--- 11AVilqG CROSSED THE CHANNEL
By X. Marcel Boulestin
During our holidays, meals assume a greater importance, and one of the pleasures of foreign travel is the discovery of local dishes and wines. In hia new _book, M. X. Marcel Boulestin gives us a delightful variant of the travel book. Having Crossed the Channel, illustrated by J. E. Laboureur (Heinemann, 6s.), may be described as a gastronomical guide- book. Carefully concealing his own expert knowledge, M. Boulestin set out on a tour of :discovery- through. France and other countries- He regards motoring as the best means of reaching unspoiled places, though' he admits that touring has worked havoc even in France. A cosmopolitan standardization has spread rapidly and as food deteriorates prices increase. But he shares with us the table -diseoVeries lie has made off the beaten track. He has almost A. mystical belief in the specialite du pays and can discover' the harmony between food and scenery. By the River-Loire not far from Nantes he partook of a luncheon which had three different fish courses. " The Nantais find it• quite natural. It has- a kind of monotonous charm like the, flat landscape in which they live." In the Vendeen country one tastes the chaudrai, which is ,equivalent with the bouillabaisse--of Ake Marseillais and the fish soup of the Bretons. In the Landes country one is aware that the Atlantic has hrokenthin barriers of land and turned lakes into lagoons. At aperitif time one takes a dozen of the small delicious oysters of the district with a bottle of the local vin de sable. !It_gives one quite an appetite for a good dinner of garbure, fresh tunny fish and wild dove. A rapid incursion into Spain-to sample its dishes, dreamy days in Perigord, an unspniled region unknown to foreigners and even to many French people, and ,.exploration of the Basque country add to the -many dishes- described for our delectation.- It is perhaps a Barmecides feast for who stay at home, but it is all enjoyable even in the imagination. M. Boulestin's zeal is shown by the fact that even in Paris he hurries us down side-streets and across bridges into districts unfrequented by the tourist and in some restaurant _of_modest appearance finds the ideal fare.
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