Spelt

Spelt has been on my wish list for quite some time.  After I was tipped off by a friend, I had my eyes on this hidden little gem in the commune of Tourrettes-sur-Loup to the north of Nice.  The place doesn't have a Michelin star, but really, it should have one.  They only serve a tasting menu and considering how expensive things are, especially in France, it is reasonably-priced at 85 Euros.  I actually got in at 75 Euros, but the price has gone up since (like everywhere else).

So to start, we were presented with selection of small bites including Parmesan Gourgeres, Lemon Butter Radish, Marinated Tuna and Cheese & Sardine Sable.  The savoury choux pastry was on point with an airiness and plenty of pungent parmesan.  Whimsically plated, the radish were fresh and crunch while coated in a tangy lemon butter.  Presented on a tapioca crisp, the marinated tuna was accompanied by avocado and pickled onion.  It was a clean bite with balancing flavours.  Lastly, the sardine sable featured little cookie crisps sandwiching a briny sardine mousse.  Good textural contrast and focused flavour.

Next, we were served the Confit Tomato in tomato water.  On the side we were served a texturally wonderful tomato brioche. That tomato water was intense with the natural and concentrated flavour of tomato.  It was sweet in a tomato way (if that makes sense). To complete the dish, we found goat cheese, balsamic, EVOO, basil and granité of tomato. This resulted in layers of flavour that included more tomato, but also tanginess and aromatics. Right after, we were served a palate cleanser on a wooden spoon.

Not looking very interesting, we had the Potato covered with haddock cream, peanut crunch and lemon zest butter.  This seemingly simple offering was actually quite delcious.  First of all, the tender potato was the main part of the dish, but the root vegetable was flavoured with a fish cream that was subtle and slightly sweet.  Nice role-reversal here.  To add some texture to the dish, it was smartly topped with an aromatic peanut crunch.

One of their signature dishes is the Spelt Lobster Risotto made with, well spelt!  The restaurant is named after this grain which is similar to wheat.  With the husk on, the spelt maintained a firm chewy texture.  It had a nutty almost fruity flavour that took a seat to the dominant creamy lobster essence.  This was such an aromatic dish that was full of umaminess.  The complex marriage between the spelt and lobster bisque meant this was both a textural and taste experience.

Moving along, we had the Fish Tartare with miso seaweed sauce, lemon, herbs and avocado.  In reference to the meal progression, this was a nice departure from the richness of the risotto.  The sauce was an umami bomb with the fermented richness of the miso and the taste of the sea from the seaweed.  Naturally, the addition of lemon added the necessary acidity that helped keep things bright.  The fish itself was fresh, buttery soft and was not overwhelmed by any of the ingredients.

Keeping with the theme of fish, we had the Turbot with eggplant puree, balsamic, capers and fried garlic in a sauce of tomatoes and pickled shallots.  The piece of turbot couldn't have been prepared any more expertly.  It was soft and flaky bordering on buttery.  There was a light crispy sear that also yielded enough seasoning.  However, the combination of tomatoes and creamy eggplant made for a cross between bright and tangy with smooth and mild.  Nicely balanced dish.

So in between the turbot and the Smoked Lamb Rack, we had some fritters and zucchini bites.  I couldn't tell you much about them because I didn't take notes on it!  But I can tell you that the lamb was excellent.  It was smoked with lemon & thyme where I could definitely taste the earthiness.  The lamb itself was medium and succulent.  It was served with a zucchini puree, seared zucchini and almond cream.

Onto the first of two desserts, we were asked to walk over to a "lemon tree" where we could choose our own Kalamansi Dessert shaped like a lemon.  Looking rather inconspicuous, the thing was a tangy and sweet flavour bomb.  I've had something similar before and this one was even better.  Beyond the white chocolate shell, the creamy filling was best to be eaten in a few bites as it was impactful.

Our last 2 items consisted of a Chocolate Tart as well as some Mini-Madeleines.  With the tart, we found several layers of chocolate in terms of texture and flavour.  The chocolate tart shell was firm with a background bitterness.  Inside, the chocolate was not too sweet while the chocolate sauce was silky and also semi-sweet.   As you can see, the food at Spelt is next-level and worthy of much more than they are charging.  Combine it with stellar service and a charming location in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, it is a must visit if you are ever in Côte d'Azur.

The Good:

- Outstanding food that is made with precision

- Thoughtful dishes

- Well-priced

The Bad:

- Unless you have a car, not the easiest place to visit if you are not from the area

- When you get there, parking is limited

Chez Pipo

We all know that Nice is famous for their Salade Niçoise.  Heck the place is in the name of the dish!  Now I love a good salade niçoise but really, there are more things native to Nice than that.  So we ended up visiting Chez Pipo in the heart of Downtown in search of another famous dish - Socca.  There are many places you can get this specialty in the area, but according to most, this is the place to get it.  Is it a bit on the touristy side?  Maybe, but we didn't care!

So we got there at opening and snagged a table outside.  It quickly filled up and then a lineup formed.  Before we got to the socca, we started with the Pissaladière.  This version was a bit different than the one we had at Le Fromager de Saint-Paul.  The flatbread was a bit thicker and the onions were not as caramelized.  Hence, it was more robust and the natural onion flavour came through much more strongly.  It ate more like an onion tart of sorts.

Staying on the same theme, we had their version of Pizza with tomatoes, parsley and garlic.  Due to the thicker bread-like crust, this was more dense, but not in a bad way.  The generous amount of fresh tomatoes on top added both moisture and natural tomato flavour.  Equally present, the garlic was really prominent with both aroma and just a touch of sharpness.  I much preferred this flatbread since it was not so full of onions.

We decided to get a set of their Tartinades featuring olive tapenade paste, anchovy cream, mix of Provence vegetables and sundried tomato.  This was served with golden croutons on the side.  Such a simple, yet delicious shareable appie.  I was all about the anchovy cream as it was salty and briny.  Tomatoes were impactful too with sweet tanginess.  Naturally, the olives in the tapenade was salty and tangy while the veggie mix was bright and fresh.

Ordering all the local specialties, we had the Mini-Pan Bagnat as well.  This is a small bun filled will all things found in a salade niçoise.  Story goes, these were eaten with leftovers from the salad.  Yep, this was indeed filled with tuna, egg,  radish, anchovy, onion, green pepper, tomato and olives.  The trick here was to soak the bread with olive oil and the tomato juice (since bagnat means "wet").  Therefore, the sandwich was moist, soft and conformed to the ingredients.  Of course, we had the saltiness of the anchovy.

Now let's talk about Socca.  This chickpea flour based pancake said to have originated from Roman soldiers cooking them on their shields or when residents in Nice sustained themselves with the 2 ingredients that were plentiful at the time (olive oil and chickpeas) when the city was under siege by Turkish forces.  Whatever the case, we absolutely loved it!  So crispy and light on the outside while satisfyingly soft and well-seasoned inside.  This could be eaten as a snack or meal anytime in the day!  We also got a variation with parmesan and it come out flatter and a bit denser.  But had the salty nuttiness of parm really added another dimension to the already flavourful socca.  Whatever the case, Chez Pipo really delivered with their delicious socca.  The other dishes were fine too, but the real draw is their signature dish!

The Good:
- Delicious socca
- Reasonably-priced
- Good service

The Bad:
- Other dishes were okay
- Parking in Nice is not nice

Le Fromager de Saint-Paul

Luck would have it that Mijune would be in Nice at the same time as us and she would have time to meet!  We ended up driving over to St. Paul de Vence to rendezvou at Le Fromager de Saint-Paul.  Similiar to Mougins, but bigger, St. Paul is a medieval town that sports beautiful views, artisans and of course, excellent places to eat!  Like the name suggests, the restaurant specializes in cheese with other accompanying dishes as well.  We didn't go for anything complex and shared a bunch of little bites.

This included their absolutely delicious rendition of Pissaladeriere.  For those who haven't had this, it is basically a flatbread with caramelized onion, olives, capers, thyme and nutmeg.  Well, this was truly excellent with a thin crust that was slightly crispy in places.  The intense sweetness from the onions was balanced off well by the saltiness of the olives and capers.  Of course the tanginess from both also helped keep things from being too heavy.

Even though we had left Italy several days ago, we couldn't resist ordering some Burrata with tomatoes and balsamic. Mind you, Nice and the surrounding area used to be part of Italy...  Anyways, the burrata was supremely fresh with a creamy and cheesy centre.  It was topped with an aromatic and nutty pesto.  This went really well with the supplied baguette.  We got more of it since there was so much burrata (and other things on the table).  The tomatoes were super fresh and juicy.  Loved the simple balsamic and EVOO drizzled on it.

We ended up also getting our meat fix with a Charcuterie plate consisting of coppa, saucisson and jambon cru.  This was a nice collection of familiar items including the nutty and firm saucisson and the coppa was salty with plenty of fat due to use of pork shoulder.  Essentially prosciutto, the jambon cru was nutty, salty and fairly lean.  It was soft with the classic chewiness.  We had a baguette on the side and we ate that with the meat and cheese.

Also on the table was the Terrine de Cochon Maison served with a green salad, conichons and pickled onions.  We found this terrine very rustic and almost a bit fluffy.  This was not a tightly packed terrine and it was not overly meaty.  The combination of whipped meat and fat, it was almost spreadable.  I say almost, since it still had some chunks, so it didn't really spread.  Flavourwise, it was meaty but mild-tasting.  It was nutty from the pistachios strewn throughout.

And finally we had a slice of Truffle Brie as per my daughter's request.  This brie was really good being creamy and buttery without completely melting upon contact.  It was lightly sweet and nutty while the thin layer of truffle add the usual woodsiness and aromatics.  We combined this with the baguette and some meats to create layers of flavour.  So as you can see, the things we had at Le Fromager de Saint-Paul was pretty simple.  But really, this was sufficient as a light meal especially on a hot day.  Was cool to sit outside and catch up with Mijune while thinking of other things to eat later!

The Good:
- Outstanding location with a nice view
- Quality products
- They have hot dishes too, but we didn't try them

The Bad:
- Limited parking in the area, but that is a given

Bistro & Co Rooftop Bar

After an early morning in Pisa catching our first bus to Genoa, then having a 3-hour layover and ultimately taking another bus to Nice, we still had to pick up our rental car at the airport.  That meant we checked into our hotel at 8:00pm completing our 12-hour journey.  However, we still needed to grab dinner.  After tracking down a grocery store that was open and acquiring some water and snacks, we made our way to a random place called Bistro & Co Rooftop Bar in Antibes.  We snagged the last parking spot in the lot (which was an omen to what we were going to experience later).

Heading upstairs, we could hear the awesome live music as well as the energetic vibe of the place.  Unlike some of the more traditional restaurants we've had in the past week or so, Bistro & Co offers up a huge rigatoni menu as well as burgers and other North American dishes.  Even though I was pasta'd out, I went for the Rigatoni Bolognese just to see why the section was so huge.  Now this was more of American Italian pasta and in that respect, it was good.  The tubes of rigatoni were al dente while the meat sauce was balanced and there was a good amount of cheese baked on the top.

For my son, he was craving a burger and hence got the L'Oncle Sam with bacon, crispy hashbrown, tomato, onion ring, BBQ sauce and cheddar sauce. plenty of BBQ ingredients.  This was an absolutely massive burger with 2 patties (cooked to medium) and a crispy hashbrown.   I guess this was a ode to the States due to its components and considerable size.  This was actually quite good and the fresh-cut fries were crispy too.

My daughter had the Pavé de Salmon with a soy, honey & sesame glaze as well as rice and vegetables. and it was not bad with it being moist and flaky but could've been cooked just a little less.  The sauce was predictably Asian-tasting with a good balance between sweet and salty.  The veggies on the side were a little overdone while the rice was on the drier side, but worked well with the sauce.

Viv had the Escalope de Volaille Panée with housecut fries and salad.  She also got a side of Béarnaise sauce as well.  Good thing because the chicken breast was dry and chewy.  We did enjoy the crunchy breading though and the same house-cut fries though.  Overall, the food at Bistro & Co was decent and brought back memories of North American fare.  Loved the vibe and also the complimentary drink to start the meal.

The Good:

- Energetic Vibe

- Fairly decent eats

- Good portions

The Bad:

- The parking lot fills up fast