Au Pied de Cheval, Cancale

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Au Pied de Cheval is usually our first stop upon arrival in Cancale. This was the case last Thursday, too. Instead of dropping our bags at the hotel, we parked the car in front of this charming “oyster house”. During the entire journey from Paris we had been dreaming and talking about les bulots (whelks) and les huîtres (oysters) so we knew what we wanted to order. You don’t need to follow our habits –by all means go and explore all types of seafood (the menu is in English!)– but this is what we ordered last Thursday (and what we usually order):

Starter: we begun with a whelk and pink prawn plate to share (10€). The plate comes with a bowl of mayonnaise.

We also ordered a bottle of Muscadet Sur Lie for 18€. This dry white wine comes from the western side of the Loire Valley and is usually served with oysters (and seafood in general). Main course: we ordered two portions of une douzaine (a dozen) of huîtres creuses. At Au Pied de Cheval, the oysters are sold by la douzaine, and there are two types of oysters: huîtres creuses that are bowl shaped and huîtres plates that are flat. We prefer the bowl-shaped ones, but again, it is up to your taste!

After choosing the type, we needed to choose the size. Number 5 is the smallest oyster and number 00 the largest. We ordered a dozen of number 0 and a dozen of number 1. Again, up to your taste! To put things in perspective, the common size sold at any “standard” restaurant is usually number 2… Our oysters were really big, and yet I usually like the number 0 and 1, I now think we should have maybe chosen something smaller. I explained in Eating oysters in months without “r” that this time of the year (the summer) makes oysters milky and soft in France, and I believe that smaller oysters would have better hidden these aspects that do affect oysters’ taste and texture. If you are unsure which number to choose, ask for advice! Tip: Oysters in Bretagne are often eaten with either lemon or red wine vinegar with shallot. If the oysters are at the table, bread is served, but there is no red vinegar, ask for vinaigre aux échalotes. Of course you can eat oyster without anything, but for example I like mixing: one oyster with nothing, the next one with vinegar…

Our meal was more than sufficient, and tasty. Au Pied de Cheval has been consistently good over the years and that is why we keep returning there. Another tip to share is that if you fancy a more restaurant-like setting, ask for a table upstairs. Downstairs is more like an oyster bar and since the door is open almost all the time, it can get chilly and you should dress warmly. In general do not wait for an overly enthusiastic welcome or amazing service –just focus on eating your delicious oysters and you will be happy!

Restaurant Au Pied de Cheval: 10, quai Gambetta, Cancale. Tel: +33-(0)2-99 89 76 95.

PS There is one in Saint-Malo, too. tel: -33-(0)2-99 40 98 18.

Cancale: my favorite weekend trip destination from Paris

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Bretagne (Brittany) is one of my favorite regions of France. I love the seafood and the scenery the region offers. I am maybe partially subjective (my husband’s father’s side is Breton), but just a tiny bit… Bretagne is an amazingly stunning region full of cute fishing villages, numerous historic sites and friendly, down to earth people. The region is well preserved and it has more coastline than any other region in France (almost 3000km).When we have an opportunity to go away for a short weekend, we often choose Cancale. Cancale is exactly 396km from the center of Paris and if there is no traffic, it is possible to do the journey in four hours. We usually go by the A13 highway (which passes by Normandy) and drive until Pontorson. Right after Pontorson we turn right, direction Saint-Georges-de-Gréhaigne. After driving by another small village, Saint-Broladre, we watch out for a small sign “Chapelle Sainte-Anne” (be attentive, it is easily missed). Once we arrive at Chapelle Sainte-Anne we leave the car and walk to the sea (which is very near by) to admire Mont Saint-Michel. Wow, what a view! And so close to Paris! From Chapelle Sainte-Anne, Cancale is only 24km away. I strongly recommend choosing this route because it goes right by the sea and passes by oyster-farming villages. As a bonus, you have Mont Saint-Michel on your right-hand side most of the time (during the clear skies).Cancale has a lot to offer to a tourist in terms of accommodation and restaurants, but I will hereby share our usual addresses.

For sleeping, we usually opt either for Le Querrien (starting at 59€ low season) or for Le Grand Large (starting at 45€ all year round). Both hotels are by the sea (the port) and have a restaurant. Le Querrien has three stars and Le Grand Large to me seems more like a two-star hotel. The latter has a free parking in front of the hotel (see the photo on the left). Both have a friendly personnel. It is probably fair to say that Le Querrien is more comfortable in terms of amenities, whereas Le Grand Large is more like a charming old grandparents’ house. Prices vary quite a lot according to the season and it is best to call them up. For example, last week we were at Le Grand Large and paid 50€ for a room with a sea view (the price they quoted on telephone was more interesting than the Internet prices on hotel.com and similar websites). We thought 50€ was very reasonable.My previous articles What to pack for Bretagne (Brittany)? and Eating oysters in months without “r” mentioned one of our favorite Cancale restaurants, Au Pied de Cheval, Cancale. We usually start here and fill our stomachs with a dozen of oysters. Last Thursday we left Paris at 10h and arrived in Cancale at 15h30. Good thing about Au Pied de Cheval is that it is open all day long, so there is no stress about arriving in Cancale at a certain time. For dinner, we usually go to another restaurant also on the main street (by the port) called L’huitrière, Cancale. I have been to many other restaurants in Cancale, and don’t mistake me, you can eat well everywhere! Should you wish crêpes & galettes, I recommend Crêperie du Port, Cancale.If you wonder what else there is to do in Cancale apart from eating oysters, I can tell you that there are fantastic beaches when you drive toward Saint-Malo by the scenic northern road. For hikers, there is also a GR34, which offers Saint-Malo on one side and Mont Saint-Michel on the other side. As we like jogging, we always take running shoes with us and take advantage of the clean seaside air. (Tip for runners: if you are in the center of Cancale facing the sea, start running toward the East, Mont Saint-Michel, along the bay. You can run for about 25 minutes along the beach (you will see when you cannot go further) and once you turn back and arrive in Cancale, it will make a nice 50 minute run)

Otherwise, some other great things to do in Cancale (and in Bretgane in general) are observing the tides (the tide around Cancale is one of the most important ones in the entire Europe) and watching fishermen collecting oysters, mussels and other seafood.If you have been to Cancale, what do you think is the best thing to do there? Do you have a favorite hotel or a restaurant? Does observing the tide seem like a pleasant pastime to you?

Links:

Chapelle Sainte-Anne: http://www.cc-baie-mont-st-michel.fr/chapelle-sainte-anne.htm

Hotel Le Querrien: http://www.le-querrien.com/

Hotel Le Grand Large: http://hotel-restaurant.hotellegrandlarge.com/

Restaurant Au Pied de Cheval: Au Pied de Cheval, Cancale

Restaurant L’Huitrière: L’huitrière, Cancale

Restaurant Crêperie du Port: Crêperie du Port, Cancale

Eating oysters in months without “r”

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If you are a fan of oysters, you may have heard that you should only eat them in months that are spelled with “r”. This gives you eight months (from September to April), but doesn’t explain what to do when you visit an oyster region outside of that period.

I just returned to Paris from a fantastic long weekend in Bretagne (Brittany). Our first stop was Cancale, a famous and cute oyster-farming town. If you read my previous post What to pack for Bretagne (Brittany)? you remember that Cancale equals oysters. For me, there is no going to Cancale without eating oysters. But when you are traveling outside the “r” season, the question “to eat them or not to eat them” exists. My short answer to the “r” dilemma is this: it is up to your taste!

As oysters breed during the months without “r” (=the summer), they become milky (=laiteuses). Texture becomes softer, and when you touch the oyster with a fork it may seem decomposed. Compared to a “winter oyster” (months with “r”) , the liquid of this “summer oyster” is not as clear. If you are not very familiar with oysters, you may mistake milky liquid and soft oyster as signs of an oyster gone “off”. Yet it may not necessarily be the case, I do admit it can be difficult to differentiate a good and a bad oyster.

We arrived in Cancale last Thursday and went straight to Au Pied de Cheval. We know this restaurant really well, so we knew that if oysters are good and safe to eat somewhere at this time of the year, this is the place (the owners are oyster farmers). We ordered two portions of “douzaine” (2 x 12 oysters). They arrived big and beautiful, smelling sea weed. Even if the oysters were not as rich in sea-water taste as usually, they still gave us a very pleasant lunch. It was only the last oyster that I touched and felt unsure of eating (yes, indeed, it was milky and very decomposed). I could have maybe eaten it and been just fine, but why to risk.

While traveling in Bretagne, I once again talked to locals who confirmed my feeling and previous knowledge. The problem of eating oysters in months without “r” is not so much about getting sick simply because it is summer, temperatures are higher hence more bacterias, etc., but more about one’s personal taste. Oysters do have a different taste in winter compared to summer. In winter they do taste more like the sea… On the other hand, oyster-farming towns sell oysters all year round, so that also tells you that the demand is always there.

My personal advice is that if you love oysters and know the place where you are going to eat them, go for it! However, if you are not familiar with oysters in general, then don’t do it. Hating oysters because you ate then when they were not at their best would be a pity.

But what do you think of all this? If you love oysters and eat them often, please tell me about your personal “oyster strategy” and if you follow the “r” school!

What to pack for Bretagne (Brittany)?

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Tomorrow morning we leave at 8am for Cancale, which is a famous oyster-farming village in Bretagne. The drive will take just over four hours from Paris and passes by the spectacular Mont Saint-Michel. After Mont Saint-Michel, it will be another 50 minutes to reach Cancale.

I have not been to Cancale since November last year and it is about the time! Upon arrival, we will have lunch at the restaurant Au Pied de Cheval. Lunch that consists of oysters and bulots (a type of sea snail you eat with mayonnaise). After the lunch we will walk on the beautiful beach until it is the time to have some more oysters! Oysters and more oysters, this is Cancale. The reputation of the Cancale oysters goes back to the Roman times. This is how good they are. Oysters and Cancale, serious business.

The departure is early, so I need to start packing. This photo summarizes well a trip to Bretagne: one should prepare for some rain, bring maps as there are many exciting, historical sites, but most importantly, one should bring a special knife to open oysters and a special glove to protect the hands from being cut. If you pack these things, your trip to Bretagne will be successful!

One of the most beautiful regions of France

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One more intense day of work, and then a long weekend in one of my favorite parts of France.

Delicious, healthy food is expected. Probably it will rain but that is ok. I don’t know if I can swim in the sea, but I will bring the bikinis just in case.

Anybody wants to guess where this place is? In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful regions of France, and that says a lot!

Moscow meets Paris

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Last week we were invited to an exhibition opening of Uzbekistan-born artist Andrei Esionov. Like art at its best, Andrei’s oil and watercolor paintings gave a lot of food for thought. Le vernissage itself was The Party of the summer: excellent champagne, sushi rolls, salmon tartines, Russian vodka, abundance of Chanel bags & Louboutins, and very interesting people from France, Russia, Georgia.

The exhibition “Moscow and Muscovites” consists of portrays of famous Russians and cityscapes of Moscow where the artist nowadays lives. I found the portrays original and the idea of mixing the old-school Soviet stories with modernity pleased me. Personalities that appear in the portrays are film directors, ballet dancers, astronauts, neurosurgeons, not forgetting the former President Mikhail Gorbachev. The watercolor cityscapes show Moscow as I remember seeing it myself. Looking at these pieces of art open a window to the everyday life in Moscow: babushkas walking to a nearby market, Orthodox churches that compete with skyscrapers for attention, lonely women wondering where the Motherland of Russia is going, etc. The exhibition was organized by Chez Higgins and they did a superb job. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by Eric and Thierry, and they immediately made us feel very comfortable. Exactly as it should be! Through them we met a large number of people from photographers to art event directors. We had a long and interesting chat with a French girl who works with silk and explained different silk-making methods and which countries produce the best silk. Then we met someone who used to live with Salvador Dali and confirmed that indeed he was not a very pleasant person. (was Dali nastier than Picasso, that we did not figure out….) In the end of the evening we enjoyed the company of a sociologist, an ex-student of famous French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. This same sociologist had visited my home country Finland, and provided me with some interesting insight to the Finnish mentality.

Time went by and so did glasses of champagne. Everyone was having a lot fun and the champagne bottle delivery did not seem to end. I thought it was très chic that they had personalized the bottles: cuvée spéciale “Moscow and Muscovites”. It could not have gotten more elegant!

The evening was fascinating. The weather was hot and humid. No one seemed to want to go home. It was almost midnight. The waiters started serving sweets. Rounds of champagne continued.

It must have been past midnight when we finally caught a taxi. My handbag was full of business cards of people I need to email… This brief virtual visit to Moscow had indeed been very pleasant and inspiring.

Links:

The artist: http://www.esionov.ru (the website is only in Russian, but to see the work, click ГАЛЕРЕЯ)

The organizer (also an art publisher): http://www.chezhiggins.com/

Two sides of a Parisian apartment

Mandarin Oriental: when customer service goes that extra mile

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Walking into 251 rue Saint-Honoré is stepping into the world of true, ultimate luxury. This is the address where Mandarin Oriental started creating a small piece of paradise nearly two years.

It was my husband’s birthday yesterday and even if I am absolutely overwhelmed with work at the moment, I could not leave him without a surprise. So, I invited him for an apéritif at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. A fairly new 5-star hotel in the center of Paris, impeccable service, a great choice of drinks, original decoration and a lush terrace. A perfect setting for people watching, too. What else could one ask for?

We ordered a glass of rosé wine called AOC Côtes de provence Alycastre «Domaine la Courtade» 2011 and a glass of champagne, Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. We were immediately offered a lovely, truffle-flavored nut mix with giant black olives. When the drinks arrived, we noticed that the quantity was bigger than usually (prices were 10€ for wine and 29€ for champagne).

Our waiter Christian noticed that I was taking photos and offered to take one of us together. I jokingly responded that we actually live in Paris and do not need touristy photos, but it would indeed be nice to have a photo of us because it is my husband’s birthday. Christian acted like a professional photographer but after a photo shoot he made a smooth transition to the waiter’s role and brought us more olives (this time green).

After about five minutes Christian was back with a small cake (un cannelé) that had a candle on it! He congratulated my husband and asked if there is anything else he can do for us. As we were heading to a restaurant afterwards, and because French people usually don’t eat sweet food before a dinner, we asked if he could kindly wrap it up to us. “Pas de problème” was the answer, and a few minutes later the cake came back in a small box. We paid the bill, put a five-euro tip on a table, and left with a smile. If this is not an example of excellent customary service, then what is…. I don’t remember ever being inside a Mandarin Oriental hotel, but I will pay extra attention to it every time I see one during my future travels.

PS We continued to a restaurant called La Régalade Conservatoire, but a review will have to wait a little bit… All I can say now is that the food was excellent, but the service did not match the Mandarin Oriental level.

Mandarin Oriental Paris: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/paris/

La Régalade Conservatoire: http://www.hoteldenell.com/index.php?cat=14&ID=14&nom=La%20R%C3%A9galade%20Conservatoire

Taking advice from Aristotle

Lapland the new Côte d’Azur? Monsoon in Paris?

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All this week I have been receiving text messages from my Dad proudly talking about the heat wave in Finland. The temperature hovers around 25-27C in the area where my parents live. I also remember him telling me that less than one month ago the lake where our summer house is located was still frozen! Today Lapland –usually the coolest region of Finland– has become the hottest region in the entire Europe. Temperature superior to 30C certainly is rare over there. Reindeer experts are expressing their worries in Finnish newspapers: the poor reindeer are not adjusting very well to the weather!

Meanwhile in Paris the weather shows resemblance to the end-of-May weather in India; the beginning of monsoon. It has rained so much that the Seine is flooding. The stairs that lead to nice walks by the Seine now lead to nowhere. The photo below shows you what the Eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis looked like yesterday. The colors are very grey but the vegetation is getting thicker and thicker. Will we soon have monkeys jumping around in the jungle?

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