Recognition

I have sent many guests to several of the restaurants in town and you always hope that they will recognise in some way the value of the business sent their way.

The charming owner of La Roulotte gave us a lovely three bottle case of wine at Christmas for that very reason and so, last night, instead of sending guests to him we decided we would take ourselves out for a treat and as we don't get to eat out much just on our own these days, we both made a bit of an effort and got dressed up.

I had sent guests there last Friday and just assumed that the restaurant would be open yesterday too. I should have called. I should have called anyway because the French much prefer it if you do rather than just arrive unannounced. But I was lazy and didn't call and of course they were closed for a one week holiday.

Many of the restaurants in Carcassonne are closed at this time of year and so we were all dressed up with nowhere to go on a damp and chilly evening.

The other restaurant that we send lots of people to in winter is L'Ecurie. It is a restaurant in an old stable block and has plenty of charm. Debrah and I ate lunch there on the day that we completed the purchase of the apartments - very nearly four years ago (where does the time go?).

So L'Ecurie it was - hoping that they had a table available. We were greeted by Christophe and even though the place was quite busy we were given a table for four rather than one of the smaller tables for two, which was a nice start. However, as the evening passed and our various courses came and went we were feeling more and more underwhelmed by the experience and the food - it was good food but just not great food and for the price we expected a lot better.

It's a problem we encounter more and more and not just in France - it's the same in London too. If we feel that we could cook the same dish better at home then we feel a bit cheated. It's the middle ground restaurants where this occurs most. If you know you are going cheap and cheerful with a price to match it's ok (like the €7.50 lunch at 'Chez Felix' in the square) and if you go top end where they produce exquisite food that needs an army of chefs working all day on it then you are happy to pay because you know you couldn't reproduce it at home in a domestic kitchen (like the Michelin starred 'Le Parc').

So, to be honest we were disappointed and wondered if our guests were left feeling the same despite their many positive comments back to me in the past.

There was one final surprise to the evening though - the bill. It should have been close to €100 but when it came it was €0 - it was Christophe's way of saying thank you for all of last years clients sent to him - how marvellous.

It wasn't a great evening but it finished on a high - merci Christophe.