The Mas de Cure Bourse looks wonderful. Does anyone have a website or an e-mail address to make reservations?

Thanks AGM! BTW, where on the Cape are you?? We spend lots of time in Wellfleet. My sister has a gallery in Ptown.

You blow by me at Exit 5 in West Barnstable. We take excursions up to Ptown and Wellfleet. What is her gallery named? We will be going to PTown because we met a jeweler on the plane home from there.

Here;s the link to the Guides de Charme web site, where you can make a reservation for the Mas de Cure Bourse. The site gives an e-mail address if you'd prefer to get in touch directly. I think I remember that English is spoken there.

Sorry--my cat's foot got in the way.

http://www.hotels-de-charme.com/cont...d=FICHD587844D

We too had the great pleasure of dining at Chantecler in Nice when Maximin was still the chef there--it remains the best meal we've ever had. Thus, we were excited to track Maximin down in his new restaurant in Vence and desolated when our meal was only average. That was 2 years ago, and I hope that things have improved since then. What was missing in the second experience was the sing-in-the-mouth sensation that came with every bite at Chantecler and the unhappy sense that the magic had gone.

It didn't help that in order to even get into the restaurant's parking lot we had to be vetted by a young man with a walkie-talkie unit who checked with the reception desk to be sure we had a valid reservation. I suppose our car wasn't expensive enough or something.

The mas de Cure Bourse is wonderful. We stayed there one year. We had a room with a balcony facing the terrace. A cute lizard joined us there for breakfast and let me feed it.It's a good thing we had that frontal room, there were some late swimmers in the pool and could be a problem but it was only on one night we heard them. Mde. Donzé is warm and friendly and wears a veggie of the week hanging on her toque and makes the round to guests. There's an open(glass) kitchen so you can see
preparation. Lucky me her fig tree was with fruit so I was one happy guest.

Re Maximin- thats really too bad. We ate in his restaurant in Nice that was a converted theater in 1990. Was AMAZING. Was hopeful abt. repeating it in July. Re: the Cape- my sister's gallery is Rice Polak, directly below Ciro and Sal's at the East End. Very cool gallery! (She's Marla).

Ciro was an old friend. I heard he lost the restaurant? true?

I believe that is true (abt Ciro and Sal's). Apparantly theres been a new owner for at least a few years.

cigalechanta: the restaurant was taken over in 2000 by 2 (or 3?) former employees.

Ibrawer, your sister's gallery is cool indeed--a great mix of artists and mediums! I usually stop in before dinner at Lorraine's.

Thank you and I will pass your compliment on to Marla and she'll be thrilled! LOVE Lorraines and especially the Mews.

lbrawer, have you tried Chester? Delicious. I can't wait for June...Best, Maureen

Merci, AGM for a report that this tapenade-lover really enjoyed!

dln, when not in Provence and have no tapenade left nor feel like making it, I order Heliard's from Crossings.com

lbrawer,

It's possible that we just hit Maximin on an off day--but for the prices there shouldn't be off days!

AGM-I enjoyed reading your trip report. Could you tell me where you stayed in paris? I will be traveling there in June, and haven't decided where to stay yet. thanks!

Paula5, we stayed at the Hotel Brighton on the rue du Rivoli in 1er. We had a large room facing the Tuilleries. It was our first time staying on the Right Bank. We decided we liked the Left Bank better. Unfortunately the place we usually stay has gotten too expensive for us-Relais St Germain though if we are only spending a night or two we might splurge.

This is a wonderful thread; merci beaucoup to all contributors. J.

underhill- I agree with your comment about Maximin. We just booked a table at Jean Francois Issautier- another 2** . Have you gotten any feedback or know anything about that one???