I wonder if you have visited Anticafé Aix yet? Founded two years ago, its principle is that customers pay per hour. Your 5 euros per hour gets you as much coffee or tea as you like, plus there are breakfast cereals, bread to toast with jam, or later in the …

“Every Day My Cooking Has to be Great”  Bon rapport qualité-prix. It means “good value for money” and it’s one of my favorite French expressions because…who doesn’t love a great value? So I was delighted to learn that Emmanuel Billaud, the chef at Le Clos Saint Roch in Maussane-les-Alpilles, was …

“In your very comprehensive survey of Aix restaurants, I couldn’t find any mention of House of Cookies, rue Boulegon (but maybe it’s just my mistake!) It’s a lovely place, American vintage-oriented, and the owner, Laetitia, makes the best scones/muffins/ cookies/pancakes in Aix (she makes the cakes for Book in Bar!) You …

It was a surprise when ‘Happy Days’, the café in the corner of Place Richelme was demolished before Christmas; it always seemed busy. But now Le Petit Bistrot is in its place and it is a delightful place to have a petit dej’, coffee or hot chocolate.Wide choice of wines, …

Marseille wasn’t high on my list of places to visit. A weekend spent there to celebrate the birthday of a dear friend from Uzès totally changed my mind. On top of being an incredibly beautiful city with lovely, welcoming people, Marseille is for foodies like me. I’ve been to Marseille …

Peter Mayle once wrote that Chez Etienne was his favourite Marseille restaurant for lunch and it seems he is not alone. As the locals say, ‘Il faut absolument passer, un fois, dans sa vie, chez Etienne’. Even Gault & Millau call it a ‘veritable institution’. Mayle was charmed by the …

With Chandeleur in France and Pancake Tuesday in the UK, February is a good time to whip up batter for pastries and crepes. But if you prefer to buy something in town, there are many choices. The traditional pets de nonnes – nuns’ farts  – are in the artisanal boulangeries in town – just under …

One Friday a few months back, we had a date for a rendezvous with cousins Jean-Marc and Christine for dinner. It was my responsibility to choose a restaurant somewhere between Montpellier and Sablet. After making some calls, I landed on Le Bistrot du Paradou. I was informed they had one …

Who Wants Dessert?  Ready for Christmas in July? Or in any month of the year, for that matter? Then head over to L’Aile ou la Cuisse, one of my favorite restaurants in St.-Rémy-de-Provence. You are in for a treat. L’Aile ou la Cuisse, which means “the wing or the leg” …

A bit shocking to come back to Aix and find two burger bars about to open in town, one each end of the Cours Mirabeau! ‘J’aimerais qu’ils aillent ailleurs’, said Mayor Marysse Joissans, but they must have had a green light as ‘Five Guys’ opens in a few days. This …