Beaugravière, La

(Winter Vegetables)

On the face of it, La Beaugravière gets two forks out of possible five and has black forks instead of red ones in the Michelin guide. On the other hand, 'tis the black truffle season and, being in the middle of the truffle country, La Beaugraviere specializes in truffle dishes. Besides, it is noted for an excellent wine list and comes highly recommended from prior patrons. All important justifications for driving to a restaurant 45km north of Avignon in a town with nothing to do on a single highway exit that has to be missed a few times before found.



(Foie Gras)

The main focus is truffle: Foie gras with truffle, steak with truffle, and vegetable with truffle. The cooking is homely with familiar ingredients and a few nice surprises. Seared foie gras and truffle shaving are accompanied by mashed parsnip that provides firm but subtle contrast to the richness and aromatics. The steak and truffle course comes with a zucchini custard that provides a nice respite from the rich sauce. Finally, the stewed winter vegetable liberally sparkled with truffle and drizzled with truffle oil was a beautiful combination that showcased the possibilities of truffle. Nov-Feb is black truffle season and this is a delicious homage worth paying. Service is casual and friendly but, with a staff of only two, not prompt. There is a tasting menu and a la cart choices. The wine list does not disappoint covering all the major wine regions of France with, being in the middle of the southern Rhone Valley, an in-depth selection of Rhone wines.

And, keeping in mind the importance of terroir in both truffle and wine, a 1989 Le Vieux Telegraphe is an obvious choices that cannot ruin a good truffle dinner.



(Steak and Zucchini custard)

The 1989 vintage, along with the 1990 vintage, is considered the best vintages since 1978 for Chateauneuf du Pape. Domaine du Vieux-Telegraphe is commonly considered to be amongst the best winemakers in the region. This bottle shows the characteristic flavors of spicy, sweet, jammy, tobacco, cherry with a velvety in texture while retaining its soulful exuberance. A beautiful accompaniment to the truffle feast and a wine to drink solo.



(1989 Domaine du Vieux-Telegraphe)

Details
Hotel Restaurant La Beaugravière
Route Nationale 7
84430 Mondragon
T: 04 90 40 82 54
F: 04 90 40 91 01
www.beaugraviere.com


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