Neighborly dining

Last week I shared my dining experiences in Lyon with you. Let’s move on to Arles, along the mouth of the Rhône. Three nights, two restaurants. These were the most neighborly experiences (except for one restaurant in Paris), I think. All three meals were like comfort food.

The weather was warm enough for my first evening meal to be on the terrasse, which in the case of Le Criquet was between two buildings. It was like eating on someone’s patio.

I also liked my server’s kicks.

I started with a kir, because the restaurant doesn’t have sparkling wine.

Then to fish soup, which you eat by rubbing garlic cloves onto a crouton, dropping it into the soup and spooning it up. All over the patio I heard people crunching their soup.

The main was fish and vegetables.

And dessert was citron meringue—basically, lemon pie. Really, really good lemon pie.

This is how they deliver the bill:

Next night I walked around the block to Bistrot Populaire, which faces the Roman arena.

The interior of the restaurant has about 14 tables, so I was glad I’d reserved. It was definitely too cold for me to deal with the terrasse, although there were some hardy souls who did.

Do you remember this guy? Yeah, this is where I encountered him and his shirt.

The starters on the menu did not interest me, so I went with the daurade, which turned out to be a whole fish. My server asked if I wanted her to deal with it, but I decided I should take on the challenge, which I hoped to do without embarrassing myself.

Dessert was fondant au chocolat, which we would call lava cake. Stellar.

Back at Le Criquet the last night it was too cold for outside, so this is the cozy interior. Again—glad the hotel booked for me.

Had a glass of rosé, since I was, after all, in Provence. 

A huge surprise for me was the Jerusalem artichoke salad. This was so amazing, I sent pix of it to colleagues.

Another amazing surprise was the lamb shank, which was so good I considered licking the plate.

Dessert was tarte tatin:

I have to say that as I sit here eating my yoghurt and granola and writing this, I miss these wonderful restaurants that gave me wonderful meals and absolutely no attitude. It was like dropping in on your friends—your friends who cook really, really well.