Tails From Provence

Sunday Stills – Circles

This weeks challenge for Sunday Stills is Circles. Pretty mean during a week when there is no full moon…

Anyway first of all I thought I’d go all arty-farty with a round table and a round lamp and two glasses and some coins. I had a lot of fun, but I don’t think I Aced it.

Then I put supper on the table – baked camembert, two glasses of white wine – and I went “Oh look, circles!”

So here’s my second attempt.

NB No LSH’s were fed cold food in the making of this photograph.

Visit Sunday Stills for more circles.

Thank Friday it’s Lunchtime – Le Chante de l’Heure, Apt

This week, we went to Apt – dear old slightly shabby Apt, home of one of the best Saturday markets in Provençe.

Our destination was a small restaurant called Le Chante de l’Heure, tucked away off the main pedestrian thoroughfare in Apt, the Rue St Pierre. The name “Chant de l’Heure” has something to do with pancakes and Candlemas day (Feb 2nd) which is the traditional day for pancake eating in France. Forget your Mardi Gras moveable feast, the French do it on Feb 2nd every year!

Anyway, the rather unprepossessing entrance does not prepare you for the cosy, homely interior. Exposed stone walls, decked with an eclectic mix of bits and pieces all add to a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere, and the wood-burning stove glowing brightly in the corner made it nice and cosy on a cold Winter’s day. We liked the fact that the dresser on the left is not just a showpiece – it stores glasses and crockery for the restaurant. The waiter showed us to our seats and left us alone while we admired the room – I guess they’re used to it. We were a bit surprised that there was only one other diner present – I would have thought that a Friday lunchtime would be busier than that.

Perhaps the prices put the canny local residents off, as it was a bit more expensive than what we’ve found recently.

There was no “Menu du Midi” and the Plat du Jour on offer was Souris d’Agneau – stewed lamb hocks – at a price of €12.00. A far cry from the €14 we paid for five courses last week, but it’s a very different setting. There’s no way I’d come into this place in muddy boots!

The LSH went for the Souris d’Agneau, but I wasn’t feeling very hungry, so I chose “Mont d’Or” described as a baked cheese, baked potato, salad and charcuterie.

I could feel my arteries clogging even as I looked at it – it was enormous!

Not only was it enormous, but it was delicious, and I had lots of fun dipping the different cold meats, potato and pieces of bread into the melted cheese. Despite that, and despite help from the LSH, I just couldn’t finish it – there was enough there for two people with my appetite.

The LSH was meanwhile working his way through the Souris d’Agneau – one of his favourite dishes, since we were first introduced to it in our friend Anne’s house many years ago.

This was also served with baked potato and a salad. Maybe salad was a strange choice to accompany a winter dish, but we both enjoyed it.

I couldn’t even contemplate dessert after my Mont d’Or, but there was Café Gourmand on the menu, and the LSH wasn’t going to turn that down.

It wasn’t the best Café Gourmand we’ve seen – clockwise, from the back right corner, there’s a slim chocolate mousse with vanilla ice cream, a macaron (which I nabbed – they’re light!), a creme brulée slathered with chantilly cream and the coffee itself. The white square in the middle is a square of chocolate that came with my coffee, which I swapped for the macaron!

So, to the nitty-gritty – was it value for money?

Well, my plate of charcuterie, salad, potato and cheese was a pretty stiff €18. I think if I went again, I would know that I’d like to share it with someone, which would make it great value. The total cost of the meal was €40.50 – probably par for the course for lunch in a town restaurant, but there’s better value to be had out in the little village cafés if you’re prepared to forego some ambiance.

Star Rating (out of 5) :

Service : ✮✮✮✮✮

Food : ✮✮✮✮

Value : ✮✮✮

Ambiance : ✮✮✮✮

February 8, 2013
Provençal Restaurant Reviews, Thank Friday it's Lunchtime
Comments closed

A Final Plea for Votes!

I just had a look at the other finalists in the Best Newcomer section of the PagePlay Equestrian Social Media Awards.

There’s Dear Murray, an equine agony aunt who has 13,000 (yes the comma is in the right place!) followers on Facebook.

He’s fiendishly funny. I want to email him a photo of Filthy Flurry and ask him WHY? Bet he’ll make me laugh! And he’s cute too.

Then there’s Equestrian Discount, an Irish online retailer, with the very cute ED as their mascot. Look at him – he’s just adorable! They have bargains. Loads of them. And a lovely website. Sigh.

Evention? Well when I clicked the link I went to their Facebook page and from there I made my way to some of their YouTube videos. Seriously, how could you not like Engaging the Hind End or, better still, RIder Exercises: a recovery plan after the holidays? Or the “Story of Christmas” viedo (I wanna Vegemite!)

I had already come across HorseEventsUk…. their site is professional and interesting and commercial all at the same time… sigh…

Horse Nation… turns out to be an American Giant, well presented, well represented and widely read…

and then there was Keeping Up with the Kaimanawas. This is about three NZ showjumping sisters who adopted 11 horses from a cull of wild horses and set about training them. Their story was made into a TV documentary, and they continue to document the horses’ progress via their website and Facebook page. Well, when my LSH heard that synopsis, he peered over my shoulder, looked at some of the photos on their site and said “WOW!” Yes. Wow. That’s all one can say really. Gobsmacking stuff.

There’s Lucky Hare, who makes the cutest little stuffed horses (collectibles, you understand, not toys!), the Exmoor Pony Club, whose site is HUGE and of course the Fab Siân Lovett who is nominated for THREE categories and deserves to win in every single one of them….

Yeah. I have a nice little blog, and I’m very proud of it, but in this company, I haven’t a hope! However, I am genuinely (really, I’m not saying this through gritted teeth, I swear), genuinely delighted to have been nominated.

And now, I’m going to ask ONE LAST TIME! Can you please take a moment, if you haven’t already done so, make your way over to the ESMA home page, make your way down to category 16 and vote for HaltSalute and? And on your way, have a look at some of the other nominees and vote for a few others – not in Category 16, I hasten to add, you’re not allowed to look at them!

Stay Loyal! Give me your votes, so I’m not utterly disgraced in the final reckoning! Friday is the last day for voting, so click on the link NOW before it’s too late!