Le Coconuts

Where? Le Coconuts (Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France) Map

When? Thursday May 11, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? Touristy Pub

Vallon Pont d'Arc is a super small town, mainly here to cater for the tourists wanting to explore the Ardeche Gorges. As a result, I expect a lot of these restaurants to be quite touristy, and with a name like "The Coconuts", I'm not expecting much at all. But I'm here because I feel like a burger, and a burger I shall be ordering.

Burger

Hamburger Coconuts - potatoes, steak, green salad, goat's cheese
I have eaten many burgers in my lifetime but even I was surprised when this came out. I know the French word for potato so I knew it would be present, I was not expecting the buns to be hash browns. I don't think I've ever had that before. I had a breakfast burger from Burgerfuel with a hash brown in it, but this is ridiculous. It is also quite delicious and juicy, with the beef patty cooked medium rare and the cheese coming through nicely. It's completely lacking greens but I suppose the salad and salsa on the side makes up for that. I think given all the physical activity I'm doing tomorrow, it's perfectly acceptable to be carb loading like this.

Posted by Jeremy at 9:05pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

L'Epice and Love

Where? L'Epice and Love (Avignon, France) Map

When? Wednesday May 10, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? French

Though the name is a strange combination of Franglaise, this little cosy restaurant is highly rated for its Provençal food. It holds at most 20 people, so I'm here right on opening time to ensure I get a table. The menu is handwritten and not only am I struggling to decipher the handwriting, I'm also struggling to understand the words. Thankfully the waitress speaks English, and she very helpfully explains everything to me.

Entree

Tartine au chèvre with strawberry honey almonds
That lovely aroma of toasted almonds is the first thing I notice. The bread is layered with strawberry jam and honey, and the sweetness gives way to the savoury of the cheese as I bite into it. It's like eating cheese and quince with crackers. It's delicious and very homely. The salad is dressed with a light honey sauce and the toasted almonds give it that little bit of depth. For future reference, I would personally be happy if every salad I had contained toasted almonds.

Mains

Sauté de porc a la Provençal
The mains comes out and it's smaller than I was expecting, and also not quite what I had pictured in my mind. It's essentially a stew, possibly bordering a soup, but at least the flavour is there. Again, it has that homely feel to it, but I probably wouldn't order this again.

Dessert

Parfait au chocolat noir
Again that toasted almond smell fills the air. The parfait has a perfect texture, so soft and moist. It's incredibly rich but that little bit of cream and custard balances it out perfectly. This was the best dish tonight.

As I pay, I tell the owner that the dessert was delicious, and she remarks that she forgot to put it on the bill so it's free. Yuss!

Posted by Jeremy at 8:57pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

Fou de Fafa

Where? Fou de Fafa (Avignon, France) Map

When? Tuesday May 9, 2017

Who? Me and a bunch of other Flight of the Conchords fans

Food Style? French

I am so amused by this place. Fou de Fafa doesn't mean anything in French, but it is of course, a famous Flight of the Conchords song where they sing random French words for two minutes. I have to eat here. The lovely owner speaks impeccable English (she's from Eastbourne in the U.K.) and I ask if the restaurant is named after the song. It totally is. I tell her I'm from Wellington and I've seen Bret and Jermaine walking around before. She tells me she visited it two years ago and loved it. Tres bien!

Amuse bouche

The amuse bouche is sour cream, chives and anchovies. It reminds me of Grainwaves without the texture.

Entree

Pan fried calamari with mango, coriander and cashew nuts
The pan fried squid smells and tastes great. There's lots of complementing flavours here, with the mango, tomato and cashew making a very delicious sauce. The squid is fractionally overdone and I wish the cashews were roasted and crunchy, but this tastes great and I can tell the ingredients are of good quality.

Mains

Pan fried duck breast with strawberry and balsamic vinegar, fresh salad and mashed potatoes
The duck comes out. It smells very strongly of strawberry, I hope it isn't actually as overpowering. The meat is cooked perfectly, a little pink in the middle, but most importantly, delicious crispy skin. I try the sauce next. It tastes quite like strawberry jam with a splash of balsamic and generic savoury. It's odd. When I eat it with the duck though, it's very good, with the saltiness balancing the sweetness perfectly. The sauce goes even better with the vegetables. I think perhaps strawberry isn't the fruit I would have paired with duck - I've had plum and orange work well before.

Dessert

Banoffee Pie with banana, caramel and whipped cream
It's certainly not the epic portion that Strawberry Fare used to serve, but the balance of flavours is absolutely perfect. The caramel isn't sickly sweet at all, it has a bit of depth to its flavour. I don't feel overly gross after this either.

What a great meal! I hope one day Bret and Jermaine will visit this restaurant. The owner has extended her warmest invitation to them and says they will dine for free if they make it. I've used the power of Two Degrees of Separation in New Zealand to see if I can get the word out!

Posted by Jeremy at 8:53pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

L'Entrecote

Where? L'Entrecote (Toulouse, France) Map Menu

When? Monday May 8, 2017

Who? Me

Food Style? French Steakhouse

The restaurant hasn't opened yet but there is a line of people outside waiting to get in. The reviews for this place swing wildly between "this is the best steak ever" and "I can't believe I waited in line for this rubbish", so I'm here to see for myself, and also partially because I want more steak since last night's was so small. They have one dish at this restaurant - l'entrecôte - so they better do it well!

The important question is how do I want my steak cooked. In French, the term "medium rare" doesn't quite translate perfectly. Medium rare is somewhere around Saignant (bloody, slightly less rare than Bleu) and À Point (perfectly cooked, similar to how the Italians say al dente for their pasta). À Point will still be quite pink on the inside, erring to rare more than medium, but probably slightly more medium than Saignant. I've chosen À Point, hopefully my pronunciation is good enough!

Entree

Salad with nuts
A simple salad of lettuce and walnut begins the meal. Nice and crispy, and well dressed. All the salads in France are well dressed. Walnuts are on point.

Mains

Steak with fries and our famous sauce
My steak and fries appear. I'm slightly sad about the portion size...


But then the rest of the steak appears. We're good. This is decent. The meat is superb, cooked perfectly - à point! - with a nice pink hue in the middle. It's covered in a delicious sauce, which I hear is a closely guarded secret in the restaurant. It's full of oil and garlic, perhaps with a bit of mustard or ginger, but it works very well with both the meat and the fries, and amazingly with the baguette on the side.

I am well sated. That was a good steak! I am coaxed into dessert by the waitress (not really). I've chosen the chocolate vacherin and I don't know what that is. The waitress tries her best to explain it, and there's meringue, chocolate sauce, praline and ice cream. Sweet, sounds good! I'll give it a go.

Dessert

Le vacherin au chocolat
This hilariously massive tower of meringue and chocolate appears. I'm so amused that I literally laugh out loud. It's very rich and sweet but after a single glass of that delicious Bordeaux Rouge, I do not care. I power through, it's so much. A little kid walks by and stares at the dessert with his mouth wide open. I hope you get one too, random little kid.

Posted by Jeremy at 8:39pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::

Petit Mignon

Where? Petit Mignon (Bordeaux, France) Map

When? Sunday May 7, 2017

Who? Zamora and Eric

Food Style? French

I need steak. I've come back from a half day trip around some wineries and I've been drinking red wine all afternoon. I'm with a couple of people from the tour who have agreed to humour my steak needs. I've gone for a three course menu and a glass of local red. The waitress doesn't speak English and my friends don't speak French, so my rudimentary French is up to the test again.

Entree

Pané de chevre with honey and mesclun salad
Chevre is goat's cheese, usually baked. It's delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with tasty dressed greens. It's simple but very well done.

Mains

Faux filet with homemade fries and Corsican wine sauce
The steak is excellent. It has that lovely grilled flavour and the sauce is perfect. The fries are nicely cooked and crispy, and even the salad is well dressed. My only criticism is the steak is so small - I was hoping for something more substantial.

Dessert

Tarte au citron
The tarte au citron is a bit goopy, not really meringue like at all. The biscuit base is nicely caramelised. It's very sweet but at least the lemon is pleasant. Definitely the weakest part of the meal but still enjoyable.

Posted by Jeremy at 8:31pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::