L'Epicurieux

Although our itinerary said that we were visiting Nice for a few days, we were actually staying a bit aways in Sophia Antipolis.  We had a car anyways, so there was no need to stay in any city centre.  We were actually closer to Cannes than to Nice, so our first day in the area, we made our way to Cannes for some lunch.  Naturally, parking was hard to find and even their free parking lot was totally full.  We did some driving around looking for parking to no avail, so we ended up in a pay lot.  By then it was 2:00pm and we just made it before our restaurant of choice, L'Epicurieux, closed for their afternoon break.

We ended up sharing 2 appies including the Escargots which were tender with a nice rebound texture.  But we all know the best part is the garlic butter and this one was delicious.  It was buttery (of course), garlicky and bright while being perfectly seasoned.  This was excellent with the snails, but really, it was great for soaking up with the bread.  We got more bread to not waste any of the liquid gold.

We also had the Terrine Maison that was meaty with plenty of aromatics.  This featured tender nuggets of meat mixed with just enough processed meat and fat to create a texture that was both appealing to be eaten by itself or with bread.  We enjoyed how this was obviously fatty without it tasting nor feeling like it was fatty.  Rather, the fat was a great binding agent and provider of aromatics.

For our mains, we shared them all including the Beef Tartare that was served with frites.  This was the the most flavourful dish of the meal with plenty of tang and acidity.  It also benefitted from enough olive oil to give it some moist texture and separation (rather than being clumpy).  The ample red onions gave the dish some bite and brightness.  The accompanying frites were crispy and aromatic due to being cooked in beef fat.

We also had the Grilled Pork Spider with chorizo, baby potatoes and meslun greens.  Although this cut of pork generally has striations of fat, this was cooked pretty aggressively.  There was a hard sear on the outside that was well-seasoned, yet it made the pork pretty firm.  Understandable because you can't undercook pork.  It was still tender though with a chewier exterior.

My favourite dish was the Roast Seabass Filet with Marseillais Panisse and Pesto.  The fish itself was cooked beautifully where it was tender and flaky.  The skin and the fish itself was seasoned enough while the skin was seared until crispy.  Not just sitting there as a side, the panisse was quite delicious.  They were not overly dense while the exterior was crispy.  They were also well-seasoned.

Somewhat of a surprise, the Fiocchietti with gorgonzola cream was only mildly sharp with plenty of mild flavour.  The sauce was creamy, but not too creamy while perfectly seasoned.  The pasta itself was thin and delicate while still a dente.  The ricotta filling was moist and mildly-seasoned.  So in the end, this was a delicious lunch that was reasonably-priced.  People are super nice there too!

The Good:

- Well-executed dishes

- Super-nice people

- You have the option of A/C inside

The Bad:

-Seating is a bit tight