Arles: La Fée Gourmande

It’s well worth booking one of the four tables at La Fée Gourmande ahead of time to sample the wares of the good fairy who runs this tiny little restaurant in Arles. In fact, the fée gourmande in question is named Virginie Roth and she attended the Institut Vatel in Lyon and then worked in London and Paris before settling down in this enchanting Provençal city to set up shop. Her blackboard menu changes regularly, but I loved a starter called papeton de blettes-a delicious Swiss chard flan garnished with pomegranate seeds, sliced radishes and mustard cress. A main course of pain perdu de foie gras was similarly intriguing and very inspired, a savory variation of French toast stuffed with sautéed foie gras and accented with a pickled fig and one of the most original garnishes I’ve seen in a very long time-grilled shavings of topinambour (Jerusalem artichoke). An open tart of tiny squid with fried leeks was delicious, too, and the easygoing fixed-price menu (and wine at €1.50 a glass) make this miniscule place with its bright blue shutters and country-kitchen, bric-a-brac decor a real bargain.

3 rue Dulau, Arles, 04.90.18.26.57. Fixed-price lunch menu €14, à la carte €35. Prices are per person without wine.

Originally published in the February 2009 issue of France Today

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