LE TAJ MAHAL, BEZIERS: RESTAURANT QUICK TAKE

Full Disclosure: I first heard the term 'The Raj' several years ago. The term did not appear in American history books. I never lived in any metro area with a significant Asian-Indian population. And I would guess that I was about 35 years old before I ate in an Indian restaurant.

So what the hell do I know? (If you prefer video to the written word, you can watch my review of Le Taj Mahal on my YouTube channel HERE.)

My sister-in-law now lives in the same village in the south of France that we do. For some reason not fully defined, she searched online for the best Indian restaurants in France. Le Taj Mahal in Beziers appeared on the list. We went because that's what we do, go to restaurants that look that they might serve good food. We're glad that we did.

First of all, the folks in the restaurant were very accommodating. We arrived at noon only to discover that they wouldn't be opening until 12:30. In recognition of the heat of the day, we were invited in, the air conditioning was turned on, and we were given a carafe of water while the floor was mopped and the tables set.

As far as the meal goes, the service was attentive without being intrusive. The food arrived piping hot and as ordered. The stuff that was meant to be spicy-hot was not too spicy, as we requested. But it was still plenty spicy. The tastes were interesting and varied enough to thoroughly please our unschooled palates. And the price was reasonable...except that we missed noting that bottles of Kingfisher Beer came to €5 per bottle. We had five between us, adding 30% to the cost of the meal for three people. Without the pricey beer, our meal averaged €25 per person with starters, mains, sides, and a dessert or two.

An online friend said that there were no decent Indian restaurants in France. They all serve beef, he said. They therefore cannot be authentic. Le Taj Mahal doesn't serve beef. Maybe it is authentic. I can't say. You decide.

Find Le Taj Mahal's website HERE. It's not a very friendly site and doesn't show one-tenth of the menu. And the menu below only shows their takeout main dishes. You'd get a better feel for the place on their Facebook page. You can read more of my restaurant reviews HERE.

AMERICAN SOUL AND R&B, DRIFTERS TO BADU: IRA'S BLEND 136

CAFE DE LA GRILLE, CAPESTANG: RESTAURANT REVIEW

If you prefer video to the printed word, click HERE.

I lived 50 miles from New York City for most of my life and I never visited Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. I've seen that green lady in the harbor hundreds of times on visits NYC. I've just never taken the time to take the ferry and check her out up close. Familiarity breeds contempt? Who knows? Do I regret the omission? Only a little. There was always something else worthwhile on the agenda. Maybe next time, when...if...I'm back in the neighborhood.

It's been at least two years, maybe three, since we've lunched at Cafe de la Grille. I have no idea why it's been so long. We've had coffee there dozens of times on visits to the market in the square in Capestang that the Cafe de la Grille faces. We just haven't stopped for a meal. That changed last week. Spur of the moment. We were passing through Capestang. It was just past noon. Let's have lunch.

We're glad that we did.

The covered patio was bustling on a late summer Thursday afternoon, a comfortable day after the summer heat had broken and you could begin to feel autumn in the air. It's a pleasant space, nearly full with families, couples, and the guy who manages the cave cooperatif. We think that the folks next to us might have been boat people, two couples whose conversation moved seamlessly between English and French. That's Capestang for you.

Cathey ordered from the menu of the day. She started with a small salad accompanied by a bit of quiche Lorraine. Cathey puts together a fine quiche herself, so her obvious enjoyment was an important endorsement. For the main, poitrine porc, pork belly, with frites. I've said before that one of the joys of eating in France is that the food tastes just like it's supposed to. Do you like pork? You can't get much porkier than good pork belly. And this was good pork belly.

I ordered the Assiette de la Grille, an assortment of charcuterie that delighted this carnivore. The picture tells the story, a full plate and a varied assortment. My side order of frites was, like Cathey's, fresh-cut and substantial.

With a demi of rosé, the bill just topped €34, a fair price for a filling, wholly satisfactory meal.

You can read more of my restaurant reviews HERE. 

 

WINE TASTING FOR PLEBS

I don't know a darn thing about wine. So I warn you. Don't listen to a word that I say. Why? I'm an American, born in the Northeast USofA, not exactly a hotbed of boutique wine making even today when the folks in places like the Finger Lakes of upstate New York have been trying to establish their creds for generations. All that I knew of wine as I was growing up came from my experiences with my grandmother's concord grape wine. Oddly enough, straight out of the barrel in the basement it wasn't too sweet. If you liked sweet wine, though, Nana didn't mind. She'd just add a dab of maple syrup to the carafe and shake it a bit.

See what I mean? Don't listen to a word that I say.

Like many of my fellow English-speaking expats, I have come to enjoy sampling the great variety of wines available to us in here Occitanie. We live in the midst of a terroir that is transforming itself from a region known for sheer quantity to a region dotted  with an ever-increasing cohort of quality producers of light and sunny rosés, clean and subtle whites, and hearty and complex reds. Signs dot every two-lane blacktop directing travelers to domaines with wine for tasting and for sale, often along with olive oil, honey, saffron, or other bounty of this ancient land.

We all have our favorites, from affordable but reliable standards to bottles laid in for special company. Domaine Pain de Sucre, with vineyards just down the road from us along the Canal du Midi, supplies us with an inexpensive rosé that has sweetened our sunny summer afternoons ever since we moved here.full-time several years ago. Laurent Miquel's Cazal Viel estate, another early discovery located between Cazouls-les-Beziers and Cessenon-sur-Orb, produces a range of viognier and chardonnay-viognier to suit any taste. And we're learning to navigate the reds, sampling and/or laying down bottles from Domaine de Pech-Ménel, Domaine Moulin Gimie, and Domaine Saint-Georges d'Ibry among several others.

Early on, we discovered vrac, bulk wine. Our English-speaking friends know of it. But our French friends are the ones more likely to buy it. After several years standing in line, waiting to get my hands on the stainless steel hose from which pours that cheap product in bulk like petrol into the tank, I can scarcely remember hearing English spoken. (Yes, I said petrol. Life among British expats...) I can't think why not. After a pleasant evening of sips and nibbles, and more sips and nibbles, and an extra sip or two, when all of the chilled bottles of rosé in the fridge have met their maker, we have on occasion been forced to pour from an unlabeled bottle of local vrac. No one has seemed to mind, although at the point that we bring it out, taste buds have already been dulled beyond repair. Of course, 95% of the time, our guests don't get anywhere near vrac rosé. But it's what we drink for dinner when we're by ourselves. And for us, it works.

Does this mean that we cannot discriminate one wine from another? Pas de tout! Three of the local cooperatifs offer vrac at prices averaging about €1.50 per liter, the caves in Capestang, Cebezan, and Argeliers. We periodically sample each in turn to check out which pleases our naive palates best at the present moment. Our current choice is Argeliers. We have a sneaking suspicion that the taste is dependent on how carefully they separate the snails from the grapes as they are unloaded. But they're not talking and we're not asking. 

So there you have it. 10 liters at a time for €15. Ah, France. Ya gotta love it.