After reading "From Here you can almost see Paris"and talking with the author, I think I'd like to go there to eat at the restaurant and spend the night in this small village. Has anyone been there? (There are several B&bs there.) Seems like a nice stop after Provence on the way to other Friends near poitoirs.

Topping for myself

again!

still hoping. Maybe someone on this late hour knows this area.

Am just reading the above-mentioned book and am hoping to resurrect this post. The chapter describing the meals is incredible! cigalechanta, may I ask how you met the author? There is another post about the restaurant-I'll top that also. So far, am really enjoying the book.
Hey gang, anyone been there since 2003?!

I met the author too. And ate there. And loved it. It's in one of my trip reports. I'll see if I can dig it up.

Did you both meet the author in France or US? By the way, the above post did not show up on my list of posts. I had searched for Les Arques on the 5th and had to do so again today.

Really enjoying the book.

Here's the part of my trip report that deals with La Récré

Dinner at La Récré

Our reservation for dinner at La Récréation is at 8:30, so we relax a bit on the terrace outside the hostellerie de Goujounac, sipping a half carafe of wine and catching up. At 7:30, though, we’re ready to get going, so off we go to Les Arches, arriving there a half-hour before our reservation.

Noëlle greets us at the door with a warm smile and assures us that it’s no problem to be seated. The restaurant is small – it’s a former schoolhouse – and rather plain. There are only eight or ten tables in all. The main decorative items are quilts hung on the walls, with little name and price tags on them, presumably the work of some local artist. They are pretty, but PB thinks she could spruce the place up a bit, and I have no doubt she could.

There is one menu, at 25 euros, with five selections in each of three categories – entrée, plat, and dessert. Everything looks appealing. We order a large bottle of Vittel and peruse the selections. It becomes apparent quite quickly as we gaze around the room and take in the surroundings that every single table is English-speaking, either American or British. Jeez! Out here in the middle of nowhere at the end of September, and all tourists! Later, I ask Noëlle if that’s because of the book, but she says no, it’s always like this. I find that odd, because in the book it sounds as though you are likely to meet many of the locals on just about any night.

A young American couple is seated not far from us. When Noëlle goes to take their order, they ask her to translate it. This takes forever! “Well, that is a river fish, very mild, with a sauce made with white wine and cream and saffron and other herbs – no, not spicy, but flavorful, on a layer of spinach gratin with boiled new potatoes and ……” By the time Noëlle gets to the desserts, which you must order with your dinner, there is a roomful of clients waiting to have their orders taken. She begins to describe the fondant au chocolat, and the young man says “Oh yeah, fondue! We know what fondue is – we have that at home.” Noëlle says “Well, actually, it’s different…..” but the young man cuts her off, “We love fondue!” The lady at the table next to us groans.

We both order raviolis with mousse de homard as our entrée. Delicious! The mousse is very delicate in texture and flavor. It comes with a zucchini flower also filled with the mousse. Next PB orders sandre with julienned leeks in puff pastry. I have the gâteau d’agneau, which is minced lamb and herbs wrapped in slices of grilled eggplant and formed in the shape of a small cake. The accompanying vegetables are a bit odd, though (the same with both our dishes) – a cherry tomato stuffed with some kind of sausage, some kind of mousse that neither one of us can identify (thoughts range from ham to salsify), and little carrot and cucumber slices run through the Moulinex to scallop their edges. We have half a bottle of a 200 Château de Chambert Cahors (12.50€) that is outstanding.

The cheese course is a creamy cabécou, doused in black pepper. PB sneezes. The pepper is really odd, but the cabécou is deliciously fresh and gooey. Dessert is excellent. PB has caramelized pears with homemade vanilla ice cream and I have the fondant au chocolat with an outstanding coulis of raspberries and pears. Both are very good. We finish with décafs, say goodbye to Noëlle and send our compliments to the chef, and exit into an inky night.

Back in Goujounac, we settle into our room. Just as I am falling asleep, a mosquito whines past my ear. This happens repeatedly, and I can hear PB swatting in the dark as well. I finally catch its outline in a small bit of light coming in through the curtains and nab it. Then the traffic begins. When did Goujounac become a major truck route? The rumble of poids lourds gets louder and louder as the night goes on. We sleep fitfully in between trucks as they bounce over the large cobblestones of the center of Goujounac. We are both startled out of restless sleep when a particularly large one stops in the middle of town, engine revving so hard that the entire hostellerie shakes and I feel as though I’m in one of those coin-operated shake-a-beds. Somehow we get to sleep before dawn. I’m still wondering where those trucks were going, though.

ttt for those on the other thread asking if anyone's eaten there.