Jay's Strange Blog: Eating Carcarille

Jambon et Melon - delicious and a meal unto itself.

Since I wanted us to stay in Gordes in the Luberon, one place kept popping up - the Auberge d'Carcarille. A little hotel at the foot of Gordes with sculpted grounds, lovely decor and reasonable room rates. Then I started to book the room and there was a "pension" surcharge and I had no idea what was going on. A little discussion and translation by Rouki and it turns out that Carcarille adds on the price of two meals to the room.

At first, one is a bit put-off by this but the reviews about their food were all very positive. Book a room and you're guaranteed a table. Add in the potential for really well-prepared food and suddenly it all becomes very promising.

A perfectly selected viognier.

Evidently, you can choose two of three meals in the day. The kitchen prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner and you can select any two services to eat. The breakfast is a nicely prepared buffet of typical French petit dejeuner, lunch is a la carte (I think) but the meal to have is dinner where the kitchen is working at full blast, the dining room is packed and the meals are really good.

The conundrum is that you've now paid for the meals and if you want to journey across Provence to, let's say, Nice or the Italian border, then you probably will not make it back for dinner and you'll lose out on a nice meal that you've already paid for. Better to stay in the Luberon, lounge around the valley, do nothing much in particular and enjoy your meals at Carcarille.

A selection of breads.

Everything is fresh and everything is delicious. From the pan halibut to the tapenade to the wellington. All of it is good and some of it is downright plentiful. The Jambon et Melon the first night was so large, it could have been our entire meal and we would have been satisfied.

Each night we relied on the recommendations of the staff for our wine choices. The wines range from 18€ Ventoux right up to 135€ Chateauneuf du Pape. Our choices were much more modest than the Chateauneuf but all were right on the money. If only I could source these wines at home.

Delicately pan crisped fish.

Three nights in the Luberon and three nights of good eating. By Thursday, we were so used to good meals that we beelined it back from Marseille to make it in time for our outside table for two. I mean really, we've already paid for it, the food is excellent, the table is tough to get in Gordes and they never let us down.