I was able to sample some french specialties I particularly like and which are near impossible to find in the US.

On Friday night, I rediscovered duck breast. I suspect french ducks are a different species than the ducks found in american markets, given the size of its breasts. That's the best part of the duck here. Imagine a huge chicken breast, but red meat with a thick layer of fatty skin on one side and a rich gamey flavor. It has enough flavor to be cooked in its own fat, but here it was served with a green peppercorn sauce, some french beans, an oven-baked potato, a small salad, and a vegetable flan. A very good jazz band provided the entertainment to a nice evening, with a full glass of rose wine in hand (Coteaux de Bandol, a local wine).

Magret de Canard, Sauce au Poivre Vert

(Duck Breast with Green Peppercorn Sauce)

On Saturday night, a childhood friend of mine took me to a restaurant he enjoys for its selection of specialties from Provence and the South-West regions of France. It was called "La Boulangerie", or The Bakery, likely because its location in an old bakery building. The place was very small, falling into the category of hole-in-the-wall, and the kitchen even smaller, with just one woman manning pots and pans. The minute I stepped through the door I knew I was in for a local treat. My friend specifically recommended the "Cassoulet", a bean stew with pork and mutton. But we were out of luck, the chef was all out. Another sign of a small, but successful, operation. Plan B was the "gardianne de taureau", a specialty from the Camargues region known for its wild white horses, its bulls, its pink flamingos, and its rice cultures. Bullfights are also common there. Hmmm, now you know where the bull in the plate is coming from. No wasting good meat though. Bull meat is indeed very lean, similar to buffalo, and the flavor is a bit stronger than beef. The raw meat is first marinated in wine before cooking it slowly in more wine with carrots and tomatoes, in a manner similar to Boeuf Bourguignon. The result is a rich meat stew with a strong wine flavor, best consummed with white rice (and here a serving of ratatouille) and a full bodied red wine. In this case, my friend, a wine connoisseur, chose a Vacqueyras red wine that was simply excellent. Supple on the tongue with lots of oak overtones, it complemented the heavy stew dish, and you could not help but drink some more ! Vacqueyras is akin to a Chateauneuf-du-Pape (similar region) or a Gigondas. If you happen to find a bottle, please give it a try.

Gardianne de Taureau avec Ratatouille et Riz de Camargues

(Bull Stew with ratatouille and rice from Camargues)

Vacqueyras Red Wine