Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Lunch at L’Aïgo Blanco ~ Forcalquier (10/08)

At the recommendation of my sister-in-law, we drove to Forcalquier in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to have lunch at her favorite restaurant there, L’Aïgo Blanco. Located off a small side street from the Place Saint-Michel, L’Aïgo Blanco was a warm, bistro style restaurant that specializes in Provençale food. I had a look at some of the dishes walking in and decided that one course would definitely be enough. There were several things I could have happily ordered, but my sister-in-law said that their Lavender Honey Duck was very good. They served the duck as an entrée, but as I wasn't feeling up to a full main course with all of the trimmings, so I opted for the Roasted Duck Salad. This was partially down to the fact that the ladies at the table next to us had ordered it and it looked sublime. It also came with baguette with fig compote, need I say more? The duck came served in a crock, covered in sliced potatoes, and then was roasted. It wasn't too much duck, just the right amount. I don't remember the menu saying that it came with jambon de montagne, or if the chef took pity on me for only having one course, but it was a nice and very welcomed addition. The duck was nice, but I wish that it had a little rosemary to balance out the sweetness of the honey. There was so much salad to that I was completely full when I finished that I had to pass on the tempting desserts.Oops, I almost forgot to mention my favorite thing about lunch: upon ordering, our server brought us a bowl of olives that were coated in olive oil and fennel seeds. They were probably my favorite olives of the trip and if I remember to purchase fennel seeds, I would love to make.

L’Aïgo Blanco Restaurant

5, place Vieille - 04300 Forcalquier

Telephone: 04 92 75 27 23
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My hunger had subsided enough by the time we reached Apt, so I stopped back into A Bouchard Pâtisserie for three more Passion Fruit Macarons. They were the tastiest of the ones I tried the night before and I couldn't leave Provence without having more.
Suppose I could have taken them out of the bag before photographing. The oil marks on the paper don't add much to the appeal, but I can assure you that they were heaven!

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