A Tasty Treat

I don't know about the rest of you, but we don't really eat out all that often. But, when we do, we tend to go back to the same restaurants because we like them and miss them when we don't eat there.

In particular, because we have to drive half-an-hour at least for a Chinese or Vietnamese meal, we have one in Limoux and one in Carcassonne where we tend to go when we're in either place at mealtimes.

We were in Carcassonne yesterday and had planned to go to the Hanoi, which we adore. But, as we were driving we saw a brasserie that tempted us both and decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a mixed experience.

First, there was the "creepy-crawly incident," which was particularly difficult for me as I am terrified of bugs. Totally irrational, of course, but there it is. We actually seem to have brought the horrible beast home with us (in JM's briefcase???) where I was able to both squash it, then throw it into the fireplace. Hopefully he didn't bring any friends...

There was one waitress serving the whole dining room. This was not a restaurant to go to for a fast meal. Even though there wound up being a few empty tables, she eventually had to turn people away because neither she nor the kitchen could cope with any other diners.

But, the food was really good, which does allow you to forget a lot of the other stuff. JM got the menu, because it was ravioli, something I think he is genetically unable to pass up. I ordered from the carte. Unlike a lot of restaurants that we have visited, this place really had an interesting and varied choice of dishes. In fact, it was one of those times where it was difficult to make a choice.

Eventually, however, I chose "oeuf cocotte avec fois gras." I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but it sounded so intriguing I had to try it. And, what a terrific choice it turned out to be! The waitress brought me a large, white soup marmite. Inside was soft-boiled egg, covered in cream with small bits of fois gras floating in it. It looked odd, but smelled great. It came with half-a-dozen bits of toast, which I tore apart and floated in the bowl. It turned out to be perfect, heavenly, fattening comfort food! I forced myself to give JM a taste and he agreed with me. You wouldn't want to eat it everyday, but what a treat it was! When I finished, I put a few pieces of bread in the remains and gave them to Maggie, who also agreed that it was delish!

The funny thing was that I noticed at several other tables where there were couples, the exact same thing had occurred. The women ordered the “oeuf cocotte,” while the men ordered the menu! And, in all cases, we had JUST that and dessert, while the men all had three courses.

I wonder what that was all about? Tomorrow: details on JM's slide show at the local library tonight!


Ciao for now.


Randy