Bistros of Provence, Part 2. Le Petite France, The Grand Hôtel Nord-Pinus, Le Café La Nuit & Bistrot Decouverte

Le Petite France is a bistro located between the small villages of Paradou and Maussane, just south of Saint-Remy-de-Provence. We dined al fresco style under white market umbrella shaded tables. The menu consisted of four courses.

Tart of warm garlicky puree of salt cod tart with potatoes or cheese and garnished with fava beans, a Provence specialty.

Roasted pigeon with potatoes and stuffed tomatoes was followed by a cheese course (not pictured).

The menu called this dessert assiette gourmande. It was the best dessert of our entire trip.

Maitres Cuisiners de France signifies that the chef of Le Petite France is a member of the prestigious Master Chefs of France.

We now travel to a larger city nearby, Arles, an old Roman town. The Place de Forum is steeped in history but now is the heart of modern life in Arles and a good place to start exploring. An outdoor café is the perfect place to sit and observe life in the city. 

Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus in the Place de Forum, Arles.

The Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus is a gorgeous old hotel built around two surviving columns from a second century temple. We had dined here on a previous trip several years ago and enjoyed an elegant three course gourmet meal on their terrace, soaking up the atmosphere of this lovely city. For dessert that day we sampled a memorable Clafouti Framboise that we’d seen featured in Bon Appetit magazine’s Provence issue and drank an excellent local wine from the nearby city of Orange with our meal.

Today we decided to dine across the street at Le Café La Nuit.

Le Café La Nuit looked just like one of Vincent van Gogh’s painting and we succumbed to its feeling of walking into an old haunt of the artist’s to have lunch. Van Gogh painted over 300 canvases in the fifteen months he lived in Arles. This café is renovated to look as it did in his painting Cafe du Soir. We each ordered an appetizer and an entrée.

I think it’s fun to glance back and compare the meals. To me the portions at Le Café La Nuit were larger and more Americanized compared to Le Petite France or the dessert at the Hotel Nord-Pinus.  There’s no doubt in my mind that the next time we visit Arles, we’ll dine at the Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus and leave the table at La Café La Nuit for the tourists.

Bistrot Decouverte in Saint-Remy was our favorite local bistro.

Bistrot Decouverte quickly became our favorite local bistro in Saint-Remy and we dined there often over our two month stay. We got to know the owners, Claude and his wife Dana, and frequently stopped by mid-morning for a tiny cup of French espresso and to visit with them. Claude had been a wine buyer in London for a number of years and his bistro had an excellent wine cave. Throughout our stay Claude made many great suggestions of local wines for us to try.

Gorgeous dessert that my husband couldn’t help but sample before photographing.

One day we asked Claude and Dana if they ever served Lapin – rabbit. Not often they said, because it’s difficult to prepare. We went on to explain that we had made it at home but hadn’t been happy with our results and were anxious to try the true French Lapin. We asked them to call us if it was ever the plat du jour. About a week later I was walking along the boulevard when I heard someone call my name. Surprised that I might know someone in France, I looked around. It was Dana. We’re having Lapin this Sunday she said. Would you like to make a reservation? Needless to say I said Oui Madame, s’il vous plait. The  Lapin was delicious and was prepared a la moutarde – with mustard sauce. Claude quickly sold out of it and, much to our good fortune, featured it several more times during our visit.

Sunday entertainment on the boulevard near Bistrot Decouverte makes dining all that more special.

Patricia Wells said that she was never disappointed with Le Bistrot du Paradou as I mentioned in my last post. We felt the same way about Bistrot Decouverte. It didn’t take us long to learn it’s smart to get to know the owners. Claude, Dana and Bistrot Decouverte were some of our best memories of the trip.

Please note: Since this post was written, Bistrot Decouverte has changed hands. Owners Claude and Dana owned and operated the bistro for 7 years and sold it 2011. They've opened a fabulous new Italian and pizza restaurant across the street at La Cantina at 19 Boulevard Victor Hugo in Saint-Remy. Be sure to read my post on La Cantina here- by far the best pizza in town and in our opinion, in the world.  

Thank you for joining us on our 2007 trip to bistros of Provence. I hope you will join us again next time as we visit the boucherie –butcher shop, the boulangerie – bakery, and the patisserie - pastry shop in Saint-Remy.

This will be linked to Oh the Places I've Been at the Tablescaper.