Around the World in 80 Dinners - Bill Jamison [117]
When we finish, Philippe clears the table, preparing the way for Christine’s turn at center stage. She always handles the cheese course, presenting a cart full of tasty alternatives. She knows each intimately because she’s responsible for the affinage, the art of aging cheese to realize its optimum flavor. Our quartet focuses on the goat and sheep options tonight, appreciating in particular the heady Roquefort and the pert Banon that oozes out of its chestnut-leaf wrapper. For dessert, we wrap up with an ethereal chestnut soufflé with a hint of brandy before parting company with Sunshine and Alain and wishing them a safe drive home.
In the morning, we return to the restaurant for breakfast, which consists at La Riboto of pots of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, a basket with chunks of baguette, whole-grain rolls, and croissants, a tray of jam and preserves, a bowl of fresh fruit, and, if you wish, yogurt. The Thèmes prefer to seat people at night facing the fireplace, and in the morning, looking out over the dining-room terrace. The swimming pool, we notice, supports a faint glaze of ice today. Christine asks about our plans for later, and Cheryl says we’re going to wander around medieval Les Baux and maybe drive over to nearby Saint-Rémy de Provence. Christine sensibly suggests waiting on Saint-Rémy until Wednesday, a market day, and tells us about a Christmas fair in Arles that we might want to see. She offers us free tickets that she won’t be able to use this year and we accept gratefully.
An ancient Roman city, with the ruins to prove it, Arles is a quick twenty kilometers away. Grabbing a parking place within walking distance of the convention center, we join the throngs at the bustling fair, which sprawls through several halls packed with booths selling crafts, textiles, furniture, books, artisanal food products, and more. The popular snack bar near the entrance makes an American counterpart seem as counterfeit as a crayon Picasso. Instead of corn dogs, cheese nachos, and funnel cakes, shoppers stop by for small plates of duck foie gras with mesclun, crawfish salad with marinated tomatoes, hanger steak with morels, leg of lamb from the Alpilles roasted with garlic, and carpaccio of beef with capers and local olive oil.
From the café, aisles of baubles, bangles, and brocade radiate in all directions. Cheryl picks up a few small Christmas gifts, but we pause mainly at food stands, sampling apples at a booth with dozens of different varieties, admiring handmade chocolates, liqueurs, honeys, and confitures. That’s all before we discover an entire hall at the rear of the complex devoted to culinary products, including huge rounds of pain d’épices, a gingerbread larger than our heads; candied fruits such as whole minipineapples; nougat sold by the thick slice in flavors like coffee, coconut, bergamot, and praline; a wealth of tapenades and oils made from olives grown within kilometers of Arles; truffle cream and Arborio rice infused with truffle slices.
The stimulation whets our appetites for lunch, leading us back to a booth providing sample bites of incredible ham and selling sandwiches of the same. Artisan charcutier Jacky Gruson of Le Carré de Picq makes his own ham from Rosa d’Etienne pigs that he raises himself on a diet of corn, barley, and peas. He cuts us paper-thin slices of the meat and places them on whole buttered baguettes, a treat as simple as a grin but good enough to be considered for a last meal.
On our way out of the convention center, we pick up a bottle of Bandol, one of our favorite wines, from a boutique producer, Domaine de Cagueloup in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer. The vintner, Richard Prébost, tells us next week is the annual Fête du Vin du Bandol and encourages us to come. Bill tells him we’ll be in Brazil by then, but will keep it in mind for the future. The winemaker smiles and starts dancing a solo samba, giving us a merry send-off from the Christmas fair.