RESTAURANT CORNER
By Tom and Elaine White
A little while ago I was asked why I never seem to criticise any of the restaurants that I write about and also the inevitable comment was made “I bet you have received a few drinks out of this”, ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink,’ These comments made me realise that I had never explained the philosophy behind my articles and why I had decided to write them in the first place. The answer to this may be of some passing interest to anybody who actually reads them so here goes.
It occurred to me that over the last twenty five years in France, the amount of people ‘eating out’ in restaurants seems to have dropped dramatically. Even fifteen years ago it was normally necessary to book a seat for ‘Sunday Lunch’ in most restaurants worth their salt. Today, sadly, that seems no longer to be the case. I say sadly because it appears that the ever declining number of customers ‘eating out’ is leading, inevitably, to restaurants closing down and, what’s worse, it always seems to be the better value ones that go. Perhaps this has something to do with the owners refusing to compromise on their ‘value for money.’ I don’t know, this is only a guess.
All is not doom and gloom however. Some of the better ones have survived and several new ones have started up and are competing well and successfully for customers. I then felt that it would be a good idea to try and encourage customers to visit some of the better value restaurants ( in my view ) that I was aware of, and thereby help their continued existence. By the same token I decided that I would not write about or criticise any ‘poor restaurants’ ( in my view ) as these would probably close down soon enough anyway.
It seemed to me that whether you are a person who eats out regularly or only occasionally, it would be very handy to have a list of restaurants to visit where the food is good, the value is good and where you are happy to pay the price for the meal and wine received, (after all, we are all aware of many restaurants where this in not always the case) and who knows, perhaps the occasional visitors may become more frequent visitors.
With regard to the ‘nudge nudge, wink wink,’ comment, I can honestly say that neither myself nor Elaine have ever received so much as a free apéritif or digestive for any of the articles written. This was probably due to the fact that most of the restaurateurs knew nothing about the intended articles until I asked for a copy of their menus as we were leaving the restaurant. This, combined with the fact that usually we do not revisit until some months have passed, solely because of all the other places we visit, and by then they have either forgotten the article or sometimes I have the impression that they are a bit ‘miffed’ because they had not noticed any ‘upsurge’ in customers. Ah well, that’s life. In view of all this, I have now concluded that the distances involved from Toulouse to these restaurants (on average about 45 minutes drive ) seems to be too far for most people to travel. Another point made to me was that it was OK. driving there but the problem was driving back afterwards. There’s no answer to that and so, unless there is a tumultuous outcry in protest, this will be my last article on restaurants. I would like to thank any one who has taken the interest to read them and I wish you ‘Good Hunting’.
Restaurant La Fanette
CD 928, 82700 BOURRET,
a village between Montech and Beaumont de Lomagne
Telephone:- 05.63.64.83.69.
Restaurant is only open on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday Lunchtime but will take group reservations
A small, charming family restaurant that is owned and run by Marcel and Chantal L’Hoir and their family, all of whom are of Belgian extraction. They are helpful, welcoming and friendly and they also speak English.
It has a distinct mid sixties flavour with one wall of ‘horse stall’ partitioned tables complete with fancy scrolled wrought ironwork, all very atmospheric. There is an outside terrace for the summer where one can watch the antics of the occasional donkeys, geese and chickens which are raised in the attached garden.
The restaurant’s card describes the food as ‘Traditional Cuisine’ but I would go further and say that it is also good quality ‘Home Cooking’ with a generous splash of Belgian influence and all of the vegetables are ‘Home Grown’ on the farm.
There is usually a choice of three ‘Main Courses’ which are changed every week and, if you are lucky enough to hit their Boeuf Flamand or the Navarin of Lamb weekend and you like stews with lots of chips, then go for it.
The portions are generous and well presented and the wine list is extensive.
To finish and as a digestive, if you have a strong head for alcohol and not too far to drive, ask for a Death of D’Artagnon. This is a speciality of the restaurant and is a mixture of Belgian beer and liqueur, one glass inserted into the other. Very nice but very strong, Be Warned !!
Conclusions.
Value for money……………. Very Good.
Standard of cooking ………...Very Good.
Food Presentation. ………. Good.
Ambience………Unusual, interesting, and pleasant.
Price of Wine…Very reasonable from 8 euros upwards.
Plat du jour à I0 €
Au choix
Noix de boeuf Forestière
Filet de brosme sauce citron
Rôti de porc aux lardons et aux pommes
Gigot d’agneau sauce provençale
Carbonnade Flamande avec son coulis aigre doux^
Potage du jour 3.50€
Assiette de charcuterie 4€
Salade de fruits de mer 4€.
Menu à I3 €
Velouté de la Fanette
Plat du jour au choix
Pâtisserie ou glace
Menu à I7.50€
Velouté de la Fanette
Assiette de charcuterie
Salade de fruits de mer
Plat du jour au cholx
Glace ou pâtisserie
Menu enfant 8.50€
potage, steak frites, glace (un parfum)
************************
On Saturday 23rd September, after a good but wet family day learning and playing Pétanque, we all descended on the very nice owners of “La Fanette”, where we enjoyed a delicious meal with huge amounts of chips and wine, followed by dessert and coffee. Everybody had a great time. The children also ate well and afterwards they were kept entertained by the donkeys next door -Thanks to Jane and Peter Edsall for the photo below.