It is easy to take a disparaging view of Beziers. There is a faltering economy, no nightlife to speak of and a disproportional density of the extremely aged. The flipside of this situation is affordability, authenticity and a lack of tourists. The Biteroise (people from Beziers) are more likely to be genuinely unpretentiously knowledgeable about regional wines than their younger hipper counterparts in Montpellier. The selection at wine bars, restaurants and even cafés reflects this. Of course they are closer to the heartland of quality Languedoc wine production, being amidst Saint Chinain, Minervois and Corbièrs amongst others. Being a smaller city with a population of 54000 they have remained more agricultural in their bent than the much larger Montpellier. Agricultural patches are still visible from several places in the city center.
Climb the endless stairs of my favourite French cathedral to the musical accompaniment of the perhaps the most dramatic organist anywhere and take in the best view of the town and its surroundings at the 'Cathederal St. Nazaire'.
Get fantastic organic bread at 'Le Pain des Moissons' (67 Ave: Marechal Foch). http://paindesmoissons.free. This one of only 3 locations in France where the baker mills his own gourmet flour on the premises and if you are lucky he might even give you a tour and explanation of the process. Another aspect of this bakery that makes it a relative rarity is that it produces top quality breads AND pastries. Generally, I have found that if a bakery masters one they tend to only churn out the other as a concession to people who want to buy both breads and pastries at the same location. This may hearken back to the era when bounlangerie, patiserie, choclatisserie, were all separate shops and the modern effort to consolidate them to compete with super markets has meant sacrificing one or the other of the specialist trades.
For the best stock I have ever seen at any wine bar go to 'Le Chameau Ivre' -the drunken camel (15 place Jean Jaures). You can peruse their large catalogs or just stagger around astonished studying their shelves to see all the wines they have on offer. Their prices often match that of the producer which is cool because they also serve as a 'caviste' so you can order bottles to take home.
Next door is another Frères Pourcell restaurant that experiments with a little Asian fusion, I was sceptical at first but everything that I have tasted from their 28 Euro menu was bang on. I can hardly fault the quality of this location of 'La Compagnie Des Comtoirs'. www.lacompagniedescomptoirs.com
For more classic fare try 'La Raffinerie', my Biteroise friend's still swear by it though they concede it is a notch below its previous standards since a recent change in ownership.14 Avenue Joseph Lazare. www.laraffinerie.com
Showing posts with label Wine bars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wine bars. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
wine, coffee, beer in Montpellier
Cafés, Bars aux vins, Bar aux bierres
If you have heavily indulged at lunch and you don’t want too much for dinner a good alternative is a wine bar. They generally offer a cheese plate, charcuterie plate, a tapenade plate or a mixed plate. Usually that is enough for two people that aren’t exceptionally hungry.
L’esprit Vins
A wide variety of local wines from 2.80 -6 Euros a glass.
They have the best mixed plates with plenty of vegetable which will feed two for 12 Euros.
Probably best to sit outside in the evenings because the sound system can be loud inside. The bar opposite, which has an adjacent seating area at the place around the fountain, is rubbish. But don’t let that deter you from esprit vins - which is excellent.
Times Café
Near St. Roch
Great, friendly, knowledgeable staff, great wines, heaps of praise written up in just about every wine publication, tough to find a seat.
Mi Bario
Near St. Roch, opposite l’agricole and next to le bouchon de saint roch
Very casual, but the only one to actually include wines from outside the region on his list.
Milles et une bouteilles
Rue Faubourg St. Jaumes, just beyond the beer bar and stadium.
Way downscale, friendly, incredibly cheap. You can sit at a plastic table and buy rosé at 1 euro a glass while you inhale complimentary olives, chips and peanuts.
There are too many good cafés too name them all and sometimes the best is one you ‘’discovered’‘ but here are a couple that are certain to give you good coffee.
Lattitude
place canourgue
run and operated by twin brothers which can be very confusing. There coffee is a little more expensive but their terrace is beautifully situated and everything is of high quality.
Café Bibal
Rue Jaques Coeur, just off Rue de la Loge, just before the central square place de la comedie.
Quality selection of coffees and hot chocolates and hot chocolate coffees. It is, however, in a crowded area.
Les couleurs des bierres
Rue Faubourg St. Jaumes
A temple to beer. Any type (not necessarily brand) of beer imaginable. Francis, the patron, is an encyclopaedia of beer knowledge. If you get dizzy you can take pizza from next door into the bar. He usually stocks over 700 different beers at one time. I recommend the Belgian and French micro brew sections.
If you have heavily indulged at lunch and you don’t want too much for dinner a good alternative is a wine bar. They generally offer a cheese plate, charcuterie plate, a tapenade plate or a mixed plate. Usually that is enough for two people that aren’t exceptionally hungry.
L’esprit Vins
A wide variety of local wines from 2.80 -6 Euros a glass.
They have the best mixed plates with plenty of vegetable which will feed two for 12 Euros.
Probably best to sit outside in the evenings because the sound system can be loud inside. The bar opposite, which has an adjacent seating area at the place around the fountain, is rubbish. But don’t let that deter you from esprit vins - which is excellent.
Times Café
Near St. Roch
Great, friendly, knowledgeable staff, great wines, heaps of praise written up in just about every wine publication, tough to find a seat.
Mi Bario
Near St. Roch, opposite l’agricole and next to le bouchon de saint roch
Very casual, but the only one to actually include wines from outside the region on his list.
Milles et une bouteilles
Rue Faubourg St. Jaumes, just beyond the beer bar and stadium.
Way downscale, friendly, incredibly cheap. You can sit at a plastic table and buy rosé at 1 euro a glass while you inhale complimentary olives, chips and peanuts.
There are too many good cafés too name them all and sometimes the best is one you ‘’discovered’‘ but here are a couple that are certain to give you good coffee.
Lattitude
place canourgue
run and operated by twin brothers which can be very confusing. There coffee is a little more expensive but their terrace is beautifully situated and everything is of high quality.
Café Bibal
Rue Jaques Coeur, just off Rue de la Loge, just before the central square place de la comedie.
Quality selection of coffees and hot chocolates and hot chocolate coffees. It is, however, in a crowded area.
Les couleurs des bierres
Rue Faubourg St. Jaumes
A temple to beer. Any type (not necessarily brand) of beer imaginable. Francis, the patron, is an encyclopaedia of beer knowledge. If you get dizzy you can take pizza from next door into the bar. He usually stocks over 700 different beers at one time. I recommend the Belgian and French micro brew sections.
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