La Gourmande is not easy to find at 3, rue Etienne Bonneze (on the left bank).  In fact rue Etienne Bonneze is not a street at all; it’s an alley and not a very long one.  But within a few steps of the rotating bridge in the heart of Le Grau du Roi is one of this areas greatest restaurant surprises.  Madame Cotton, an import from Brittany herself, uses only the freshest of ingredients, her batters made from scratch from long tested, family recipes.   Her galettes are cooked to a dark brown perfection, her crêpes are so tasty that even with nothing on them but butter they could be individually boxed and sold as large, flat cookies.  Of course you may order yours with Nutella or various other sweet fillings but I prefer just plain with a bit of sugar.  With but a minimum amount of filling the rich taste of the crêpes itself really stands out.

La Gourmande is a culinary delight, difficult to duplicate at any price.  But here, a galette (ham with egg), salad, and your choice among a list of dessert crêpes is only – 9.90€.  Of course you’ll want to order a pitcher of cider with your diner, a 50 cl of cider is under 7€.

We’ve been regulars here for several years but recently, we dined with a family friend who is French with deep roots in Brittany.   Our friend too was impressed with the quality of Madame Cotton’s galettes and crêpes.

Le Grau du Roi has an abundance of good restaurants serving fresh seafood and oysters but even a seafood devotee such as me enjoys an occasional taste change.  La Gourmande has become one of our favorite restaurants.

It’s the end of the first week in Jun, today we depart for Paris and connect through to le Grau du Roi in the south of France along the Mediterranean coast.  Le Grau du Roi has been a six year pilgrimage for us, its beaches and activities are a perfect detraction for our daughter and the seafood and inexpensive restaurants are a perfect attraction for me.

We first depart IAH on Continental.  This is our first trip on a Boeing 767 as Continental recently downgraded to this aircraft from the B777 it had been using since retiring their DC-10s.  In a word, the flight was disappointing.  An earlier departure time, just after 3 pm, means one is less likely to obtain the required sleep and the aircraft itself does not compare in comfort with the previous model.  Cramped seats and older audio-visual systems lead the list of disappointments, food and service were OK but for a Business Class fare, we were underwhelmed.

We easily connected to AF for our flight to Montpellier where we were met by our landlord.  M. Coviesec always finds time to pick us up at the airport and drive us the 20 minutes to our apartment .  Wow, what a view! The 4th floor of an apartment building at the end of the canal’s entrance into the sea with a view not only of the port entry but of the beach as well.

It’s been a long trip but we cannot wait for dinner.  Tonight it’s le Rose des Sables, a very popular restaurant for us as well as with the locals.  Le Grau du Roi is a working fishing town which unlike many of its neighbors is open and thriving every month of the year.  Le Rose des Sables remains open even when the summer tourist return home, a testament to its reputation, excellent service, and always fresh seafood.

As we settle in for our first night, I can hear the waves slap against the sand on the beach below me.  Vacation is underway.

Accordingly I have compiled a list of excellent locations from which to base one’s self when touring the valley. Tours is included but avoid anywhere except the old center of town.

1. The Cheval Blanc in the small village of Bléré, between Chenonceau and Tours. Bléré is much quieter and less touristy than Amboise. This hotel/restaurant changed hands in early 2008 with the long-time owners retiring. Under the new owners, (Hélène et Fabrice Tavernier) the service is reportedly much more efficient but their culinary reputation is yet to be established. During the week (Tuesday to Friday) two courses (entrée and main dish) are €22 with a €7 supplement for dessert. Despite a change of owners, I still find this location worth considering as a place to base oneself.

Le Cheval Blanc

2. Personally I enjoy staying in the center of Tours, it’s central to all of the châteaux of the valley and there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, museums, and shopping for everyone’s taste. There are a number of chambres d’hotes (B&Bs) in Tours as well as outside of town.

For a complete list of area’s lodging possibilities, check here:

Office de Tourisme – Tours

My favorite hotel in Tours is (with free parking):

Hotel du Manoir :

2, rue Traversière

3. Between Blois and Tours

Auberge de Launay

in a beautiful setting and a wonderful restaurant

4. Hostel du Roy in Chenonceaux

5. la Ferme des Berthiers

just south of Tours in a very homey setting

6 Near Chenonceaux:

Le Bon Laboureur

One evening, many years ago, my wife and I had just been seated at a small brassier on the left bank when the waiter placed a large bowl full of mussels in front of me. He knew very well that I had not yet placed an order; he was simply, intentionally provoking our stunned neighbor for whom this order was intended. The hungry patron next to us looked upon our table and his order of mussels with a curious expression of mollusk deprivation and bewilderment. Our waiter briefly watched in silence, the human culinary torment developing, until finally our neighbor demanded the rightful dispatch of his mussels to his table. With a sly grin, the waiter complied making hollow apologies.  You see, waiters can be mischievous.

I thought to myself, wow, I want to try some of those little creatures for myself.  And that’s how it all started.

Every time I order mussels I think of that waiter, with unbridled gratitude.

The best for mussels in Paris? Some like Leon de Bruxelles but for me, just find a brasserie on the left bank, sit yourself at a small table on the terrace, order a bottle of dry white wine (I prefer Picpoul de Pinet) and hopefully you’ll be greeted by a spunky waiter.

At the dinner table, I was able to taste this heavenly creation for the first time, a seemingly simple food yet an unforgettable experience. In Auvergne, where it is a staple among the farmers and others who make their livelihoods from the land, it is called Aligot.

Years later, simple foods from the French countryside became quite chic at Parisian restaurants. Aligot is now widely available at restaurant tables almost everywhere in Paris. My preferred location is L’Ambassade d’Auvergne in the 3rd arrondissement. The people at L’Ambassade d’Auvergne, when asked, graciously provide satisfied diners with the recipes used at the restaurant.  Readers probably know of other restaurants serving aligot, but in Paris I prefer this one.

As good as the food is at the Ambassade d’Auvergne, for connoisseurs of Aligot  it is not the absolute best restaurant serving aligot. In my opinion those honors go to a restaurant established many, many years ago in Aubrac; Chez Germaine.

Germaine died some time ago but the restaurant and its traditions live on. When ordering aligot at Chez Germaine, and everyone does, the waitress exits the kitchen stirring a large copper bowl of aligot, always stirring in circular motions of the same direction. She fills each plate with a large portion. For the uninitiated, she also swirls a crown of aligot upon his head and presents him with a certificate, authenticating his Chez Germaine dinning experience. There is even a special technique, used among the locals, to eat aligot. One rotates his fork, tines vertical and drags the sideways tip across an outer edge of his serving. This action isolates a bite sized portion of aligot on his plate which is quickly scooped up for consumption. Everything else served here is unforgettably delicious:  fruit tarts, sausage, even the steak.

I seldom miss an opportunity to dine at Chez Germaine, finding myself detouring from A75 and following narrow winding country roads to Aubrac in the heart of Auvergne.

I still have my certificate.

1.  Always reserve.  Always.  Reserving is a simple courtesy that a restaurant operator appreciates.  Allowing for menu planning and appropriate staff sizing, it also assists management’s efforts to developing personal relationships with clientèle – they will know your name.  There is a reason that the first thing you will be asked when entering a restaurant is:  “Avez-vous réservé?”   You may take this to mean that if you haven’t you should have.  Not reserving does not always mean you will not be seated but there is a difference between what you must do and what you should do. Note: reservations are generally not required for either cafés or brasseries. Most restaurants open for the evening meal at 7:30 pm.

2.  Meals logically start with the entrée (starter).  The plat principal (main dish) follows.  I do not know how the meaning of entrée became twisted in some countries to mean something other than the starter.

3.  The best value is usually le Menu, a fixed price multi-course dinner.  Not to be confused with la Carte, this is the menu.  One may see the Formule option from time to time, particularly at lunch.  With a Formule menu, one chooses an entrée and principal plate or a principal plate and dessert from among the menu choices.

4.  French waiters are professionals but please be ready to order when appropriate and do so convincingly. Taking the time to mumble through the main courses without making a decision as your waiter patiently stands idle will not be appreciated.

5.  Avoid special requests and asking for substitutions. The chef has taken the time to present meals which, in his experience, are perfectly coordinated. He will generally not appreciate your ideas of modification.

6.  Sending food back to the kitchen is probably inappropriate. See item above.   If you are served something you do not like (rognon perhaps), just leave it on your plate; say nothing.

7.  Meats are generally cooked much less than the degree to which you may be accustomed. It might be difficult to convince a chef to cook all of the pink out of the center of a steak. Requests for well done stakes might be completely ignored by a serious chef.  Generally (and admittedly subjectively) your cooking choices are from basically raw to medium:

• bleu
• saignant
• a point
• bien cuit

8.  The greatest compliment you can pay the chef is to leave nothing on your plate.  One can only speculate that this is the reason dogs are tolerated in restaurant dining rooms.

9.  If the restaurant you have chosen has a sommelier, do not be intimated. This person is your ally and really does provide a wonderful service which you can use to your advantage. If you have modest means, explain to him that value is important – he’ll understand. His purpose is not to exploit you. If you are celebrating a special occasion, he can make your meal very memorable.

10.  Dessert orders are often taken after finishing the plat principal.

11.  Do not ask for a doggie bag. Taking uneaten food out of a restaurant is not done.

12.  You must ask for the check.  A professional waiter will not needlessly annoy a patron.  When you are ready to leave, simply signal for the check.

13.  The tip will always be included in the check total.  If you were particularly satisfied, leaving an additional euro or two is appropriate.  Leaving more indicates nothing other than a lack of awareness.

A final thought – menus in English.  As a general rule, I avoid restaurants with menus in English. However as more and more restaurants have done this as an accommodation rather than as an enticement, I find myself ignoring my own rule with surprising regularity.  Just beware of restaurants that post English menus as a draw and of restaurants with someone standing in front whose sole purpose is enticement.  Restaurants should be ideally chosen for the food they serve, not the overly attentive greeting presented to tourists.

Bon Appétit

Moulin Etape

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While these are network associated, most are family owned and operated and provide personalized service.