Yesterday the mistral wind graciously decided to retreat and allow me to leave the house in search of company and good food. Although I am not French I have happily, too happily, acquired the taste for a good lunch. One of the best spots for a delicious lunch is the Bistro du Paradou in the if-you-blink-you-will-miss-it tiny village of Paradou on the other side of the Alpilles mountains.
I did mention that it had been cold in Provence, freezing to be more precise and as I drove past the village square in Maussane on my way to the restaurant I saw the literal proof. The fountain and her gurgling swans had turned into ice sculpture... as I saw it...
The restaurant was warm and buzzy and as it was Wednesday, I knew the menu before I arrived... It is always such a comfort when you are cold and hungry to arrive somewhere familiar... The Bistro du Paradou has a weekly menu so you know what will be cooking when...
The waiter greeted us with a wide smile, settled us in and asked if we knew what was on the menu...
'Cassoulet', we all piped up, our enthusiasm fuelled by our hunger... I had been mentally working myself up for this feast on the drive over...
'Yes', he replied... 'It's anti-gel'!
When the French are cold, they eat heartily... and I loved (so did he) that he described this most serious of culinary fares as 'anti-freeze'... We laughed and joked that we all needed a large dose ofanti-gel and that it should be served immediately.
Wednesday Menu du Jour at Bistro du Paradou
Salade frisée avec des lardons, oeufs et croutons
Cassoulet du Bistro
Plateau de Fromages
Desserts Maison (that means your choice of citron, apple or pear tart and creme caramel... I went with the citron... So worth it!)
And it worked... totally... I felt de-thawed, re-fuelled and pretty toasty afterwards... I would say it was the perfect cure...xv
my daily click HERE
Oh Vicki,
ReplyDeleteIt is only 10 A.M. here and I am now desperate for Cassoulet !!!! I was only talking about cassoulet yesterday with my friend, who has a house in Lectoure. Last time we went there, I had the BEST cassoulet and, whenever we are in France, I always take a few jars of it home ..... even the tinned cassoulet tastes good, although not as good as The Bistro du Paradou or any other French restaurant, I know.
We went to the theatre last night in London and it was freezing and, very icy.
Keep warm Vicki and eat plenty of cassoulet !! XXXX
Hi Vicki
ReplyDeleteI am happy the mistral took a break and no doubt you were in need of an outing. Lunch sounds delicious and I absolutely adore the light and sunshine on the building and the frozen swans, who need anti-gel!!
Thank you for sharing.
Helenxx
Vicki! You forgot to mention the other reason why Le Bistrot de Paradou is anti-gel: all the wine you can drink! ;) How lovely that you treated yourself to a good lunch--we all deserve a little extra pampering with the cold this week...
ReplyDeleteIt sounds wonderful, nothing like a good cassoulet, delicious!!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos :)
Such a beautiful photo of the thawing ice in this very pretty fountain. I have been amazed by the TV news reports showing snow covered Rome and Majorca while here in my part of the north of England we have no snow at all! It is very cold though and a dish of cassoulet would certainly be great 'anti-gel' for me right now!
ReplyDeletehttp://missbbobochic.blogspot.com/
Cassoulet is indeed the perfect cure for cold weather. And so is the Bistro du Paradou and the lovely Pons family.
ReplyDeleteCan't get over all of the ice in the fountain.
Sam
Beautiful chilly shots - I'm seeing them in the international news, so many places are snow and ice covered - quite a serious weather situation.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are able to get out and warm up in a favorite spot for a good lunch. Frosty here this morning but I'm off soon to have breakfast out with a dear friend - at Mimi's Cafe - the American version of a French restaurant! Not perfect, but they are trying, and in my imagination I'll be en France as I munch my croissant!!
Bundle up, and I hope the Mistral blows away.
Hugs - Mary
Oh it sounds perfect. Love the pic of the fountain. Hugs, marty
ReplyDeleteHI Vicki the menu is tantalizing, and am sure quite warming! love how the French always "dine with the season" .. thanks for a peek at a frozen Provence!
ReplyDeletebisous, Kit
Dear Vicki,
ReplyDeleteNot entirely off-the-topic of negotiating winter weather?....
One of the funniest lines I've read in the past few months is in the collected letters (the recently published "Yours in Tearing Haste") between Deborah Cavendish (the Duchess of Devonshire, as you'll know) and her longtime pal, the travel-writer Patrick Fermor.
In one letter, she apologizes for not having replied to a two-weeks previous letter (containing a nice invitation) from him. She explains that the weather was just BEASTLY the week she'd received his invitation in the mail, and that she would have replied sooner had she not "gone for an ill-advised, long walk with my sister, during which I got quite congealed. I've been in bed ever since, nursing several colds at once."
I love that phrase..."getting CONGEALED".
The Duchess is (and I'm scarcely the first to have noticed) a mighty funny lady.
P.S. I've sent out more than 400 of those french-doggy jpegs for prints, and I still get three or four requests per day, from all sorts of unexpected locations. Rather obviously, you have a terrifying (by my standards, at least) number of fans/readers. I'm beginning to think that you should just build a replica of Mas Berard in your back-forty and open a theme-park. You'd be raking in a lot more cash, for a lot less work, than you're (or anyone, for that matter) doing with olive trees.....
Level Best as Ever,
David Terry
www.davidterryart.com
Hi Vicky,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the Paradou visit, even though it is freezing in Provence, your post warms up my heart. Provence is such a paradise and the food is fantastic and just thinking of Cassoulet brings back great memories.
I also love your choices of books for Valentine's day.
All the best to you,
decogirlmontreal.com
I think you have def found the best way to unthaw. A perfect anti-freeze. Stay warm and enjoy that heavenly food!
ReplyDeleteXO Trina
It sounds divine. Cassoulet, tarte citron and salade avec lardoons. Wonderful menu. Plus a vin ordinaire to go with it. Bliss
ReplyDeleteGlad that you are thawing out and that the Mistral took a break so that you could get out and about. Sounds like the perfect lunch! I'm ready for my dish of Cassoulet! Hope the wind stays away this weekend. XO
ReplyDeleteFabulous!
ReplyDeleteWell, yesterday I went to the Olive Garden for lunch. Not at all fabulous! But, now I feel better knowing someone experienced such a delightful off-the-beaten-track bistro. Cassoulet. Perfection. xx's
ReplyDeleteWell, what can I say? The Toulousaine in me approves of your choice, bien sûr. Cassoulet is definitely anti-gel. It also reminds you of gravity, as I can't seem to be able to leave my chair after I have enjoyed a couple of servings of that delicious dish-- could it be the wine that accompanies it? Hmmmm... Glad you are feeling better, and starting to thaw out, maybe. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
ReplyDeleteDelicious images + delicious lunch. Anti-gel & congealed(from David Terry's comment) Adore those words. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteMmmmm to dejeuner! And I love the swan fountain still pouring water along side the lovely ice floes. The honey stone walls are harmonious with the umbrellas all zipped up until spring!
ReplyDelete... oh what a delicious post .. you are very clever, Vicki ... bonjour .. spring is coming
ReplyDeleteToo funny! Guess where I dined yesterday? Yep--Paradou. And lo and behold, they had just served their last cassoulet when we arrived. (I'm glad you enjoyed my cassoulet, Vicki!) Vincent, Pierre and the others were as warm and wonderful as could be...and they came up with another lovely and perfect meal for us, including two vegetarian meals for my two friends. Can't wait to go back. Sorry we missed each other!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pix. My son emailed a pix of Amsterdam. The canals are frozen over and people are ice skating, and playing hockey! The Dutch are so hardy! Me, I'm with you...citron tart, svp. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and your style.
ReplyDeletesabina
Love seeing the beautiful images you post for us. The lunch sounds amazing too, and I am glad that you were able to finally get out and about!
ReplyDeleteHave a happy Thursday, Vicki.
Teresa
xoxo
Thank you, I could almost taste it!
ReplyDeleteVicki,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this little winter respite. I love the idea of visiting a charming village, complete with snow and ice in the fountain and settle into a cozy cafe for cassoulet. What could be better?
Karen
The fountain is beautiful! Sounds like a memorable outing...good food, good friends, and a warm toasty restaurant. Perfect!
ReplyDeleteDear Vicki
ReplyDeleteBistrot du Paradou sounds wonderful - have added it to my list of places to go later this year when we're back in Provence. Have previously found some wonderful places to eat in France through Australian writers, including books by Mary Moody on the Lot-Dordogne region, especially her accounts of Madame Murat's bistrot in the tiny village of Pommarede. Some of the best local country fare in a friendly and unassuming place for local workers. We went there a number of times and the food was superb, no real menu, just what her staff had cooked that day, amazingly good and amazingly cheap. There were always other Australians there (who had read her books and were following her trail)enjoying the wonderful food and seeing for themselves the villages she wrote about.
Loved David Terry's comments about a Mas de Berard theme park and also about Deborah Devonshire's letters to Patrick Fermor. Have read other books/letters by her (including to Evelyn Waugh) but this sounds worth following up too. As a Mitford tragic I am always reading books by them or about them. They were quite the most unusual family I've ever heard of and Nancy's books are captivatingly funny. So much talent in one family, though sadly mis-directed by some.
Wow, Vicki! We love your blog here at La Belle France. We probably have somewhere around 25 unique reviews of restaurants in Province, but haven't been to this one. We'll definitely make an effort to visit Bistro du Paradou when we're in that area. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to take a look at some of our reviews from that area, here's a quick link:
http://labellefrance.com/regions/provence-alpes-cote-dazur/?post_type=lbf_restaurants
I can give you a free login, so you can unlock the reviews. Feel free to email me at: ashley@labellefrance.com
I'd love to chat with you!
WARM Regards,
Ashley
Vicki - I've said it five times and I'll say it again - you are living my perfect life!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! :) I could definitely use a little french food to get me through the winter!
ReplyDeleteJennelise
This is so exciting...we were at that very spot when we were in Provence about a year and a half ago! It looks beauitful in any season...fell in love with Provence, and regret only having 2 days there! I hope to go back sooner than later....what a magical place even under a deep freeze!
ReplyDeletenow....
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S AN ICE SCULPTURE!!!
gorgeous place to be
for sure.
xx
Vicki , love these images , even the kids were impressed when I showed them.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day
Karyn x
Vicki,
ReplyDeleteReading this post makes me want to whip out my French cookbook and cook up un repas anti-gel just as you've described. And a warm fruit tart at the end of a meal sounds like une vraie nécessité!
I appreciate the beauty you found in the frozen swan fountain!
Mandy