Writing travel guides, one of the first
things we learned is not to bang on about how
wonderful/authentic/full-of-character places were when we first wrote about
them and how crowded/homogenized/regimented they had become. It’s true, of
course, but who wants to hear it? If people weren’t lucky enough to visit
Venice’s San Marco when you could just wander in and spend hours there, it’s
not their fault, is it?
Recently, one of our most reliable local
restaurants, La Poule au Pot in Goujounac, was suddenly shut down. It was a
duck ferme auberge, famous for heaving
quantities of hedonistically delicious food and the best sautéed potatoes on
the planet. Howls still reverberate down the Lot Valley: Où sont les patates
d’antan?
But two superb wonderful/authentic/full of
character local restaurants are still going strong and it’s time to toot their
horns for them because we don’t want to ever say: ‘Oh you should have been here
when they were open.” Of course we
hope they endure forever, but of course nothing does. Go now. Their Internet
presence is minimal, and as we know all too well, people don’t buy guidebooks
anymore. They mostly rely on word of mouth.
The first is La Terrasse in Grezels. We
went last week but forgot to take our camera, so all these photos are by our
dear friend Marianne, who went the next week.
Grezels on the river Lot is a Brigadoonish
sort of place. Any good village in the Lot will have a medieval castle or
château, vineyards, a brocante (antique shop),
and a B&B or two, and Grezels ticks all the boxes. And it has La Terrasse,
where time has stood still, at least since 1989 when we first went. The only
concession to the 21st century is having the menu in euros instead of francs.
‘Terrasse’ is something of a misnomer. There is a terrace but it only
has space for a couple of tables and it is only used for apéros before lunch.
Lunch, in fact, is all they do, in the old rural tradition that you are
famished after slogging away in the fields all morning, and need to camel up
for more of the same in the afternoon.
The best we manage to do is not eat any
breakfast and make the 4km walk there from Puy l’Evêque.
The couple who own it are two of our
favourite people, but we know next to nothing about them, not even their names.
Madame has a very sweet voice, takes the bookings (reservations are essential)
and does the cooking. No one we know has ever seen her, behind her wooden kitchen door,
but I imagine she must be a serene and happy soul. There are never any bells
and whistles: foam? nitrogen? sous-vide? Quoi? Her style is what the French
call ‘bonne femme’—literally ‘good wife’ but what it really means is comfort
food, simple, honest, fresh French home cooking, which very few restaurants
seem to do anymore. Certainly none as good as La Terrasse.
Monsieur, who has the physique of someone
who played rugby in his youth (like every other red blooded male in this
region) is in charge in the stone-walled dining room, adorned, Lot style, with
a stuffed weasel, a mounted deer head, and a giant wooden fork. After years of
practice he can single-handedly keep the dozen or so tables turning over like
clockwork. It helps that there’s no need to take orders, because although the
menu changes every day, there is no choice; one gets what Madame has been
inspired to cook. This of course is ideal for those of us who like everything
and hate making decisions. But
Monsieur has an eagle eye; if he spots someone not eating a course, a
substitute may well appear. The last thing he wants is anyone to go away
hungry.
When you sit down, there will be a carafe
of local red wine (very quaffable version of our local puts-hairs-on-your chest
Vin de Cahors, immediately refilled when you empty it) and a basket of crusty
brown country bread. Soon a tureen of delicious homemade soup will appear; a
rich tomato soup with noodles, or perhaps a traditional chickeny stock with
bread and cheese. Portions are generous, and there’s usually enough for more.
If you’re not a regular, Monsieur will come
around as you finish and splash some wine in your bowl to remind you to
faire chabrol—drink the last spoonfuls of soup
mixed with the wine directly from the bowl, as one does in these parts. It’s
especially good if there are some stringy gooey bits of melted cheese on the bottom.
Soup bowls around here have no rims, so you usually don’t slobber it all down
your chin and shirt.
The hors d’oeuvres that follow is no dainty
little piece of pineapple and cheese on toothpick affair. It might be an omelet
laden with cheese or cèpes, or a quiche lorraine.
This is when the uninitiated begin to
panic: this is where a normal lunch at home stops.
Mais non!
Time for the main course–a heaving platter of sliced duck breasts and beignets
de courgette, or perhaps tender beef and carrots and golden roast potatoes.
It’s excellent home cooking although not many of us were lucky enough to have
such talented parents. Afterwards, a green salad to ‘lighten’ the stomach.
Then the fromage— a choice of five or six,
including the soft white cabecou de Rocamadour, our local goat cheese. More
wine is required. And then dessert—a home baked tart, or rich chocolate mousse.
Coffee is included.
For Sunday lunch, when you’ll need to book
a table early, there’s even more: after the soup there’s a seafood course, with
a glass of white wine; followed by an entrée (generally something rich and
stewed) followed by the main course. It costs a bit more than the weekday €18,
but no one has ever complained.
La Terrasse, Grezels 46700 (on the Lot, south of Puy-L'Évêque), tel 05 65 21 34 03
Yummi! I have to make a point to stop by in Grezel before I head off!! bisous x Iris
ReplyDeleteYou certainly should!
DeleteMight be good for a birthday lunch! In spite of the meat course - but who needs the meat course? There's so much else. xx C
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan! Let's do it!
DeleteExactly the way we remember it! Lovely food, great service, generous portions -- although we didn't walk from Puy l'Eveque! x Susan
ReplyDeleteThe walking is important! Especially if no one wants to be designated driver...
DeleteHow did I ever miss this? xxSusanna
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not exactly on a main route...let's go sometime this winter when we start to go a bit stir crazy.
DeleteI find restaurant La Guinguette in Grezels much nicer and they have a terrace at the riverside. The La Terasse guy is very pushy and the food is way too much to enjoy. :-)
ReplyDeleteAgree, the Guinguette certainly has a far superior terrace and gorgeous setting on the river, and we've had many a fine evening there, but I don't think the food can hold a candle to La Terrasse. The guy at La Terrasse has always been charming and funny... and we like lots of food, so that's never a problem. But chacun a son goût!
DeleteThe coffee is extra but only €1,20 as opposed to some restaurants doubling said price.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected, Monsieur Toadwater!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best restaurant in the aera, even fromp the point of view of a "regional"! We love the food, the warm welcome, the wine and also the price! It's been one of our best places to eat for long time!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you guys write and the the romantic life you live! I'm an ocean away but in my mind, I'm making a reservation for Sunday lunch at La Terrasse. Great photos, Marianne! ohhh let's all walk over there!!!
ReplyDeleteAugust 2016 update: La Terrasse remains as lovely as ever, although the weekday menu is now €20... but still an incredible deal for all that delicious home-cooking and wine.
ReplyDeleteGosh, how I miss this place. I was the highlight of so many summer holidays. I would love to email Monsieur and Madame to tell them how much they have meant to us over our 20 years of visiting the Lot. They were so spectacular in making us feel so invited, so comfortable and so full! Such wonderful memories. I would love to send the a thank you email!
ReplyDelete