A Tale of Two Cities

 Our time in Nice was far too short but long enough for us to reconnect with some friends and discover that despite your best efforts, you can still eat poorly in France.  Arriving late in Nice we postponed unpacking and headed directly to our favorite Brassiere to greet the owners whom we have known since they bought the place ten years ago. It was a lovely reunion cut short by closing time, which for them is 8 pm. 

Exhausted and hungry after our long day of flying we roamed the 'hood looking for a place to eat and ended up in an Italian restaurant we have frequented on previous visits. (Italian restaurants and cafes are everywhere in Nice due to the fact that Italy is a short drive up the coast.) Our shared salad was divine and simple, fresh avocado, fresh tomato and arugula, dressed lightly so that the vegetables spoke for themselves.  Our next course was an Alsatian Tarte Flambé, which is a simple pizza crust topped with caramelized onions, lardons (bacon chunks), and crême fraîche. Unfortunately, it was not served piping hot and suffered from this omission. However the wine was cold and crisp and we carried on. 

After a deep and comfortable sleep we hit the pavement the next morning, Cindy running and me walking along the Promenade. The sea was deep blue and you could not tell where it started and the sky ended, a totally marvelous way to start our brief holiday in Nice. We had breakfast on our balcony before taking another long walk along the coast, ending at a favorite bakery where we purchased a chicken and cheese sandwich to eat on the balcony before our nap. 

That night we met Cindy’s tutor with whom she has been studying French for many months via FaceTime. She is a charming young women who we had met briefly last November. We met in another Italian restaurant close to her office and had a delightful dinner conversation, mostly in French, some bits of Italian and once in awhile they would throw me an English bone. While we loved the evening we didn’t think that the food was as good as we remembered. They were still serving their winter menu and it was OLD!  So chalk up two dinners that were not up to snuff.

Wednesday was another late morning of walking and running followed by a light breakfast on the terrace of the hotel overlooking the sea. We then went on a three hour walk through sculpture gardens, all around the old port, and back along the coast. Walking in Nice is just magnificent, not only along the Promenade but also through the regular streets and gardens. We were whipped but hungry so we stopped for a drink at this magnificent old restaurant, Le Grand Café de France.  All art deco, very stylish, and we were smartly attended by a waiter in a perfectly tailored black suit. He convinced us to stay for lunch on the second floor terrace which was away from the noise and hustle of the main pedestrian street. Cindy ordered well (delicious gravlax), but I ordered poorly and ended up having the worst mussels ever.  I only ate a few of them since they were old and smelly but the waitress didn’t seem to care a bit. We departed with disappointment!

Our hotel had offered us a rather large credit from an incident during a previous stay so we decided to have our last meal for this visit at their rather well regarded restaurant. Cindy’s meal was beautiful to look at and her accompanying vegetables were worthy of praise but her tuna was overcooked to the point of being impossible to eat. My lamb was heavenly and we ended up sharing it so that Cindy had something to eat; it also should be noted that my vegetables were stellar. The waitress finally came over and was distressed that the fish was bad and offered a replacement, but we were done with dinner and instead accepted her offer of desserts, which were decadently delicious.

We were not looking forward to our four days in Southampton for lots of reasons, not the least was the well deserved reputation for utter indifference to cuisine.  I'm happy to report that we were dead wrong and we've had some of the best food in recent memory right here in jolly old England.  The first night was tried a Spanish tapas restaurant that is apparently keeping the garlic trade afloat - every mouthful included cooked or raw garlic and every mouthful was delicious.  The pan-fried eggplant with a drizzle of honey was the winner with the octopus Gallego (steamed with potatoes) a close second.  We decided we needed a little bread and that turned out to be lightly grilled and swimming in oil and garlic.  Lip-smacking good!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at an Italian restaurant to reserve for the next night - it's a bank holiday here in England and the restaurants were full in the evenings - and that meal was also wonderful.  Poached scallops on top of peas and chopped bacon; asparagus soup; hake on a bed of tortelloni; and a whole plaice served on sweet red peppers and broccolini. I am usually not willing to tackle a whole fish given that bones are likely to appear (in my mouth) but this one was worth it.  And of course we had dessert ... once we get going we don't stop ... lemon panna cotta with blueberries.  The real pièce de resistance was stopping at the bar for a small Italian brandy before leaving ... they had my favorite Vecchia Romagna and we each got one.  Unfortunately Italian traditions do not extend to the bar and we got the tiniest little slurp of brandy you can imagine - for 12 pounds 50!  That's about $16, so our nightcap for two came to $32.  Had it been a decent amount it wouldn't have been so shocking.  

The restaurants in both cities had one thing in common:  They were not loud and you could have a normal conversation across the table. That changed last night!  Since it is a long holiday there are tons of tourists in town and all the restaurants were booked last night.  We finally found a Turkish restaurant that reserved a table for us at 7:30. Upon arrival the first thing we noticed was the NOISE.  The space was cavernous and completely filled with loud, loud, loud people, all competing with the DJ who was blasting tunes from huge speakers around the room. There were clumps of tables of bachelor and bachelorette parties, usually eight or more at a table and all of them stinking drunk and shouting at the tops of their voices. At the end of the meal it took us awhile to get our normal hearing back; it was that loud! But the food was good. 

One more day in Southampton and then onto the Queen Elisabeth tomorrow (Monday) at noon.  Can't wait.  

Best to all, Cindy and Wm