LENOVO TAB 3 710F ESSENTIAL (7" Tablet): PRODUCT REVIEW

I don't normally do product reviews. You see, I'm not the typical American consumer. I live quite simply. I wring the life out of everything that I buy and only replace when I can't repair. On top of that, I'm quite the dinosaur when it comes to electronics. That's not to say that I'm not adept. I'd call myself a moderately proficient user. Before I retired, I was the in-house IT first call at my agency. When a co-worker had a problem with their desktop, they called me in and I was the one who decided if more professional (and costly) assistance was required. 80% of the time, I could find the problem and get things up and running again. And I could do more than turn it off and turn it on again.

But I don't own a smart phone. Being connected everywhere, all of the time, is not my idea of a peaceful retirement. I'm not a gamer...not even the simple Facebook stuff. And I don't stream videos from my tablet except for the occasional bits and pieces that come up on news and sports sites. When I want to watch a movie or binge Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, I hook my laptop up to my TV.

I do make significant use of my tablet, though. In the morning with my coffee, I check my email, cruise Flipboard, and scroll through the headlines on Yahoo Sports! I respond to any comments on  my Facebook page or my blog. When I go to a doctor's office or the vet or accompany The Southern Woman That I Married shopping, I bring my tablet and read from my Kindle library. And, of course, I take pictures. Seldom selfies. I know what I look like. But it is nice to have a camera handy in the south of France.

Don't worry. I'm getting to it.

My trusty Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 died recently. Yes, I'm an Android guy. And I decided to remain an Android guy. My wife's iPad is nice enough but I just don't think that it's worth the money. She'd still be using her Nexus 7 if our niece hadn't gifted her the iPad. I don't find the iPad to be intuitive to operate and I do find it to be as buggy as any other operating system if it decides to be. So when my Samsung died, I went up on the tech sites that published reviews, cruised Youtube box openings, and read buyer reviews on Amazon and elsewhere.

The object of the exercise? A simple, cost-effective internet cruiser for the purposes outlined above.

The result of my research? The Lenovo Tab 3 710F Essential. About two months ago, it was available on Amazon (.fr) for 69,99 euros plus 12,50 for a good cover with magnetic closure.

What do you get for pennies compared to the big names in tablets? In my view, a surprisingly useful device. Internet browsing is quick and efficient. 1 GB RAM and the quad core processor seem to be quite enough. I've gathered all of my email accounts into the Gmail app and never miss a missive. Flipboard loads and flips properly as do the pages of my Kindle books. The reviews give the tablet's display resolution poor marks but I find graphics crisp and clean enough. Bluetooth streaming from TuneIn to my stereo works as it should. And whether or not the cleaning program that I use regularly is helpful, after two months of several hours of daily usage I can detect no slowing.

And don't forget, although Lenovo is owned by the Chinese, it is IBMs former personal computer manufacturer, it partners with NEC to provide personal computers for the Japanese market, and is the world's most prolific unit vendor of personal computers. 

There are flaws. At 69,99 you would expect there to be. It's plastic. Well put together but plastic all the same. You really need a good case to protect your investment, minimal as it is. The volume and on/off bars are not particularly well placed but are not inaccessible. The camera isn't very good and won't save directly to a micro SD card should you choose to install one to save space on your 8 GB hard disk. I did. I solved the problem by deleting the camera app and downloading one that had the features that I wanted. I carry a camera most of the time anyway. But that's about it as far as flaws are concerned...for me, anyway. In my estimation, the Lenovo works as well as my Galaxy Tab 2 did when it was new and the Lenovo costs about one-third as much. What's not to like?

Recommended.

AUBERGE DE REALS - RESTAURANT REVIEW

One of the pleasures of living in this part of the world is discovering new places to enjoy well-prepared, reasonably priced meals in pleasant surroundings with congenial hosts. Auberge de Reals typifies that pleasure. The restaurant is located near a picturesque bridge over the Orb River off the main road between Cazouls-les-Beziers and Cessenon sur Orb. The view from the terrace must be quite nice in summer but we came in late January and so had to 'settle' for the main dining room with its crackling fire, stone walls, wooden beams, and tile floors. Be aware, in winter the Auberge is closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We joined a healthy Thursday lunch crowd, very congenial, many of whom seemed to be local regulars.

Service was attentive without being intrusive, pleasant without being over familiar. Given the nearly full house, our orders arrived surprisingly briskly, not hurried but not as leisurely as some restaurants in the region.

We ordered from the daily formula. Our salads came with a chunk of buttery fresh bread topped with a slice of quality goat cheese broiled just right. Simple greens, small wedges of tomato, slices of mushroom, and a mustardy cream sauce. Cathey ordered the fish casserole, chunks of white-fleshed fish (cod?) in a creamy sauce with carrots and with a lightly breaded crust. Tasty and a proper portion. Her side of rice was delicately flavored, not the typically bland side carb. I had the andouillette, a funky trash-meat sausage grilled properly and accompanied by a mound of crisp fries and another little taste of dressed greens. For dessert, Cathey had a flan-like citrus cream chock full of orange zest and I had the floating island topped with shaved, roasted almonds. Fitting endings.

With a demi of rosé (presented in a bucket of ice) and coffee for me, our total bill came to 33 euros. That's 12,50 each for the three-course formula plus wine and coffee. More than reasonable. We'll bring friends. Often. 

LE TERMINUS, CRUZY - RESTAURANT REVIEW

When Cathey suggested that we have lunch out on Sunday and that we stick close by, Le Terminus immediately came to mind. It's just down the road, we've eaten there on several occasions, and we've always enjoyed it. So I was surprised to find that I'd never fully reviewed Le Terminus as I searched through my blog. True, it appeared on a couple of lists of restaurants worth a visit. But a formal review? Nope. Couldn't find one. So here goes.

Located in the old train station between the towns of Quarante and Cruzy, the new young owners have created a thriving, bustling dining experience. In the summer, there are tapas nights with music. Special meals are featured on major holidays, even for take-out. The 16 euro lunch menu is always interesting. So Le Terminus is a local hotspot. On the Sunday that we arrived, the shabby-chic main dining room was fully packed. (And a bit noisy...) And the 16 euro weekday formula menu had morphed into a 30 euro menu. But one expects paying a premium for quality weekend dining.

I was a bit surprised at the extent of that premium, but more on that later.

A small dish of lucques, local olives fresh off the tree, greeted us at the table. No amusée bouche was forthcoming. We chose from the aforementioned 30 euro menu. Cathey started with the rouget (red mullet). Properly (barely) cooked, the two little filets came on a bit of greens with a slice of grainy toast,\ with red pepper tapenade and a chunk of chèvre de Combebelle (the especially fine local goat cheese) underneath. Just perfect. I chose an off menu recommendation from the server, an assortment of cured hams. Tasty, enough for two, and the cause of the aforementioned premium. (Wait for it...)

We both chose the Charolais beef tartare for our main, topped with shaved Parmesan, light greens, and bits of dark toasted olive crumble. You either like tartare or you don't. We do. To be special, the tartare has to be fresh, really fresh, and naturally sweet. It was. We were both quite happy.

I chose a chocolate confection with a caramelized crust at the bottom for dessert. (See the pic.) I've said it before. The French know chocolate. Scrumdiddlyumptious. Cathey's baba was the one disappointment. For us, a baba is about the sponge and the rum. This baba was confined to a cutesy Mason jar and covered in a thick and unnecessary layer of chantilly. It's considered a specialty of the house and, from the number of servings that came out of the kitchen, it's a customer favorite. Had she known, however, Cathey would definitely have tried something different. Not a total loss, mind you. Just not Cathey's idea of a baba.

With a bottle of Mas de Cynanque rose (local, clean, bio, at 13%) and a bottle of still water, the total bill came to 92,65 euros. That's about 12 euros more than I expected. Why? Apparently, my choice of the cured hams at the start meant that I was off the formula and ordering a la carte. Maybe my French wasn't good enough to understand that would be the case when the server announced the choices. But it was a surprise and frankly, if I had realized that would be the case, I might have ordered differently.

Water under the bridge. A fine meal, prepared well, presented well, served well. We'll be back...and be more careful when ordering off menu and choosing desserts.

LE FAITOUT, BERLOU - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Beautiful setting. Good friends. Agreeable service. Tasty food. End of review.


That's never the case, is it? You deserve more.


Berlou is a small village in the hills well north of Beziers. You just find the village, park, and there's Le Faitout, an old stone building on the Rieuberlou, a fast-flowing stream that eventually finds its way to the Orb. We chose to eat outside on a mild spring day so we can't report on the interior amenities. No need. Beautiful day. Beautiful views.

Five of six in our party chose the special of the day. We began with an amusee, a puree of anchovies and tomato. The start consisted of a ring of mackerel salad with a bit of fresh minced radish arranged on top. A small duck breast followed, covered with honeyed onions and sitting on olive oil-infused mashed potatoes. All courses arrived with edible flowers. Our host ordered the trout, presented to him whole before cooking for his approval. I was the only one in the party to try the dessert - vanilla-bean panna cotta with strawberries. (The sacrifices that we make for our art.) Coffee came with a frozen chocolate confection. During the meal, the six of us finished off two bottles of suitable pink from the local cave cooperatif.

All was prepared properly, served properly, and properly priced. A most pleasant meal. I can't be more exact about pricing. I was a guest and didn't ask. But the menu listed combinations for the menu du jour - starter and main, main and dessert, or all three - starting at 16 euros. Tasting menus ranged up to 52 euros for five courses.

Visit Le Faitout. Beautiful setting. Agreeable service. Tasty food. End of review.

LA TARTINE, ALBI - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Tourists in France are fortunate that they are touring in France. Unlike restaurants in other places that can count sightseers as a captive audience, restaurants in France simply will not succeed unless they pay more than minimal attention to the quality of the food that they are serving. As a result, and as I have said before, an average restaurant in France is better than most restaurants in other parts of the world. A case in point is La Tartine in Albi.

Let's face it. If your restaurant is located in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, right across from the entrance to the beautiful riverside gardens and the Toulouse-Latrec Museum, in sight of the cathedral, you could serve corn dogs on a stick and sell them out most days. La Tartine does not sell corn dogs on a stick. It does serve reasonably solid food at a decent price. That's not meant to damn with faint praise. That is exactly what La Tartine should be doing.

Of the four of us in the party, two chose the cassoulet de Toulouse and two chose the menu of the day. Connie started with a green salad topped with Roquefort and walnuts followed by a joint of chicken from the plancha and frites. I had an onion tarte with a small side salad followed by a grilled link of Toulouse sausage and frites. For our desserts, Connie had sugared crepes and I had a small slab of dense chocolate cake with creme Anglais and whipped cream. The crust of the cassoulet may not have been broken seven times but the cassoulet tasted as a cassoulet should. The frites were reconstituted but hot and plentiful. My single link of sausage, though tasty, did look a bit lonely on the plate. The most telling commentary may be that the only truly noteworthy dish of all of the dishes was the chocolate cake.

With two demis of wine and coffees at the finish, the tab ran just under 80 euros.

This is France. Average can be a good thing.

AUBERGE DES JACOBINS, NARBONNE - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Saunter along the renovated pedestrian spaces bordering the Canal de la Robine in Narbonne and you'll find a variety of restaurants vying for your business. We've tried a few. We have a few more to try. But the other day, about a block off the Canal on the Les Halles side, off the beaten track and out of view of the Canal, we came upon the Auberge des Jacobins. We're glad that we did.


The Auberge is a small space, just a few tables outdoors on the sidewalk, about three tables indoors in the shade looking out, and some tables up a few steps in a room in the back that we didn't inspect. On a midweek day, having arrived a bit after noon for lunch without a reservation, the trade kept the single waitress hopping. But she was attentive and timely. And when we finished, as busy as she was, she was happy to spend some time chatting with the Americans.

We started with small salads, anchovy and smoked duck and chevre chaud. Three of our party of four went for the plat of the day, a chunk of fresh cod, lightly breaded with a parsley sauce, accompanied by potatoes pureed with artichoke. All properly done and well priced at 9 euros. I had the duck breast with frites. The duck had been grilled hot and fast and was just right. The frites could have been crisper but serviceable. For dessert, I had a loose custard with a burnt crust adorned with raspberries. Hot and tasty. The brioche pain perdue was a real hit.

With two demis of wine (Too expensive, but isn't it always?) and coffee at the finish, the tab just broke 100 euros. Just fine for a leisurely meal. So...

Better than average. Good but not outstanding.

For more restaurant reviews and foodie info, click HERE.

LA MENINO, CARCASSONNE - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Pic of patio space swiped from Carcassonne tourism website...

It's hard to give a restaurant less than a sterling review if you had a perfectly adequate meal at a reasonable price. Isn't that what we all expect? But isn't that the point, as well? An adequate meal at a good price should be the average. And in France, it is the average.

So La Menino is an average French restaurant and that's OK by me.



La Menino is about the closest restaurant to the airport outside of Carcassonne that doesn't serve fast food. We couldn't find our TripAdvisor choices, Bad mapping or bad navigation, so we settled for what we could find. The joint was jumping when we arrived for lunch at about 1:00pm. We showed ourselves to the only available table, a table for two, in a room that had seating for about 40. The waitress found us soon enough and, upon learning that we were native English speakers, stopped her perfectly understandable French spiel and sent over her colleague, very pleasant and helpful. No menu, just the deals of the day. 15 euros, all inclusive. The mains were grilled pork; a casserole featuring cabbage, bacon, and onions; and a joint of roast chicken. Cathey and I both chose the pork.

We began at the simple apero buffet - charcuterie mostly for me, salad for Cathey. Nothing special but just enough to make up a plate. The pork was done properly, hot and fast. The chips (fries, for my American audience) were reconstituted but plentiful and hot. Cathey chose the fromage blanc with strawberry jam (homemade, not store bought) and I had a small dish of creamy chocolate (mousse?) with a side of creme anglaise. With a demi of pink (surprisingly good quality) and coffee at the end, the total came to 30 euros...15 apiece as advertised with no ups.

So, the food was proper. The service pleasant and timely. The price was right. All as it should be.

This is France. Average is just fine.

Check out all the reviews and recipes HERE.

ME GUSTA TAPAS, BEZIERS - RESTAURANT REVIEW

The Polygone in Beziers near the train station is about as modern a shopping experience as you will find in the region. There are dozens of little boutiques trying their best to be trendy on two floors surrounding an open atrium. There are chains like chocolatier Jeff de Bruges and book/CD/DVD/crafts vendor Cultura. There's a major grocer, a cineplex, and even a bowling alley. And, of course, a food court. On the roof. We passed up Subway and tried Me Gusta Tapas.

It's a nice space with outdoor tables, tables enclosed by glass but still with an exterior feel, and an indoor room. Comfortable chairs and well-spaced tables. Friendly service, attentive without being intrusive. Some English.

We both ordered from the tapas menu. Cathey chose the eponymous Me Gusta Tapas, one of several assortments. The full plate included green olives, black olives and cucumber with bits of feta, chicken wings, grilled red and green peppers, bread slices spread with garlicky diced tomatoes, Serrano ham, bits of pork on a skewer, and fried potatoes with a house sauce. Cathey especially liked the crusty croquettes of creamy mashed potatoes and bits of ham. I had meat - Serrano, chorizo, and bellota - along with the tomato bread and a small green salad. Meat. Lots of meat.

All in all, if not dazzlingly inventive, the food was fresh, tasty, and filling.

With a glass of sangria for Cathey, a Spanish beer on tap for me, and a coffee for me at the finish, the total came to 45.90 euros. Given a coupon that was worth 3 euros for parking, well worth the price for a hefty, enjoyable, leisurely food court meal.

CHATEAU DU PUITS ES PRATX - RESTAURANT REVIEW

This is a ticklish one.

We went to the Chateau to hear an Indian fusion jazz concert. We could have booked for just the concert but we decided to try the dinner menu as well. We experienced a roller coaster ride, full of ups and downs. Let's see if I can make sense of the evening for you.

The venue is in some ways unique. The chateau sits just on the outskirts of Ginestas, a rural Languedocian village with a surprisingly robust English contingent in residence. The restaurant is situated in what had been the winery of the chateau, behind the main house. A conversation nook with a wood-burning stove greeted us on entry. The walls of the large space are well-pointed stone and the dining room is surrounded by the trappings of a major wine-producing facility - casks and cuvees (large vats) abound. Set up the way that it was, about 30 or 40 people could have been seated. We counted perhaps 25 attendees total as the concert commenced.

It's a very inviting space.

Cathey chose the 26 euro menu, starting with an assiette of tapas that was light and refreshing. Her main featured chunks of a white fish in cream sauce baked with melty cheese and a crisp crust. I went for the 36 euro seafood infusion, featuring some common and uncommon denizens of the deep, followed by duck breast with red wine reduction. At the finish for us both, a chocolate torte. With a pitcher of rose, the tab totaled 97 euros.

The food was competently prepared. The service - by our obviously British host - was prompt and timely. But I have three quibbles.

The meal was not worth the price. We don't usually eat dinner out, so perhaps I'm mistaken. But if the same meal had been served at lunch, I would have expected to pay no more than 20 euros per person.

I did not expect to pay for admission to the concert as well as dinner. I guess I didn't understand the blurb on the website.

Finally, the audience was one of the most inconsiderate in memory. We've been to free concerts nearby with a couple of hundred folks in attendance who were quieter and more attentive than the 25 or so at the Chateau. There were a few of us who came for the music. The rest acted like an American dinner theater audience, more interested in being heard than in listening. Maddeningly distracting given the quality of the music.

In sum, a night that started out with great promise given the venue and the musicians soured quickly given the nature of our fellow diners and the cost. A shame...

The image below is from the website, showing the room but with a different setup.

LA PERLE GRUISSANAISE - RESTAURANT REVIEW

This is what two dozen oysters, shrimp for three, and some odds and ends look like.

We wound our way through Gruissan on a gorgeous September Sunday, headed through the seaside town to the Med and La Perle. Friends had recommended La Perle to us as the place to go for seafood fresh off the boat. Cathey and Connie had yet to have their first R-Month oysters, so off we went.

The parking lot was full. This is not your typical restaurant where you find a table, read a menu, wait for the wait staff, and place your order. Instead, we joined a line snaking past tubs of fresh oysters for sale and tried to figure out how things worked.

As the line advances, you come to a chalkboard with prices and a guy who asks what you'd like. If you appear to be a newbie, he prompts you. We wanted a couple of dozen oysters, shrimp for three, and a few raw mussels to taste. Did we want lemon? Yes. Mayonnaise or aioli? Aioli. Wine? Yes, a liter of white. He gave us a numbered, handwritten stub that we took to a cashier. She asked if we'd been there before. No. Keep your stub. In about 15 minutes, you come back and pick up your food. We paid and were given our wine, a carafe of water, and a plastic garbage bag.

You can choose from tables and chairs indoors or picnic tables outside facing the water - the etang (bay), not the Med. We found a table under a little thatched umbrella. Connie and I went back inside and picked up six glasses - real glass, three plates, knives and forks and lots of paper napkins, and a bucket for the oyster and mussel shells only. The plastic bag would hold the rest of the trash. After a few minutes, I went back for the seafood, oysters on a bed of ice, opened and with the shells replaced so that they almost looked as if they hadn't been, good-sized pink shrimp scattered throughout, the mussels and lemon halves and a little jar of aioli on top.

La Perle reminded us of the seafood shacks with which we are familiar in Louisiana. Off the boat fresh. Sweet shrimp. Briny if not overly plump oysters. Raw mussels were a new taste, interesting but not in our wheelhouse.

61 euros and change for the lot. Just great. Next time we'll bring hot sauce.

LES JARDINS DE BAGES - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Bages is a pretty little touristy village on the etang (salt-water bay) south of the city of Narbonne. There's a fantastic view of the Narbonne cathedral several kilometers across the etang from a lookout point at the top of the village near the village's little church. During high season, Bages is a hopping place but at other times it's a quiet, peaceful town with pretty facades to stroll past and a fine restaurant or two in which to pass a relaxed luncheon. One of those restaurants is Les Jardins de Bages just across from the cafe Les Beaux Artes, another fine choice, by the way.

We sat outside under the shade of a tree heavy with ripening olives. We had no reservations for our Sunday luncheon but it was the very end August, the high season was virtually finished, so there was no problem being seated. Service was crisp, timely, and helpful. There were four menus, starting at 18 euros for your choice of two plates (starter, main, or dessert) and going up from there. Seafood was featured as was to be expected so near the Med.

My three table mates started with the fish soup. Not as hearty and thick as some but still tasty and satisfactory. I had a quiche with goat cheese melted atop and a bit of a side salad. All good. For our mains, two tajines with chicken and one with seafood - served hot in their clay dishes. I had marinated chicken with a bit of ratatouille and a potato mash on the side. Again all good, well-portioned fare. One cheese plate at the finish had a nice assortment. My one scoop of strawberry ice cream (all out of chocolate) had iced up a bit, so not the freshest best.

With a bottle of local rose, the total tab for lunch for four came to 90 euros. That's a bit much except for the fact that the food was good and that Bages is clearly a tourist village that can charge tourist prices.With that in mind, Les Jardins de Bages is a good choice for a lazy lunch in the shade of an olive tree.

LA BONNE HUMEUR, CAZOULS-LES-BEZIERS - RESTAURANT REVIEW

There are restaurants with bars and bars that serve food. La Bonne Humeur in Cazouls-les-Beziers falls into the latter category. But don't be fooled. Lunch is well-prepared, substantial, and reasonably priced. We stopped by recently to pass the time while our car was being serviced and were not disappointed. The outside seating was shaded and comfortable although the road noise could be a bit much. The lunch crowd was clearly composed of friendly locals who enjoyed each others' company - including an Irish couple who sat next to us. They had retired to the village several years earlier and lunch at La Bonne Humeur more frequently than they had been since it's changed hands for the better.

Starters included a choice of charcuterie, crudities, salad, or chick peas in vinaigrette. Not fancy but the salad was well constructed and the chick peas were an unfamiliar twist. Mains included encornet (cuttle fish - a squiddy sort of thing), faux filet, and duck breast. Cathey's encornet came in a light tomato sauce, non-Italian, with peppers and lots of garlic, properly slow-cooked. My duck breast was seared on the outside and pink on the inside. Fine. Frites or rice on the side. For dessert, Cathey had the cheeses (goat, bleu, and brie) and I had the floating island. Both satisfactory. (One of our neighbors had the fruit salad and it was clearly out of a can.)

We had a glass of rose wine (with an ice cube already in it) and a beer while we waited, a demi of rose with the meal (luke warm and accompanied by a sack of ice cubes), and I finished with a cafe creme. 32 euros.

This was not gourmet eats but nothing flopped and, if the rose had been chilled and the traffic a bit calmer, I might have called La Bonne Humeur above average. As it was, it's decent cheap eats if you find yourself in Cazouls. But be aware, there are better restaurants for lunch within walking distance charging just a few euros apiece more. You decide.

BAR LE 40, QUARANTE - A REVIEW

RETURNED FEBRUARY, 2017. THIS INITIAL REVIEW FEBRUARY, 2015. SEE EDIT AT END.

I live in the little French town of Quarante. Quarante also happens to be the French word for the number 40. Is it any wonder that the local sports bar/cafe is called Bar Le 40?

Let's be honest. Bar Le 40 is a local joint with no ambiance whatsoever, inside or out. Sitting on a busy intersection with cars whizzing by all day, you are protected from even a minimal view of that traffic by cars parked at the curb, obstructing your view (such as it is) because the sidewalk is only a few feet wide. Except for a few posters, the interior hasn't been redecorated since the town was liberated...in 1918. But as the only place in town where you can sit down at a table and be served a meal, nothing really matters as long as the food is edible. On a recent Friday, lunching with a couple of my neighbors while Cathey was out of town, the food was edible. Not great, but not bad and worth the price.

The three of us each chose the menu of the day for 12 Euros, add a Euro for a liter of house wine. For starters, choice of salad with a wedge of a cheese tart or a simple plate of charcuterie. For the main, fish filet or biftek with a side of either frites or spinach. Several dessert choices including an apple tart and ice cream, but we all chose the caramelized flan. As I said, all edible. I think the beef was a better choice than the fish, but that's me. And the spinach looked a bit limp, but I chose the frites...also a bit limp. The flan was just fine. All in all, we filled up and didn't feel cheated.

They say that the house confit de canard is a good choice for dinner. I'll give it a try. Yes, I will be back. After all, it's the only place in town where you can sit down at a table and be served a meal.

EDIT: There's been a change in ownership and in the kitchen. If I understand correctly, the new chef is the son of a previous one. There's been a dash of paint here and there and I'm told that the bathroom is now up to handicap standards. I generally do not frequent the restrooms in bars. I'm funny that way.

I would rate the new lunch menu as about 10% better than the previous. The starters continue to be unexceptional - the charcuterie pedestrian and the salad, while reasonably portioned, lacked the tangy balsamic dressing that regulars came to expect. The major change was the main plate. The new formula is just that bit more adventurous. Oh, there's still that chewy beef that we've come to expect but at least the fries are cut from whole potatoes and not reconstituted. But the second choice has upped the game - one day parmentier of beef, one day duck hearts, one day beef tongue. Little change in the desserts. So the possibility of a potentially interesting surprise exists. Add a euro to the formula and without wine included as previous and it's almost a wash.

But I repeat. It's in the village an easy saunter away. It's edible. And it's not overpriced. It'll do.

RESTAURANT L'AMBASSADE, BEZIERS - A REVIEW

When I was writing restaurant reviews professionally in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, I would take copious notes. How was the room furnished? Did the acoustics allow for comfortable conversation? Crisp linens? Sparkling glassware? Was the service attentive, professional? And I would carefully describe every dish - visual presentation, aroma, texture, taste, ingredients, derivation. All grist for the mill. I was being paid to eat and I was determined to give my employer and the reader their money's worth.

I now live in the south of France, in the land of the Impressionist artists who taught us that beauty is not always best expressed through strict attention to photographic detail. It's possible, perhaps desirable, to simply sketch the outlines and let the imagination of the viewer fill in the forms. I'm certainly not in the same league on the printed page as the Impressionists were on canvas, but you get my meaning. My style is not as precise as it once was. You'll have to get to know me, to trust me, and to read between the lines.

Why have I spent so much time explaining my current process? Because I have just finished the best fine dining experience that I have yet to have had in France and I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time on the details. The details would only fuzz up the experience rather than sharpen it. There are those who would disagree, who would demand every jot and tittle. Fine. Enjoy a lunch at L'Ambassade. (And you WILL enjoy it.) Write your own revue. But think of me as the Rod Serling of restaurant reviewers. Are you familiar with the customary opening of Twilight Zone? Rod would face the camera, perhaps smoking a cigarette, and say, "Imagine, if you will, a world in which..."

Imagine...

L'Ambassade is directly opposite the train station in Beziers, not the toniest part of town. With an unprepossessing facade and simple, adequate, but almost pedestrian interior furnishings, L'Ambassade doesn't strike any poses.

The service is attentive but not intrusive. Informative without being overbearing. Timed to our pace rather than demanding that we conform to theirs. Nearly three hours at table and we never felt either rushed or neglected. (You read that right. Three hours. For lunch.)

An assortment of amuse-bouches presented us with a kaleidoscope of tastes and textures. I particularly enjoyed a test-tube portion of creamy mussel soup sipped through a straw (my table mates found it a bit too briny) and a tiny bowl layered with custard, sauced mushrooms, and a lobster froth. About six different such tidbits were presented to us on two rectangular plates, one plate for each side of the table, enough for the seven of us to have one of each of the bits.

The starters were diverse and unusual, for this Yank anyway. I had the masque de cochon, pig snout for the uninitiated, with a skewer of fried offal. Calm down. If you are a meat eater in a culture that adheres to the 'from tail to nose' philosophy, you should be prepared for a little tail, a little nose. The thin circles of tender snout were quite tasty and were accompanied by green lentils that were prepared in such a way, and in such a creamy sauce, that completely changed their typically beany flavor. Cathey had an off-menu velouté de champignons (mushroom soup) that spanned the gamut of textures from solid bits of mushroom to foam. She described the soup as essence of mushroom.

We were offered several such off-menu items, by the way. We all chose from the 30 Euro menu that, in print, featured two choices for starter and three mains. In fact, we were offered about twice as many choices. Our host, a new foodie friend of ours here in France, is well known in L'Ambassade. Since he dines there often enough to have run through the seasonal menu, the chef provides an alternative or two for him when he books a reservation.

I chose ris d'agneau (lamb sweetbreads) for my main course. I am not a particular fan but the other three choices - two on menu and one off - were each seafood and none caught my fancy. Simply grilled, on a bed of rizotto adorned with truffle shavings, and with a couple of hearty chunks of fresh girolle mushrooms, the sweetbreads filled the bill. But they did point up another curiosity, perhaps French, perhaps just L'Ambassade. Think about it. Four choices. Three fish - monkfish, sea bass, and baccalao (salt cod) - plus sweetbreads. From my point of view, a bit restrictive. Speaking of the baccalao, that was Cathey's choice. Perfection.

Before dessert, a shot glass of citrus mousse with almond slivers cleansed the palate. Then wondrous desserts. Several choices. I had chocolate ice cream in a ganache cup sitting atop a chocolate 'brownie' (but so much more) encased in ganache, with a shot glass of chocolate syrup on the side. Wondrous is just the right word for French chocolate. Cathey had crepes Suzette, an add-on of a couple of Euros, prepared at table side. Without the dramatic pyrotechnics that sometimes accompany the dish, but perfectly executed just the same.

A word about the wines. We all drank white throughout the meal, a fine, full-bodied four-grape white, primarily chardonnay and viognier, from the Domaine Castelneau a bit east of us. I think that given my menu choices, my pairings-conscious host would have preferred that I shifted to red. But the viognier gave the white enough of a boost to work with my choices and I saw no reason to change from the excellent vintage. At the finish, and in honor of our host, we were treated by staff to glasses of a sweet Banyuls from Catalan country.

And, of course, coffee.

With a bit of a gratuity, 50 Euros a head. An afternoon of exquisite taste at an incredibly low price for the quality of the fare. If you are a true foodie and you find yourself anywhere near the train station in Beziers, you owe L'Ambassade a visit.

CAFE DU MIDI - BIZE MINERVOIS - A REVIEW

You can't go home again. Well, in this case it might be more accurate to say that you can't always get back to where you once were even if you go back to the same place. Catch my drift? Too much drift?

On a luscious fall day in 2004, my wife Cathey, her sister Liz, and I happened across a restaurant in the little village of Bize Minervois. It's a pretty little village with the river La Cesse running alongside, not far from the regional olive cooperative with its neat gift shop, and on the back road from here to there if you're tired of the highway. We're in and around Bize quite often. But we've never returned to that little restaurant just inside the Bize archway until this weekend. We remember the restaurant well, though we've lost the name, because of a picture that Liz took of Cathey and I as we sat down to eat, a picture of a younger, happy, and satisfied couple that was printed out, framed, and given prominent play in my office at work and also served as my avatar on several websites in the decade since it was taken. The meal was as memorable as the picture. The girls shared a huge salad plate with a dozen or more ingredients including fresh veggies of the region and the season, pickles, and a hunk of country pate. I had rabbit, my first in France, stewed to perfection and served in a funky terracotta bowl. No ambiance, though. Not a lick. Just good French country cooking.

Today's Cafe du Midi is a different sort of place. Modern brown and red fabrics in place of the white linen. Modern, slightly awkward chairs. Modern lighting. Modern. That's okay. Modern is okay. But the menu was not okay. Our choice for a main dish was either hamburger or steak. Granted that it was a winter weekend. Granted we arrived just before a party of about twenty that had booked beforehand. Granted that it was the fixed price special. Even so, you shouldn't have to choose between cow and cow.

I will say that the presentation was interesting. Check out the picture. But to Cathey, the idea that hot and cold courses were served at the same time meant that by the time that you got to the last hot course, it wasn't hot any more.

So...

The sauteed veggies atop a square of puff pastry with a mild sauce was OK. The gazpacho with bits of bacon would have been interesting if we didn't get the feeling that the tomatoes came out of a tin. The steak was French biftek with a sauce and a dash of onions. The fries - chilling down while we worked on the veggies and the gazpacho - were probably reconstituted. The pineapple was fresh and the presentation novel. The goat cheese was good and the cheddar was French cheddar. (The French don't get cheddar.) Good baguette.

With a demi of wine, 32 Euros. Cathey has spoken. There are too many kitchens to sample in the region to come back to the Cafe du Midi any time soon.

LES TROIS PETITS COCHONS, GINESTAS - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Full disclosure...I'm a sucker for neighborhood joints.

Certainly Cathey and I enjoy destination restaurants with inventive takes on classic themes. But most times when we go out to eat, Cathey and I are simply looking for good food, well prepared, in a casual atmosphere, at a reasonable price. That's what defines a good neighborhood joint. That's Les Trois Petits Cochons (The Three Little Pigs) in a nutshell.

Les Trois Petits Cochons is more a bar than a restaurant or bistro. There's seating for about twenty at tables inside, a few more outside facing Ginestas' market square if the weather suits. You choose starter and main from a chalkboard menu that the waitress props up near your table. We were surprised at the variety. I had grilled Camembert for a starter that came boiling hot with a sort of cracker crust underneath and bits of smoked ham on top. Cathey had an odd take on German potato salad - herring and sliced potatoes in olive oil with a boiled egg for a garnish. There were a number of other choices including the ubiquitous salade chevre chaud (salad with hot goat cheese). For my main I had a steak with pepper sauce, onions, and mushrooms. Cathey had chunks of veal with a tomato and mushroom sauce. Crispy frites accompanied my steak, Cathey's veal came with rice. Everything was nicely but simply presented. No square plates. And everything was properly cooked and spiced. There were even sprigs of herbs in water glasses at the exit of the kitchen that were plucked for garnish as the waitresses brought out the plates. Other choices for mains included beef bourguignon, chicken, duck breast (for a supplement of a couple of Euros), and more.

A demi of wine was included as were our desserts. The wine was good sipping pink. The desserts didn't feel as though they were made in house, local commercial probably. Not bad but not great.

Service was pleasant and cheerful, timely but certainly not rushed. There were clearly a number of regulars in the house for our Tuesday lunch. We heard British English and German as well as our American English and, of course, French. We liked the fact that, as we entered, one of the waitresses was handing a gentleman in a wheelchair a takeout meal and another gent came in later with a basket for takeaway, returning his cleaned plate from his last meal. Being among happy, buzzing neighbors getting the service that they needed, regulars both inside and out, made for an enjoyable hour and a half. And at 13,90 Euros apiece, including the wine, easy on the wallet.

We'll return.

RESTAURANT LA CAVE, LA CAUNETTE - A REVIEW

There are myriads of restaurants with diverse and interesting menus to choose from here in the south of France. Every would-be celebrity chef on the road to fame and a Michelin star has a kitchen pumping out his or her specialty. How to choose wisely? Lunch specials are the way to go. You get great value for your Euro and a definite feel for the skills of the folks behind the swinging doors. One spot we've recently visited for such a taste test is the Restaurant La Cave in La Caunette.

On the road to the beautiful tourist destination that is the town of Minerve, La Caunette is itself perched precariously on a hillside. Reached by way of a tall and narrow bridge, near the entrance to the village there's a small church with an oddly new-feeling cemetery behind it overlooking the gorge. The town of about 350 souls boasts several wine producers offering tastings. And across from the mairie (town hall), in a building that one would suppose had been a winery (cave) in a previous life, sits the Restaurant La Cave.

We first tried lunching at La Cave on a Wednesday. A group was waiting to be served on the small terrace as we approached. We tried the door but it was locked. The front of the double-sided chalkboard with the menu said Ouvert (Open), but the backside advised that the restaurant was closed for dinner on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. We so informed the French folks who were waiting and went on over to Minerve and La Table des Troubadours (See previous post for my review. You don't want to be bothered? It's passable. Just passable.) 

On our return to La Caunette, with a different companion, we chose to dine inside. Surprisingly modern furnishings contrasted with the obviously ancient but well re-pointed stone interior. And I can do without the oddly shaped plates. But why quibble? It all seems to fit together somehow. And it's all about the food.

For a reasonable fixed price (15,50 Euros apiece) we had a starter, a main, a dessert, wine, and coffee. No ups. The tab came to 46,50 Euros for three. Amazing. That never happens.

For starters we chose from either a piping hot, fall-inspired root veggie soup or vegetables of the season (tomato, cucumber, eggplant, and onion) sliced thin, oiled, and topped with a few anchovy filets. The choices for the main were a steamy bowl of cassoulet or three plump sardines escabeche-style. All were properly spiced, freshly prepared, and well-presented. For dessert? Creme brulee or chocolate/saffron fondant or a banana torte. Just fine. The service was well-paced and attentive without being intrusive. 

We shall return and try a dinner on a special night. Recommended.

LA TABLE DES TROUBADOURS, MINERVE - RESTAURANT REVIEW

Simply stated, La Table des Troubadours in Minerve is just good enough if you can't arrange for a better meal while you are visiting one of the most beautiful villages in all of France. Just good enough...

Minerve clings to the wall of a broad, deep gorge carved by the River Cesse. As we heard one American remark as we walked down into the village from the parking area above, "It's impressive what a little water can do over a long period of time." And Minerve is truly impressive, although it's always been difficult for me to understand why a group of people would choose to live in such an inaccessible place. I appreciate the concept of a defensible position. But in fact, it seems that these 'impregnable' positions always end up falling to their enemies as Minerve did during the Albigensian Crusade. So why bother?

Enough history. It's about the food.

The lunch menu of the day consisted of a starter, a main dish, and a dessert or cheese plate for 19 Euros. Wine and coffee extra and the house wine was by the bottle, not en pichet (in a pitcher, meaning bulk wine), so not cheap.  63,50 Euros for three people. That's a high-end tab for the typical daily special in the region. But Minerve is a special place and the view from some of the tables at La Table des Troubadours is special as well, looking out as they do over the gorge. The food, however, is not special at all. My duck confit, leg and thigh, was passable, as was Cathey's fish in cream sauce. Passable. The rest? Passable. No sense in going into each jot and tittle. Passable.

If you must eat while visiting Minerve, this is the cheaper of two alternatives as far as I can tell, though not cheap in terms of value for dollar. The supposed haut cuisine provider in Minerve is Relais Chantovent. Supposedly higher quality. We may or may not visit one day. The better bet is to drive into the village of La Caunette either before or after your visit to Minerve and dine at Restaurant La Cave. Check out my review that will follow in a day or two.

REVIEW – NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

For those of you who haven't been following, a brief recap is in order.

Cathey and I are moving...have moved...from the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania to Quarante in the Languedoc region of southern France. Several months before our planned move, I began researching international shipping companies online. I checked out their websites, read customer reviews, and eventually contacted several to seek quotes. In the end, I chose NewYork International Shipping for several reasons. Their reviews were no better or worse than any of the others with the exception that their agent in France was mentioned favorably in reviews a couple of times. (People either loved or hated their shippers. No middle ground.) Their quote was in line with the others that I solicited but their quote included packing our stuff for us while each of the others required us to do the packing ourselves. And NYINTSHIP (their own shorthand) answered my email and phone questions promptly and reasonably.

We scheduled the packers in for mid March. NYINTSHIP had told us that the move would take from eight to ten weeks, door to door, with the usual caveats about the vagaries of timing. Since Cathey and I had tickets for a mid April flight, we figured that living for a month without the bulk of our stuff in the States would balance out living for a month out of our suitcases in France while we waited for our stuff to arrive...hopefully in mid May.

As mid March approached, several glitches cropped up.

• NYINTSHIP advertised that they accepted PayPal, so I sent the deposit through my PayPal account. What I hadn't been told was that the PayPal fee would be deducted. I lost about $50. I found that a bit confusing. If I'd used a credit card, they would have had to eat a fee, wouldn't they? Still, I decided that the $50 was not worth fighting over in the grand scheme of things. I needed their good will more than I needed the $50.

• The packing and pickup was rescheduled twice. I can't really blame NYINTSHIP for that. The winter of 2013/14 in the American Northeast was the winter from Hell with significant snows every few days. I could understand the nightmare of scheduling under those circumstances.

• The final invoice was about 50% higher than the initial quote. Again, I don't blame NYINTSHIP. I'm not a professional estimator and we decided to ship much more than we initially contemplated. We added a sofa to our relatively small load, for instance, the largest piece that we shipped by far. As a result, even though I inserted an extra 10% of wiggle room into my initial list of items to be shipped, the sticker still shocked me.

• Communication broke down fairly rapidly after the sale was closed. I received a receipt for our deposit but I had to ask for receipts for our two subsequent payments. I had to ask for projected date of shipping and had to ask for projected date of delivery. Everyone that I spoke with was polite and responsive. Emails were answered promptly. But I had to ask.

• Our stuff arrived on June 24^th, nearly twelve weeks after pickup, outside the eight to ten week estimate. Cathey was frazzled by that time and when Cathey is frazzled, I am frazzled. But our stuff did arrive. The guys lugged it from their truck to the first or second floor as we directed. And they had to park 50 meters away from the front door because we live on a pedestrian street that trucks can't enter. We shipped 91 pieces (a sofa counts as one piece) and we received 91 pieces.

• It's taken us a couple of days to unpack and unwrap. The Wedgwood is intact. None of the other china, pottery, or glassware arrived chipped, cracked or broken and there's plenty of china, pottery, and glassware. None of our clothing or linens have become water-stained or bug infested. The ladder back of one chair is cracked, easily glued and so far within the insurance deductible that it's not worth reporting.

Given all of that, you would think that I give New York International Shipping low marks, that I'd warn you away from them. Not so. I recommend them. I'll tell you why.

Several million containers enter and leave the Port of New York annually. Our stuff occupied a small percentage of one of those containers. The fact that any shipment at all is delivered to its proper destination thousands of miles away, reasonably intact and within a reasonable period of time, is a miracle of Biblical proportions. That shippers who handle millions of dollars worth of cargo every year should be courteous when answering the questions of a tyro like me who will make minimal use their services once in a lifetime is a second miracle. And the container in which our stuff was packed didn't fall off the deck and into the Atlantic. Miracle number three. In the face of the odds, I have nothing to complain about.

So I grade New York International Shipping a solid B.
I'd use them again.