usU. 1
arry, Le Peche Mignon and Hote kegina
THE Guide Michelin France continues to damage restaurant cooking. The guide puts too much emphasis on decor and furnishings, and gives too little attention to the food. Of the 13,000-odd establishments listed, only 534 have rosettes for cuisine, whereas every one is meticulously graded on a one-to-five scale of crossed knives and forks or little model lodgings, each rated somewhere between Monopoly hotels and Chatsworth.
The result is that the guide would be a per- fect vade-mecum for someone who had to entertain a status-conscious Japanese execu- tive with no knowledge of European food. Recently, there has been an explosion in hideous interior design. Nowadays, it is possi- ble to pay through the nose for a tolerable but disappointing meal served amid a riot of fake marble, wrought-iron cachepots, ruched curtains, 1.M. Pei knock-off pyramids and tropical fish in bizarrely shaped aquariums.
The great improvement in British cooking and the franc fort policy means there is a gen- eration of British travellers who cannot enjoy the pleasure we had, ten or 20 years ago, of eating a wonderful meal and paying less than we would at home for an overcooked roast with soggy veg. Last month, I found myself signing a credit card slip for 650 francs, for the cheapest menus, two kirs, a bottom-of- the-range wine and coffee, at a restaurant a few miles south of Orleans which was okay but in no way special, while reflecting that lunch for two in the superlative (two stars) Tante Claire restaurant in London, with good wine, and service included, would have cost the equivalent of around 500 francs. You couldn't do that in the evening at Tante Claire, but there are two-star restaurants in Paris where 500 francs would buy you a set lunch, without drinks, for one.
By prizing grandeur over flair, Michelin also persuades restaurants that they must provide an endless stream of goodies for their already sated customers. Years ago, we were lucky enough to be lunched at Troigros in Roanne. There were amuse- gueules while we pondered the menu, an assiette patience while we were waiting for the starter, a sorbet between courses, and with the coffee a silver tray of petits fours. Somehow they slotted a four-course meal in between. At the end we were groaning, so we covertly wrapped the petits fours in a paper towel and hid it in my wife's hand- bag. A smiling waiter, assuming we had scoffed the lot, brought another trayful. That's fine there, though I resent paying for it somewhere less exciting, where a little fish and cream cheese are supposed to take your mind off the chewy slab of lamb and carrots on their way.
However, the Michelin does have one extremely useful feature, the red 'R', short for repas soigne a prix moderes. When I first .cottoned on in my youth, the 'R' indicated a meal at 10 francs or less. Now it usually means around 100 francs plus. For exam- ple, in the lovely village of Najac on the River Aveyron, the Oustal del Barry does a lunch for 100 francs, and a lunch or dinner for 130. Last month, we arrived without booking, but were seated on the terrace with its wonderful view of the valley.
We both had a stuffed roast guinea fowl in savoy cabbage leaves, accompanied by var- ious purées. The starters were excellent, the desserts lavish without being over the top, and the chardonnay from the Pays d'Oc was so good it must have been made by Aus- tralians. (The French still prefer their white country wines to taste of chalk dust; thou- sands of hectares of vines are grubbed up every year since they can't sell it abroad.) The entire meal took two and a half hours, which is exactl the r lent th for a holida lunch, and the bill was 340 francs, or £43.
At Easter in St Lo, Normandy, we had a big family meal at the red 'R' Peche Mignon. There was a decent choice on the 82 franc menu, regular cheese or hot chevre on salad before the dessert, and the children's meal was real food, rather than the usual hamburger and fates. Five first- rate adult lunches, three children's, aperi- tifs and plenty of wine came to 870 francs, around £14 a head, all in.
On a day trip to Paris last week, we ate in the Pluviel restaurant in the Hotel Regina, opposite the Tuileries Gardens. Its art nou- veau interior is what dignified as opposed to Michelinised French restaurants should look like. It just misses the red 'R', but a meal including variously a tarte de poissons frais aux fines herbes (fish tartare, really); a fraicheur — i.e. puddle — of tomato and basil with langoustines; sole roulade with sesame crackers and, curiously, fried melon balls, plus duck magret with the most deli- cious hot figs I -have ever tasted, came to 676 francs for three people, though it would have cost more if we had felt boozier. Then we went to the Louvre. It turns out that Richard Branson has taken over the biggest store in the chic arcade under the museum. Presumably one day he will bid for the Roman Catholic Church, though the Vir- gin logo might no longer be appropriate.
Oustal del Barry: Najac, Aveyron; tel: 65 29 74 32.
Le Peche Mignon: 84 rue Mar, Juin, St Lo, Manche; teL 33 72 23 77.
Hotel Regina: 2 Place des Pyramides, Paris; tel: 42 60 31 10.
Simon Hoggart
David Fin eton is unwell.
Previous page
