France 14 days May June 2008
Gastronomic highlights not already mentioned before

La luma
RN 113 route de Langon
33640 Arbanats
Tel: 05 56 67 53 55
It was a great find discovered the classic way; it was lunch time and I sought a restaurant with a full car park. The French take lunch seriously.  It is, to most, the main meal and two hours is taken. It was a quarter past one and I was even concerned about being late. Trundling in through the front door I found nobody, just an attractive old bar, but following my nose and conversation noises to the left an attractive dining room overlooking a swimming pool and garden was revealed. It is a large dining room with beams in part, with half the walls glass. Elsewhere were bright prints on white walls with comfortable tables and chairs. The size of the dining room confirmed La Luma’s popularity when this road was the main Bordeaux to Toulouse artery and before the new motorway.
There was a decent enough menu but I looked no further than the daily blackboard which offered amongst others “cassoulette de ris de veau sa tranche de foie gras poelee.” Ordering this I received a steaming tureen of ris de veau in a nice thick gravy with a decent chunk of fresh foie gras grilled on top, and with this came a basket of fresh bread. I followed this with a plate of cheese. Magnifique: what better lunch could I seek whilst on the road!

Auberge l'Ancienne Poste"
Place Cazeaux Cazalet –
33410 Rions
Tel: 05 56 27 43 31
Rions is an ancient fortified village overlooking the Garonne. I had tentatively driven through the gate house and up to this attractive tree lined square with the top end open with a view across fields to the river. Opposite this open end is an attractive typical French building that looks like it was once the town hall, or similar. It bears the inscription Rions 1912 at its front peak. There was a sign saying Auberge but very little movement or sign of life. Needless to say I was not sure it was open. I had just got out of my car to check when a gentleman exited the auberge and walked to his car and drove off. Obviously seeing my confusion he stopped and gave me a thumbs up sign. I needed no second invitation.
Inside is a pleasant parquet floored room with wooden furniture and black table clothes with an old stove sitting under a chimney looking no doubt as it did many moons ago. The sun shone through the narrow high windows as I was greeted by a pleasant host. I suspect she was the wife of the chef.
I had a hot goat’s cheese salad with lamb chops as mains. I drank a very agreeable bottle of Lezongars (Website) which is a local wine maker in the class Premier Cotes de Bordeaux.
Another excellent find and well worth a detour to see this fascinating old village as well as finding a very acceptable repast.
On a passing note I knew very little about Premier Cotes de Bordeaux and Graves (the other side of the river) before visiting this area. The vineyards are mainly small and make varied wine, generally much softer than the classic Bordeaux big names because the predominant grape is often Merlot. In the case of the L’Enclos du Château Lezongars that I had, the mix is  nearly 50/50 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

HÔTEL DU PORGE
30 avenue du bassin d'arcachon
33680 LE PORGE
tel : 05 57 70 92 92
www.hotel-du-porge.com
This a small unpretentious hotel tucked away between the swish of Cap Ferret and the dross of Lacanau. I had nowhere booked and after briefly considering Lacanau I back tracked and sought a room at the inn. I was given a family room on the ground floor as soon as Madame realised I might have a problem with the stairs and this led to the garden and swimming pool. Early I sat outside as the owners chatted to friends and ate en famille. I drank a couple of beers and I conversed with the dog.
It was Monday and the restaurant was closed to others so I was the guest and was more than adequately fed, clearly not haute cuisine but more than adequate. The simple mixed hors d’ouevres of anchovy fillets, stuffed baby peppers, prawns, ham and artichoke hearts was particularly interesting. Afterwards I enjoyed talking to the owner about his passion for the deserts that had him following the Paris – Dakar rally on more than a few occasions.
A great place to stop in another wise pretty barren area.

Claude Darroze
95, Crs du General Leclerc
Langon 33210
Tel: 05 566300 48:
Website
This is a pleasant old coaching inn right in the centre of Langon, which is a chip and a putt from the Bordeaux periferique down the autoroute (direction Toulouse). Claude Darroze has an enviable reputation having been in this location for a number of years. The operation has a distinctly correct feel about it, old fashioned maybe but right with applied modernisation.
We had a splendid meal and I went for the menu saveur and enjoyed rouget and langoustine as starter, but the real star was the creamy poached eggs with crushed potatoes and morels as the second course: simple but superb. After that there was lamb, fromage, and a splendidly designed pudding. My sister had the menu saison with asparagus, braised fresh mullet with fresh tomato and basil sauce followed by cheese. The service was spot on and friendly for such an established place. The food was top notch and I rated it as the best meal I had in my two weeks in France.
The following morning as we were checking out there was a cluster of mature gentlemen in the small reception area. I knew one to be the head waiter, one other was the head chef, and the other I presume the said Claude Darroze. They had all clearly been together for a long time but were enjoying life and as friendly as could be, perhaps because they were my age group and I had obviously come for the food.

Hôtel de la Madeleine
1, place de la petite Rigaudie
24200 SARLAT - FRANCE
Tél : (+33) (0)5.53.59.10.41
Website
Sarlat has a unique medieval town centre and this hotel is but a few steps from it. It is a good old fashioned coaching style inn with acceptable bedrooms and a reasonable dining room.  Acceptable means a high enough standard (hey, I am picky so if I say it is okay, it is, unless you are film star or Victoria Beckham). It is normally full as it is the best place in this fascinating town which contains a mass of dining options.
However in order to make certain we got rooms at the inn I booked and insisted we needed feeding that evening. There was a large group staying at the hotel but we worked around that and had decent service. The item that had caught my eye on a past visit, when not even the stable was available, was jugged goose. This was a dish I really wanted to try so a detour was concocted. I had, from the top menu lentil soup with truffle which was a massive portion of a very rich soup which was interesting but I would not have again. The middle course was Le médaillon de lotte rôti à l'orange which was strange more than anything else consisting of a massive ring of oranges with a piece of monk fish on top. Now to the jugged goose as it is referred in English menu, although it is Le civet d'oie au vin de Cahors pomme confite et pruneaux in French. It was very rich in a way like a good coq au vin and had a distinct gamey flavour. I am glad that I have had it but not sure it is worth a second detour.
I think the best summary is that this is an old fashioned hotel with an old fashioned dining room; except for a few upgrades to the rooms it has probably not changed for decades.

AUBERGE DU POIDS PUBLIC
31540 Saint-Félix-Lauragais
halfway between Toulouse and Carcassonne.
Tél . 33.(0)5.62.18.85.00
Website
For the third night in a row I managed to find an establishment that had been in the same hands for a number of years and like Claude Darroze had enjoyed Michelin stardom for many of those years. This is a more modern operation with comparatively recent extensive renovation including some decent rooms, of varying size but modern and chic, and a large restaurant jutting out from the hillside with a magnificent view across to the Black Mountains. The location is essentially rural on the edge of an old village that sits at the end of a range of hills.
We arrived in time for a late lunch, not that we wanted much but we had intended to stop on the road. However a starter of melon in various forms and Parma ham all washed down with bottle of Gewürztraminer whilst we sat in the sun outside was perfect.
That evening we sat at the picture window and watch thunderstorms tracking their way from the distant mountains as the view faded with the light. For food we had highly polished presentations of attentively prepared food on specially chosen crockery. I regret that I did not write down exactly what I had.  I took photos and hoped I could get the details from the website: silly me. But I remember being less impressed with the taste than the presentation and found the portion sizes a little twee! Nothing was wrong but nothing quite had that je ne sais quoi for me! The pictures tell the story of a light fish roll, a good chunk of fish with razor clams and a small veal brochette.
A great spot to stop with good views and interesting village as well as an Inn worth a detour.