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Dining options in St Remy de Provence

October 20, 2014 by Sarah Trivuncic Leave a Comment

You’ll never go hungry here, St Remy de Provence boasts as many restaurants, cafes and bars per person as a big city.

St Remy is easily stuffed with 50+ cafes and restaurants ranging from a quick crepe to gourmet blowouts. You could easily dine in a different restaurant for dinner and a different cafe or bar for lunch for a fortnight before repeating where you’d been.

My top recommendation for lunch would be Un Ete a St Remy de Provence which offers salads, pasta dishes, savoury galettes, sweet crepes and ice creams. For evening meals you might like to try La Gousse D’Ail (The taste of garlic) with its kitsch display of vintage fairground rides and other ephemera or L’Auberge de la Reine Jeanne with its leafy court yard. If you’re lucky the accordion player singing Jacques Brel numbers will pay a visit whilst you dine.

I will be adding further recommendations to this list as I feature places on the site.

Can you recommend anywhere good to eat in St Remy?

Skipper St Martin de Re restaurant review

December 17, 2013 by Sarah Trivuncic Leave a Comment

This post originally featured on Maison Cupcake.

Oysters are alive aren’t they? Just to check I kept pricking these little guys with my fork to watch them flinch. I’m a bit of a sadist like that.

I do like my oysters. As you may recall in this post here. These ones were pretty amazing, not least because they were from one of my favourite restaurants, the humble Skipper on Île de Ré, a sliver of island just off the Atlantic coast of France close to La Rochelle. A chic getaway beloved by Parisians at weekends, apparently Johnny Depp and wife Vanessa Paradis holiday there.

I’ll save my views on how the island has changed since my first visit in 2002 for a later post, for today is devoted to our two meals at this harbour side fish restaurant in the island’s main “town”, St Martin de Ré.

Won’t you just look at that. Pink as my rosé wine, dripping with shallot vinegar. And I really deserved them…

…having spent the previous night holed up in here, a cat swinging cabin courtesy of Brittany Ferries.

Deep in the HULL. I have a phobia of submarines although they are easily avoided in normal life. Mortified by the prospect of a night below the waterline, the only thing that stopped me pacing the upper decks in my pyjamas was the necessity to stop Ted, then dogged by a persistent cough, falling out of his bed opposite.

Pitch black, laid out in close proximity to whole family in confined space. A mausoleum for the living. Hours lurching about in the dark, paranoid about the English Channel being feet away from me. On the floor, Ted is surrounded by pillows, a comfy landing should he wander. But not level with the bottom of the bed. Where he landed, head first, at 4.30am.

It was the second of six sleepless nights. So if you think I look rough here, imagine what I looked like by Friday. Tonight, even if we only ate out once this week, the rosé wine and oysters were waiting for me.

Skipper stands on the harbour in a detached building, a former hotel. We hadn’t eaten there since 2003 but were nostalgic for its splendid seafood platters served in kitsch giant plastic lifeboats (sadly unphotographed – we didn’t order one and it’s not the done thing to photograph strangers’ food, even if you are a crazy food blogger).

The weak pound was a source of dismay all the week. Not so long ago we ate great 3 course meals in France for around fifteen pounds although inflation and a strengthen Euro mean double this amount is now common. We had two trips to Skipper during our stay, our first and last nights. We ordered from the 29€ menu and the pictures below straddle both our visits.

My husband peruses the menu.

He speaks “menu French” but is otherwise limited to “Ou est le vay-say.”

The amazing oysters. They make the ones at the Cadogan Arms look a bit rubbish now.

My starter from second visit – Cassoulette St Jacques (baked scallops in cream – heavenly)

Husband’s starter – crispy spring rolls with tuna and red pepper (special of the day)

Carré d’Agneau (lamb). Husband raved.

My dish – sea bass with roast mushrooms. Delicate, fried in butter.

My dish, second visit – squid with balsamic vinegar. Tender fat pieces of squid. Not a trace of rubberiness, anointed with sharp balsamic vinegar and languid olive oil. Artfully (or strangely, depending on your view) adorned with a thin bread stick and served on a very 80s plate.

Second visit, my husband’s steak with Bearnaise sauce.

He asked for it “medium rare” but they brought it “English medium rare” i.e. well done. Humph.

My husband’s profiteroles. He always orders these. Nothing especially special about them.

First visit – my unctuous chocolate mousse – with shards of patterned chocolate

and swirls of chocolate and caramel sauce.

Second visit – Two chocolate mousse. Again decorated with a shard of chocolate and

a bread stick (this time dipped in white chocolate and poppy seeds).

The mousse was beautifully intense, I really lingered over it. I enjoyed the presentation of my desserts at Skipper.

Interior of Skipper – after most diners had left.

After so many years since our previous visit, there were things that disappointed us about Ré. Our return to Skipper was not one of them, the staff are very friendly, the portions generous, the decor cosy and casual. It was reassuring to go back and relive some holiday memories from our pre-Ted years.

There is plenty of atmosphere here, sat across from the harbour boats with their masts chink chinking in the wind. Lanterns and lighthouses decorating the interior without feeling twee.

It will probably be some time before we return to Skipper, but I can relish the memories both distant and recent of the evenings we have spent there. My quest in the meantime is to find oysters this good elsewhere.

Maison Larnicol: St Malo chocolate boutique

December 17, 2013 by Sarah Trivuncic Leave a Comment

This post was originally featured on Maison Cupcake.

Today we go to chocolate heaven and back. This place is truly wonderful. I discovered it on holiday this summer in St Malo, Brittany.

It’s called Maison Larnicol and sells a fabulous range of sweet treats. I was stamping around St Malo in the footsteps of the delightful and hopelessly chocolate addicted Kerrin of My Kugelhopf who had seduced me with her posts Salted Butter, Sugar and Oh some Flour too and Got Milk? That’s All You Need in search of the Maison du Buerre and other Kerrin haunts.

She never told me about Maison Larnicol so today I attempt to out Kugelhopf the Kugelhopf but I’ll never top those blog post headlines *must try harder*.

It’s a dark little shop with wall to wall wooden cabinets of buttery Breton biscuits and chocolate and serve yourself tongs to fill up your paper bags. Think “scoop and save” but classy.

Not only do they sell macarons but chocolate grand pianos.

And chocolate SHOES. Who needs Laboutin eh?

“Les Chocolates Self Service”. I love it when the French adopt English words as their own, like le weekend although it too me a while to realise that om-bugger was not something rude.

Les Galets. AKA big fat discs of chocolate with fruit and nuts on them. Which count towards your five-a-day.

These ones look more like olives than olives do.

And some massive coloured meringues. Must make these some day.

Sucette, French for lollipop, is a word that always makes me snigger and never more so than at the sight of these little chaps.

Swoon. The Kouignette. These ones are blackcurrant cassis flavour. Here is one I took home up close:

With a bite taken out, just to taunt you.

These are pistacho flavour kouign amanns. Read Kerrin’s piece for the low down on what these babies are all about. Detailed research is not my strong point right now.

Is this the way to St Malo-rillo?

Gulls egg chocolates and rocher – not to be confused with the Ferrero variety.

Inside the gull’s egg. Caramel. Chocolate down fingernails too. Which proves I was enjoying myself.

Macaron chocolate artist’s palette

Framboise macaron heaven, quite possibly my favourite macaron ever. Photographed for posterity.

And hey who’s this? The little boy who fortunately for me, prefers Kinder Surprise.

Maison Larnicol 6 Rue St Vincent, 35400 Saint-Malo, France

From La Coupole to St Germain: existential Paris

December 17, 2013 by Sarah Trivuncic Leave a Comment

This post was previously published on Maison Cupcake.

This is part two of my three part series about my too-long-unblogged Easter trip to Paris in 2011. Check out part one with my Laduree in Paris visit.

Away from my blog, one of my passions is literature and history of the first half of the twentieth century. I love books, film adaptations and documentaries especially those covering from 1920 to the 1950s.

On my trip to Paris I explored some of the haunts of two of my favourite French writers, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre.

Simone de Beauvoir and John Paul Sartre were amongst a group of Parisian intellectuals known as the Existentialists who found literary recognition from the 1940s onwards.

From our Montparnasse hotel, The Pullman, we were well placed to explore their left bank neighbourhood.

Dining at La Coupole

La Coupole on the Boulevard Montparnasse is one of Paris’s most famous brasseries. With the original Art Deco interior intact it has changed little since de Beauvoir’s time.

From Josephine Baker to Jane Birkin, French celebrities have long frequented La Coupole, the restaurant website even has a list of celebrities at La Coupole saying who used to order what and sometimes which were their favourite tables!

Our corner was an ideal people watching spot. According to La Coupole’s website we were close to de Beauvoir and Sartre’s favourite table 149, sat at the same angle but in the next block. Sartre apparently enjoyed watching the ladies tending the cloakroom from his table.

Simone would order a hot chocolate and sit on the terrace at La Coupole whilst working. In keeping with this, our dining neighbours were single diners engrossed in their laptops (one having a Skype chat whilst he ate).

To review the food this far on would be absurd – as you can see we enjoyed a traditional French brasserie set menu of pate, steak tartare and Iles Flottantes for around 33 euros. All good.

A la carte main dishes cost up to 36 euros and seafood platters costing over 100 euros are available. However the greatest draw at La Coupole is the atmosphere. We secured a table late on a Wednesday without booking – although it was very busy.

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

De Beauvoir and Sartre walked frequently in Le Jardin du Luxembourg. Similar in size to Kensington Gardens, Parisians with young children can enjoy a series of adventure playgrounds. We were (briefly) wistful that Ted wasn’t with us.

Like the beach at Cannes, painted metal framed chairs are dotted around to sit on. It’s like being able to move a park bench to sit wherever you wish! Radio controlled boats buzz on the pond in front of the Palais du Luxembourg.

St Germain de Pres

Within walking distance is St Germain de Pres. The main square is named after de Beauvoir and Sartre in tribute to times they spent at nearby Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots.

Regrettably we didn’t have time to stop here as we were on a mission to visit Laduree!

La Rotonde, Montparnasse

La Rotonde, Boulevard Montparnasse lies below Simone de Beauvoir’s childhood flat. She used to hide there when playing truant from school!

On scarlet banquette seating, we enjoyed hustle and bustle through open windows onto the street. Despite enjoying our meal immensely, the happy memories are sadly eclipsed by us both being horribly ill during the following twelve hours. I will spare you the details but just say it was a huge pity to lose the middle day of our trip stuck in our hotel room.

Visiting Montparnasse Cemetery

Finally, in the Cimitiere Montparnasse we paid our respects at the joint grave of de Beauvoir and Sarte. Never married, not always partners in the sexual sense, they were soul mates until their twilight years. Simone outlived Sartre by around six years and was distraught by his absence. They were reunited when Simone died in 1986.

Also at Montparnasse, a decorated shrine around the grave of Serge Gainsbourg was as much a focus here as Jim Morrison’s grave is at Pere Lachaise. Tucked away against the outer walls close to the entrance, de Beauvoir and Sartre’s memorial is clearly visited by many with posies of flowers and lit candles but less of a spectacle.

Simone de Beauvoir – recommended reading

Simone de Beauvoir is best known for her feminist work The Second Sex however I preferred her novels and autobiographies. There also exists volumes of letters between herself and Sartre although I’ve not read these.

Having written my university thesis on Simone de Beauvoir I read most of her books 20 years ago but my recommended reading would be:
She Came to Stay – semi autobiographical novel based on Sartre and de Beauvoir’s love triangle with a female student.
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter and The Prime of Life – parts 1 and 2 of de Beauvoir’s 4 part autobiography.
The Woman Destroyed – a trilogy of novellas in one volume each exploring the lives of three middle aged women who find themselves in crisis for various reasons.
A Very Easy Death – a short volume about de Beauvoir’s experience caring for her dying mother.

If you’d like to read something with the same feel but less philosophical, I heartily recommend Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky, a fictitious account of several households of Parisians fleeing the city as the Nazis take control.

Maison Cupcake in Paris Part 1: Laduree
Maison Cupcake in Paris Part 3: (to follow) – The Paris of Amelie Poulain

Buffalo Grill Review – France’s roadside burger destination

December 17, 2013 by Sarah Trivuncic Leave a Comment

This Buffalo Grill Review post was previously published on MaisonCupcake.com. We don’t have Buffalo Grill in the UK but if we did, I’d be going.

Buffalo Grill Review

Arriving at a self catering holiday destination late on a Saturday night has one problem. Come Sunday, you have a brief window to buy your groceries in a neighbourhood you’re not yet familiar with.

The whole wild goose chase which was that Sunday morning need not be repeated in full here. Suffice to say, by the end of nearly three hours, my father hadn’t been to church, we didn’t have any groceries, something MASSIVE had been going on down the town but we didn’t know what and we were overly familiar with the local industrial estate….

St Remy de Provence Market

October 20, 2013 by Sarah Trivuncic Leave a Comment

St Remy de Provence holds a large market on Wednesday mornings which fills three main squares (opposite main church of St Martin, off Rue Carnot and off Rue Lafayette) as well as spilling into streets in between.

This is the best day to absorb the atmosphere and see St Remy at its bustling best. From Provencal linens to chickens roasting on spits, the sights and smells are hard not to love.

Normally I’d recommend stocking up for picnics at markets but in St Remy’s case you’re better off installing yourself in a cafe on the main boulevard for an early lunch and lots of people watching.

You could almost be in Paris. A smaller market takes place on Saturday mornings.

Have you ever been to the market in St Remy?

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