I'd visited Avignon with Jan some time ago and I remember it being a cold miserable day. All we did was visit the Palais des Papes (if memory serves me correctly, the Popes ruled from Avignon for 400 years or so) and then had a coffee in the main square. I didn't particularly enjoy the visit and my memory of the place was then formed. How wrong I was! (I bet you found that hard to type - Ed.). I really liked Avignon this time.
So last night the four intrepid travellers met up at CW's before the walk across the centre of the walled town to find our pool hall. Despite a breakneck speed I managed to get a very favourable impression of the shops and restaurants as they whizzed by. Jan's going to love this place I thought to myself. Anyway, we eventually found the pool hall, which, never ever having been inside a pool hall before, was exactly as I imagined it to be. We started to drink beer, play pool, tell jokes and generally talk a lot of nonsense. Bob and Steve were in full flow, talking about things very computer technical, when Chris (trainee chef) turned to me and said, "The sad thing is I understand what they're talking about." The quality of the pool, which was never very high, deteriorated in proportion to the amount of beer consumed but nonetheless we enjoyed ourselves. So came the time for a reverse yomp, across town, to Chris' restaurant of choice. La Vache a Carreaux, 14 rue de la Peyrolerie, 0490 80 09 05, was very interesting. Given the amount of beer I'd consumed by this time, I'd be lying if I said that I could remember everything, but here goes. I'd been told that this restaurant serves cheese with everything, and I mean everything, so I decided to start with what I thought would be a non cheese item, a plate of charcuterie. The meats were excellent but were served with a small piece of cheese on a salad in the middle of the plate. So I got that wrong then. My main course was duck breast served with a blue cheese sauce. Sounds strange, but tasted delicious. We then of course had a cheese platter, which Bob pronounced as the best cheese platter he had ever had (he normally eats Dairylea triangles) and to finish I had, wait for it, cheesecake. At the beginning of each course the wine expert gave his suggestion on what we should drink so thank goodness we only had four courses, that is until he dropped a bottle of pear schnapps on the table as a thankyou for consuming so much wine. Just what we needed. If the heart stopping cheeses weren't going to get us during the meal, we stood a fair chance of liver failure after. But such are boys' nights out. An excellent meal with lots of new, tasty ideas to think about. A good choice.
So last night the four intrepid travellers met up at CW's before the walk across the centre of the walled town to find our pool hall. Despite a breakneck speed I managed to get a very favourable impression of the shops and restaurants as they whizzed by. Jan's going to love this place I thought to myself. Anyway, we eventually found the pool hall, which, never ever having been inside a pool hall before, was exactly as I imagined it to be. We started to drink beer, play pool, tell jokes and generally talk a lot of nonsense. Bob and Steve were in full flow, talking about things very computer technical, when Chris (trainee chef) turned to me and said, "The sad thing is I understand what they're talking about." The quality of the pool, which was never very high, deteriorated in proportion to the amount of beer consumed but nonetheless we enjoyed ourselves. So came the time for a reverse yomp, across town, to Chris' restaurant of choice. La Vache a Carreaux, 14 rue de la Peyrolerie, 0490 80 09 05, was very interesting. Given the amount of beer I'd consumed by this time, I'd be lying if I said that I could remember everything, but here goes. I'd been told that this restaurant serves cheese with everything, and I mean everything, so I decided to start with what I thought would be a non cheese item, a plate of charcuterie. The meats were excellent but were served with a small piece of cheese on a salad in the middle of the plate. So I got that wrong then. My main course was duck breast served with a blue cheese sauce. Sounds strange, but tasted delicious. We then of course had a cheese platter, which Bob pronounced as the best cheese platter he had ever had (he normally eats Dairylea triangles) and to finish I had, wait for it, cheesecake. At the beginning of each course the wine expert gave his suggestion on what we should drink so thank goodness we only had four courses, that is until he dropped a bottle of pear schnapps on the table as a thankyou for consuming so much wine. Just what we needed. If the heart stopping cheeses weren't going to get us during the meal, we stood a fair chance of liver failure after. But such are boys' nights out. An excellent meal with lots of new, tasty ideas to think about. A good choice.
Ok, so what do we need now? Let's pop over to the cafe in the square (coincidently the first cafe that I had visited years before) for a warming nightcap. What could be better than a hot Irish coffee? As it happens, anything, because they had shut down the coffee machine but were prepared to serve us an ice filled cocktail. I tried to tell him in my best drunken Franglais that, it in case he hadn't noticed, it was bloody cold outside but could I melt his frozen Gallic heart? What do you think? An iced cocktail it was. Just what we needed. But such are boys' nights out. Anyway, back to Chris' for a nightcap (just in case we hadn't quite had enough) and he got out a half filled bottle of Spanish brandy. I was just about to tell him that I like that particular brandy, when he reminded me that I'd bought it for him some years ago. He doesn't drink a lot of Spanish brandy, our Chris. On pain of death we were told not to wake Chris' other half, who had to work the next morning, whereupon Chris walked into their bedroom and trod on the stereo control which turned it on full blast. I notice that he didn't offer to commit suicide! But such are boys' nights out.
***
After Jan and Lynne turned up at lunchtime the next day, we headed for a tapas bar (a bit of a Spanish theme developing here - Ed.) but I forgot to get their card because I was concentrating on trying not to think too much or indeed at all. Nice tapas! The girls, with 3 very brave boys in tow, headed for the shops to buy essential things like a pair of tweezers to pull fish bones out of fillets of fish. How have we managed before, I hear you say?
As night fell, it was now Chris' turn to practise his new found culinary skills. Smoked salmon to start, with a delicious cheese sauce, pan fried langoustines and risotto with a sauce a l'americaine and the most delicious chocolate (with black forest overtones) pudding. Chris, I'm sorry if my descriptions fall short. 24 hours of non stop haute cuisine, sur le pont, and then back home, for a rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment