La Maison Caignac
Eating Out |
Eating out The cuisine of the area reflects the two staples, namely that of the local (Castelnaudary or Toulouse) white bean stew - cassoulet, or the variations of duck – magret, confit or foie. The salade of the region is almost a meal in itself and, as in most French restaurants, children are well catered for with a menu enfant at a less than €12. With two or three exceptions you’ll eat well (in the exceptions you’ll eat splendidly) with a friendly ambiance and probably get out for under €30 a head for four courses excluding drinks. Local wines on the list are usually not more than €14. Booking is advisable – usually on the day. Within 15 minutes' driving Maryse and Miryam’s across the road is really basic but they’ll rustle up steak ‘n’ chips, duck ‘n’ chips, tapas and pizzas, salads and an ice cream. They bought the bar in August 2006 and it is not one of the area’s more lively ones but we use it occasionally for an apèro or a digestif. The Auberge du Pastel in Nailloux is one of the nearer restaurants. It’s actually an hotel on the left hand side as you enter Nailloux from Gardouch. A large dining area, brightly lit and used for wedding receptions. It got negative comments from some 2006 and 2007 guests and one of my sons found an elastoplast in his cassoulet. But then it did get him and his mates a bottle of wine so he thought he was ahead on the deal. The former French rugby captain, Fabien Pelous (who lives in nearby Gibel) uses it as his local. Tel: 05 61 81 46 61 Three hundred metres before the Pastel is the Ferme de Champreux in Nailloux. Turn left where it’s signed and go down to the lake. Friendly, three separate dining areas (300+ for weddings and New Year) plus an outside terrace. Duck, duck and more duck. Madame is nice and well disposed to Caignac guests with the odd extra portion of foie. However we heard in December 2007 that it’s up for sale….. Tel: 05 61 81 33 13 In Villefranche (in the market square behind the cathedral) try the Auberge la Pradelle. You can eat in or outside at the edge of the square (and watch the boules). Some seafood as an alternative to duck with a more varied menu. You can usually get in without booking. Under new ownership in late 2006 and I haven’t revisited so let us know if you try it. Tel: 05 61 81 60 72 Virtually next door is a super Pizzeria (La Passeggiata). Huge pizzas and good pasta dishes. Good for children. Chef and his wife are competition dancers in their spare time and there are the photos to prove it! Busy, bustling and popular with the young – you’ll be in and out in 40 minutes. Open Tuesday to Saturday, lunch and dinner. 05 62 71 29 28 Two kilometres outside Villefranche in Montgaillard (turn right 1km out of town towards Toulouse on the 113) is Le Vieux Puit. It’s part of a small inn – the Hostellerie du chef Jean – and the food is excellent, but slightly more expensive. Don’t be in a hurry but it’s worth waiting for. Tel: 05 34 66 71 34 One of the better local eating experiences is La Marotte in Gardouch. M. Rechard is backstage with Norah Batty out front. She needs careful handling – it is rumoured that she lost her old man a Michelin knife and fork because she was so grumpy to the Inspector on his last visit but that’s probably apocryphal. It always looks shut but they open by demand (and buy accordingly) so always telephone or pop in earlier in the day. The food is excellent with menus from €25-€45. It’s 40 metres from a very lively ‘Sports Bar’ where most of les jeunes tend to meet for a beer. Parking in the Mairie opposite. Tel: 05 61 27 19 46 A ‘cut above’ is the Ferme O Délices on the Route de Calmont (right after the bridge at Mazeres). Situated on a farm (run by Sophie) and bird reserve (Domaine des Oiseaux!) 400m after the A66 underpass it has pleasant views of the lake and a colony of thirty-odd cranes in their large nests on poles. Chef Laurent is Le Manoir des Quat’ Saisons and Simpsons in the Strand trained. Wednesday to Sunday lunch within the season. As of January 2008 this is our undoubted favourite. Sophie is due to sprog in March ’08 so hopefully things will continue as normal. Tel: 05 61 60 65 30 For an unsophisticated local nosebag try Les Marroniers in St Michel de Lanes. It’s ten minutes away and is good if you’ve got under tens in tow and don’t need the big eating experience. The food is simple and well prepared – eat inside or out and you can have a pre dinner beer at the bar with the rest of the locals. €20-€35 a head. We watched the Tour de France swoosh past here in 2003. Pleasant and casual. Tel: 04 68 60 34 08 If you head the 7kms south to Mazeres you’ve got Le Paradis du Pape. It flatters to deceive in that you can dine outside in wonderful gardens alongside the river l’Hers. But on our one visit in 2005 we found the menu unimaginative and a particularly lively wedding party meant the service was as slow as a slow thing. We need to check it out again. Tel: 05 61 69 39 40 Also in Mazeres, (turn right just before the bridge) is L’auberge de l’Hers (you turn left at the same crossroads for Le Paradis du Pape). Monsieur Blanc is smiley, his wife is usually out front (and behind if you were to notice!) and is good value and well disposed to Caignacians. The menu has fish on it and there’s a cosy dining room or a terrace overlooking the river and its noisy frogs. Rivet rivet. This is our default option – 15 minutes away and a really cosy place in winter. The house salade with foie, lardoons and cured duck breast is the starter of choice. Or the seafood in puff pastry. Or the plate of three variations of foie…. We like this one. Tel: 05 61 69 45 22 Our 1-2-3-4 of the nearer restaurants is Ferme O Délices, La Marotte, L’Auberge de l’Hers and Ferme de Champreux but the better food places, as everywhere, don’t necessarily give you the best overall experience. Between 15 and 50 minutes' drive time Well worth the trip and blessed/cursed with a Michelin star is the Auberge du Poids Public (Yes! The public weighbridge) in St. Felix de Lauragais. Pricey but in my view worth it – for that special occasion. Wonderful aspect overlooking the other side of the A61 valley and the Black Mountain it has a traditional fine dining menu. €35 to €75 without booze. Booking essential at most times of the year – especially summer. Tel: 05 62 18 85 00 A place of interest to us is Le Relais de Riquet at Port du Segala on the Canal du Midi just this side of Labastide d’Anjou – 5 kms or so on the N113 east of Villefranche. Interesting in that it’s just by the highest point of the canal (Paul Riquet built the thing in the C17th) – water comes in from the Lac St Ferreol near Revel in the Black Mountain (otherwise one side would drain into the Atlantic - t’other into the Med) – you can walk a kilometre along the towpath to the ‘dividing of the ways’ marked by a monument. It’s run by our old chum Nathalie who used to have the village bar in Caignac; tell her (she’s a lovely round lady) Bob and Sue sent you and you should be alright for a pastis…She’s a great one for a party and there’s sometimes music but her food’s a bit iffy so don’t tell her I said…04 68 60 16 87 Our side of Toulouse is the wonderful Le Mas de Dardagna. Set up in 2005 by a 24 year old chef (ex Poids Publique) and his brother it offers lunch at €22 and a set dinner (no choice but it’s all wonderful) for €48. It’s five minutes from the A61 tollbooth - just off the RN113 at Rangueil which is the Hospital and University suburb. Foodies ‘r’ Us! Tel: 05 61 14 09 80 North east of Toulouse (take the N88) is the Michelin starred O Saveurs at Rouffiac Tolosan. Formal (don’t ship up in jeans) it has three wonderful menus and the usual a la carte. Deep pockets required – not much change from €60 a head without booze. Worth it though. 05 34 27 10 11 It takes 45 minutes to get to Mirepoix but it’s well worth the drive. One of the better of several restaurants is Les Remparts on the road that surrounds the medieval centre. We celebrated a ‘big one’ here a couple of years ago and took over the downstairs room – six courses in five hours. I think we’d done a bottle each by the main course…Mind you we were staying overnight in an hotel within staggering distance. Two dining rooms of 30+, food beautifully presented and three choices of foie. €21-€45 sans le vin. Tel: 05 61 68 12 15 Also in Mirepoix is Le Comptoir Gourmand which differs in that the restaurant (eat in or on the terrace) doubles up for the sale of comestibles – the shelves around the dining room are stacked with oils and jams and wines, all of which you can add to your bill. Good if you’ve forgotten to shop. We’ve been twice and thoroughly enjoyed it but you’ve got plenty of time for a nap (or a shop) between courses. Tel: 05 61 68 19 19 Probably the best restaurant in Mirepoix is the recently Michelin starred Le Ciel d’Or at the Relais Royal hotel (relaisroyal.com and 05 61 60 19 19). We haven’t been but some friends have and they say it’s quiet and reverential and French dining at its best. Must try it in 2008. If you’re in Mirepoix (for the Monday morning market, for example) there are several other restaurants and plenty of coffee and patisserie places around the square. Let us know if you strike gold….It’s touristy. Just off (on the left) the road from Castelnaudary to Revel, so about 50 minutes away, is the Chateau de la Pomarede at Pomarede. Lovely old chateau with a fine high timbered dining room. A tad pretentious (the chef gained the Michelin star at L’Auberge du Poids Public and peddles his own cookbook) though the food is good and the experience special. There are lovely rooms upstairs if you’ve drunk too much. Tel: 04 68 60 49 69 If you’re in the area… South of Mirepoix on the road to Lavelanet (turn right after 6kms) is the L’Ecole buissonniere at Troye d’Ariege. Delightfully eccentric, it’s almost as if you’re eating in an antiques shop as the room is filled with eclectic junk – all of which is for sale - with Madame in the kitchen and Monsieur out front. Very good simple food but regrettably an hour’s drive back. Tel: 05 61 68 11 62 If you’re in Ax-les-Thermes for the skiing or for the walking/spa stuff in summer or going to/from Andorra – it’s on that road, pop into L’Orry le Saquet. Michelin starred it’s wonderful value – we stayed overnight to cut some travel to the slopes and had dinner bed and breakfast for €90. It was a wonderful dinner but the rooms were, err, French. Tel: 05 61 64 31 30 Just off the D623 about 10kms from Fanjeaux heading for Limoux in the village of Brugairolles is the Domaine Gayda. Unique in that it is primarily a vineyard (gaydavineyards.com or 04 68 31 64 14) an excellent day out would be to have a tasting session followed by a meal. It’s new, it’s reputed to be good, I’ve yet to go. Toulouse has it all and we’ve barely started. Even the rugby stadium has a noted (Michel Sarran) restaurant – he has two stars at his eponymous place at 21 Bd A Duportal (05 61 12 32 32). Stade Toulousain (the name of Toulouse’s rugby team) has the aforementioned La Brasserie du Stade and is particularly lively at lunchtime – a blokey sort of place with Toulouse’s great and good doing power lunches with (usually) the players in from training, plenty of WAGS and a couple of aged ex-Internationals who are given beer to meet ‘n’ greet. I had my fist cracked by a still sprightly Albert Spanghero! Evenings is a tad more sedate but worth sticking your nose outside into the 21,000 all seater if you want to soak up some atmosphere. Off the ring road in the north west quadrant. 05 34 422 420 We’d go back to *Les Jardins de L’Opera – adjacent to the Hotel de l’Opera in the main square (05 61 23 07 76) and the Bistrot Criée (by the canal, big on fish, Ha ha!) and the Caves du Marechal (all downtown) where I leant back in my chair and fell off a raised dias onto some diners….that brought the Valentine’s Day house down. Duh! Les Anglais… Carcassonne. Although it’s only 45-50 minutes away we’ve only had quick snacks/coffees whilst visiting the market, a superb city centre grocer/deli and, of course, taking in the old city. One place we have been to five or six times now is the Auberge du Chateau at www.chateau-de-cavannac on the Limoux road near the golf course on the south east side, 3kms outside the ring road. Wood fire – seafood, slow roast pork, lobster, snails – a set meal for €40 including wine – vin ordinaire in red white and pink from a neighbour’s vineyard. Well worth a visit – we tend to stay over after we’ve left Caignac. Tel: 04 68 60 16 87 Sans doute the best meal that we’ve ever had (see, I keep it until last) in the region is The Auberge du Vieux Puits at Fontjoncouse roughly 100kms from Caignac. It’s located 56 kms to the south and east of Carcassonne – south of the A61 as you head to Narbonne and the Mediterranean; in fact if you were heading to the coast you’d maybe take a detour and do lunch or do as we did, leave Caignac and stay overnight en route to Barcelona. It’s fabulous – a small hotel with 14 modern, minimalist rooms terraced around a pool and is owned and run by Chef Goujon who has now picked up two Michelin stars. When we were there he waited on table at breakfast! For €95 you get the full Monty – a set meal of eight courses with an amuse bouche presented in the bar with one’s apèro. Check out the local Corbières red – so toothsome that we drove the 10kms to the wine farm the following day to pick up a memento (or two). Try the local Maury also – it’s a Grenache based fortified wine, similar to a Maderia – if Sue hasn’t hovered it all up you may find her leftovers in the Caignac kitchen…04 68 44 07 37 The Michelin should be in the bookcase on the mezzanine level and some restaurant address cards in the kitchen drawers. We look forward to learning of your experiences….. good, bad or indifferent shove it in the Visitors’ Book so that we may all learn from your experiences. Don’t forget also that restaurants change hands/close down/chefs move on so whilst most of the eating places described above are chef owned many of them may have changed since we went to them 2-4 years ago. For the better as for the worse…… Bon appetit!
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Recently renovated and refurbished High standard accommodation Sleeps up to 13 Private heated swimming pool Private tennis court Barbeque and Outside dining Lovely gardens Pool Table, Pin Table, Pub Darts, Table Football Garden Chess Cricket Net Boules Court |