I have to confess that B and I are fairly lazy/unadventurous when it comes to eating out in France. We have our old favourites, which are about thirty seconds' walk from our front door, and we tend to stick to them. Then last summer, our friends Tom and Charlotte stayed in the same town and raved over a restaurant they'd discovered about ten minutes' drive from Capestang, on the road towards a little town called Cruzy. We were sort of ashamed that we'd never even heard about it, let alone visited it.
So we resolved to try it this time. When we arrived, I was so glad we did. This is what it looks like:
Because it was a warm night, we were able to sit out on the pretty terrace of the restaurant, which was lit by lanterns and surrounded by greenery. This was the view, over the wide and peaceful Canal Du Midi:
Nearly every table outside was taken, which - since we were there off-season - shows just how popular this place is.
There were several set menu options on offer, so true to form I went for the cheapest (19.95 euros) and B went for the most intriguing-sounding (the menu surpris, with which you choose either the meat or fish option, and then eat whatever the chef sends out).
The meal kicked off with a pre-starter dish:
I didn't catch the name of this, but it was basically an egg soup drizzled with fresh basil pesto. I know that sounds kind of gross, but you'll have to take my word for it - it was silky-smooth and very rich.
This was my main course, a beautifully thick piece of white fish with a crumbed topping and served with a creamy, tarragon-y sauce.
Just looking at that picture is making me hungry.
B had magret de canard, which was pretty much a whole duck, served pinky-red in the middle and surrounded by a dark, savoury gravy.
There was a cheese course, too. Cheese makes me very happy. (Remember the cheese trolley at Zaranda? Ahhh.)
From left to right, we had a spready blue cheese, a slice of cantal, and a perfectly-ripe-to-the-point-of-runniness Camembert. I'd thought I was too full to want cheese. Turns out I was wrong!
The final flourish was the dessert.
Your eyes do not deceive you - that really is a selection plate of mini desserts, including a scoop of blackcurrant ice-cream, a teeny slice of rich-as-sin chocolate tart, a coffee-flavoured mousse, and a raspberry mille feuille. Oh, and masses of cream.
Since we were much too full to move, we lingered at our table and drank the locally-produced wine as the sun set.
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