La Passagère, Juan-les-Pins

Pascal Bardet, 36, was Chef de Cuisine at the famous Louis XV in Monte Carlo from 2007 until he left in 2011, ending a 17-year career in restaurants directed by his mentor, Alain Ducasse. In October 2011 he was named the new Chef de Cuisine of restaurant La Passagère in the Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins. This hotel was founded in 1929 in what had been the Villa Saint-Louis, the home of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald in 1925 and 1926.  Its hiring of Pascal Bardet would seem to show ambitions for Michelin stars and a more upscale clientèle.  Linda and I went for dinner on December 20, 2012.

Le Figuier de Saint Esprit, Antibes

Christian Morisset, after serving as sous-chef to Roger Vergé at Le Moulin de Mougins, succeeded Alain Ducasse in 1987 as chef at La Terrasse de l’Hôtel Juana.  When Morisset left La Terrasse in 2005, he still had the two Michelin stars which Ducasse had earned there eighteen years before. Two years later Morisset started his own restaurant, Le Figuier de Saint Esprit, in old Antibes.  Linda and I went for lunch on December 21, 2012.

Bacon, Cap d’Antibes

In 1948, in this beautiful setting, the Sordello family started a stand selling pan bagnat. Two years later they opened a fish restaurant here. In 1979 it gained a Michelin star, which it still has. Linda and I had not been there for many years when we returned for lunch on October 10, 2012, after stops at the Ceramics Biennale in Vallauris and the Marché Provençale in Old Antibes.

Le Chantecler, Nice

The Negresco Hotel will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. Its restaurant, Le Chantecler, has been the most prestigious in Nice for a long time. In 1978 Jacques Maximin took over as its chef and earned two Michelin stars two years later. He left in 1988, but Le Chantecler kept these two stars through successive chefs, Dominique Le Stanc and Alain Llorca. But after Llorca’s departure in 2004, the second star was lost. Jean-Denis Rieubland took over the kitchen in 2007 and the second star was restored this year.

Mirazur, Menton 7

Steve and his Linda invited my Linda and me to dinner at Mirazur on September 26, 2012.  Steve is well known to many of the world’s top chefs, so we were warmly greeted by chef Mauro Colagreco. He said he would construct a menu for us.

Michel Trama, Puymirol

Michel Trama was kicking around in little jobs until he met and married Maryse. Together, in 1974, they took over management of a bistro on the rue Mouffetard in Paris where he learned how to cook on the job. But they tired of city life and, in 1978, moved to Puymirol and opened Restaurant Michel Trama in a 13^th century bastide, the former residence of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse.

«Les Prés d’Eugénie» Michel Guérard 3

September 12, 2012, the morning after our arrival and excellent dinner at Les Prés d’Eugénie, we enjoyed a lavish breakfast in our room.

«Les Prés d’Eugénie» Michel Guérard 2

We had an excellent, memorable experience at Les Prés d’Eugénie four years before, so Linda and I were expecting a lot when we arrived for a two night stay on September 11, 2012. 

Michel Sarran, Toulouse

Michel Sarran’s mother was the owner and cook of an inn in the nearby Armagnac region. He trained under several of France’s top chefs and opened this  restaurant under his own name in Toulouse in 1995. It gained a Michelin star the following year and its second in 2003. Linda and I went for dinner on September 10, 2012.

Akrame, Paris

Akrame Benallal, 30, opened his Paris restaurant, Akrame, last spring and received a Michelin star this year. He has received several top awards as a most promising young chef. Linda and I went for dinner the evening of June 14, 2012.

Tante Louise, Paris

Tante Louise was founded in 1929 by Louise Lefeuvre, a chef who brought traditional French cuisine from the Franche-Comté to Paris. In August 1998 it was taken over by the late Bernard Loiseau, then owner of the legendary Côte-d’Or in Saulieu in Burgundy, which still has the three Michelin stars it has held most of the time since 1935. The Bernard Loiseau Group still owns Tante Louise. As it was just up the street from our hotel, Le Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg, Linda and I went for lunch on June 14, 2012.

Kei, Paris

After seven years working at the Plaza Athénée, chef Kei Kobayashi opened his restaurant last year in the spot which was Gerard Besson before. Joëlle joined Linda and me for dinner there the evening of June 13, 2012.

Carré des Feuillants, Paris

Chef Alain Dutournier opened this restaurant near the Place Vendôme in 1986, but Linda and I had never been until we went for dinner the evening of June 12, 2012.

La Raison Gourmande, Beaulieu-sur-Mer

Chef Olivier Streiff, 36, opened La Raison Gourmande in December 2011. It is in the Palais d’Anglais, built in 1885 as Beaulieu’s first upscale hotel, opposite the train station. The spot was used by the okay restaurant Les Agaves since before we came to Beaulieu-sur-Mer twenty-five years ago.

Keisuke Matsushima, Nice 4

When Linda and I went back to Keisuke Matsushima with Christine for dinner on October 17, 2011, it had been almost three years since our last visit.

Mirazur, Menton 6

On October 8, 2011, Linda and I returned to Mirazur for lunch with Tony. It had been two years since our previous visit.

Le Candille, Mougins

Le Candille is the restaurant of Le Mas Candille, a Relais & Château hotel and spa on the outskirts of Mougins, near Cannes on the Côte d’Azur. Under chef Serge Gouloumès it has had a Michelin star since 2005. Nicole and Daniel invited Linda and me to join them for lunch at Le Candille with Chantal and Roger on October 3, 2011.

La Villa Archange, Le Cannet 2

Linda and I ate at La Villa Archange in October 2010 a few months after it opened and was still not in any of the guides. I wrote then that, if I were a Michelin inspector, I would have no trouble recommending two stars. Last March Michelin did award the two stars, which is an unusual achievement for a new restaurant even when the chef is well known. So Linda and I were looking forward to a fine meal when we returned to La Villa Archange for dinner on September 7, 2011.

L’Hostellerie Jérôme, La Turbie, 6

On June 15, 2011, Basil and Clare invited us to dinner at L’Hostellerie Jérôme.

L’Aphrodite, Nice 3

David Faure is one of the most versatile of the young chefs in Nice. He offers a menu with cutting edge cooking techniques. His regular menu includes at least one traditional niçois specialty in each course, although it may be updated. It also includes dishes with Asian or exotic influences.

Les Bacchanales, Vence 2

Chef Christophe Dufau was away when we first went to Les Bacchanales for lunch in January 2010. That meal was quite disappointing, but, in view of Dufau’s good reputation among chefs, we thought we should try again and went for dinner on June 18, 2011.

Guy Savoy, Paris

Guy Savoy opened his first restaurant in Paris in 1980, winning his first Michelin star the next year. In 1987 he moved to his current location near the Arc du Triomphe and received his third Michelin star in 2002. Next year he will move to the 1767 neoclassical Hôtel de la Monnaie in the 6e on the left bank. Linda and I went for dinner on May 13, 2011.

etc…, Paris

Christian Le Squer, well-known chef of three-star Ledoyen, opened this small restaurant three years ago and sent one of his former seconds, Bernard Pinaud, to continue in the kitchen. (For Le Squer, etc… means epicurean traditional cuisine.) Linda and I went for dinner on May 12, 2011.

Le Bistro Gourmand, Nice

On December 27, 2010, Linda and I went to Le Bistro Gourmand for dinner. Opened on October 14, 2010, it is the latest in a series of small restaurants with ambitious, well-qualified young chefs which have opened in Nice in recent years.

Le Bistrot de la Marine, Cros de Cagnes

Jacques Maximin, now 62 years old, has been one of France’s most imaginative and inventive chefs.  Ferran Adrià regards him as a mentor.

La Réserve de Beaulieu 4

On October 11, 2010, Linda, Tony and I returned to La Réserve for dinner. It was just too late in the season to sit on the terrace.

La Villa Archange, Le Cannet

In May 2007 we had a superb meal at La Villa de Lys in the Majestic Hotel in Cannes. The chef was Bruno Oger, who had been named chef of the year in 2000 by Gault-Millau. Despite its two-star Michelin rating, the management of the hotel decided to close the restaurant. Bruno Oger then began the process of constructing a restaurant complex in Le Cannet, up the hill from Cannes. It finally opened in May 2010.

Auberge Eric Maio, Montauroux

When we are driving back to our house in Beaulieu-sur-Mer from most places in France, we like to break the trip with a last lunch somewhere in the Var, the department just west of our own. We used to stop at the notorious truffle king: Bruno of Lorgues. More recently we have favored Le Relais des Moines. But on driving back from Arles on September 17, 2010, we chose a new spot, L’Auberge Eric Maio near Montauroux, almost on the eastern border of the Var, ten minutes north of the autoroute. This had the advantage of a shorter after-lunch drive home.

L’atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel, Arles 2

Jean-Luc Rabanel was named the 2008 Chef of the Year in France by Gault-Millau. In 2009 he received his second Michelin star. Linda and I had really enjoyed our meal at his atelier in 2007 and were looking forward to our return on September 16, 2010.

La Mirande, Avignon

On September 13, 2010, Linda and I stayed and dined at La Mirande in Avignon.