CHEZ JEANNETTE: ANOTHER QUIRKY RESTAURANT REVIEWED

Some restaurants are easy to describe. This one has a standard white-table-cloth-and-crystal vibe with food and prices to match. That one cares more about appearances than quality and smothers everything in a goopy brown sauce that tastes like it came from a jar. The reader can begin making a judgement about places like those after just a sentence or two.

Some restaurants demand a more nuanced discussion. Enter Chez Jeannette in Aigues-Vives. Not because the food isn't well-sourced and properly prepared. It is. Not because the service isn't cheerful and attentive. It is. But because this ↓ is the way two of our party were served the 20€ menu of the day - family style in the center of the table.

The pork was perfectly roasted, the new potatoes properly cooked, and the ratatouille featured veggies fresh from the garden, not overly cooked, and with crisp onions.

Or how about desserts consisting of homemade preserves over crème fraîche? Have you ever had marmalade made from sweet red peppers or poppy petals?

We were served little bits of quality charcuterie and a few leaves of salad at the start. Having opted for the 26€ menu for the steak, my charcuterie was slightly upscaled and I was served bits of cheese before dessert.

OK. Just a little quirky so far. But you walk into an old house, no signage, and make your way down a hallway that opens onto a room with tables on the right that could be the restaurant dining room but isn't, continue down the hall to a room on the left with a television going behind the counter and walls covered with local posters and news clippings and, well, it's either your kind of place or it isn't. No plastic. Bring cash. Handwritten receipt. And the full rate for two 20€ menus and one 26€ menu, with wine and coffee? 66€ of course. Can’t you add?

We'll return.