I've been getting a little better these days at taking photos in restaurants. I still get embarrassed about it and try to do it as discreetly as possible, but I have been managing to snap off a few photos each time that we go out. Here are some of the meals that we had in Aix-en-Provence during our trip to the Provence region of France - for all the "Foodies" out there.
Day 1: Home-Style Italian with Dog
The first meal that we had was at a small hole in the wall type of restaurant that was run by a young couple. One of them was the waiter and the other the cook.
It was an Italian restaurant and nothing fancy. We had the dog with us that night, as you can see, so we wanted to keep it as casual as possible.
This was the first time that my wife had ever put the dog in her BabyBjorn carrier for dinner so we weren't sure how that was going to go, but it worked out really well in the end. He fell asleep almost immediately and was actually snoring away during dinner.
My wife chose the restaurant based on online reviews but when we first walked up we were a little skeptical about it. We paused out front assessing how tiny it was, and were nervous that it basically looked like a dingy convenience store from the outside. After a pause to consider our options we said, "fuck it" and headed in. We had made a reservation already and didn't want to go searching for a new spot. Worst case scenario we would have a bad meal and that would not be too big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
The meal ended up being quite good though. It was home style Italian food that you would expect to be served at someone's grandmothers house. Grandmother's always make the best food, so I actually mean that as a glowing recommendation.
Day 2: Restaurant Mitch
On the second evening we left the dog back at the hotel and went to a restaurant that was a little more fancy than the previous night. It was still very casual dining, but not the type of place that you wear a dog strapped to your midriff.
The restaurant was called Mitch and in 2021 it appeared in the Michelin Guide under the category of Bon plat. I believe that the category has since been removed from the guide but it used to signify that the restaurant was essentially on its way to receiving a star and that it just needed a little more refinenment to get it. Actually, a good strategy of fine dining is to seek out Bon Plat restaurants because you get close to Michelin Star quality food but without the crazy prices and wait lists. We walked in off the street that night without a reservation and they had a table for us inside. That would never happen if it had a Michelin star. The wait list might be weeks or even months in that case.
The desert was quite interesting that night and one of those dishes that really stands out in your mind.
It was ginger carrots with dark chocolate. I have never had a carrot as a dessert but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Day 3: Restaurant...?
I don't recall the name of the restaurant we ate at on the third evening of our stay but I recall it being quite good.
It's always a plus when they give you an amuse bouche complements of the chef. I guess that is how you know it's fancy.
The appetizer was liver paté with strawberries.
The main was a thick cut pork chop with peas.
And dessert was a bread pudding with vanilla sauce.
Bonus Meals
I've been holding onto these photos for a very long time now. They were taken the previous year during our first trip to Provence. They are the meals that we had in the city of Avignon which is about an hour or so drive from Aix.
We had three excellent meals in the city but the one that stands out for me the most was from a restaurant called L'Agape.
The food was really excellent there and I would recommend that restaurant to anyone. We didn't know it when we walked up and asked for a table but this restaurant was also in the Michelin guide since 2015 under the category of Bib Gourmand.
I don't know if that category still exists in the guide or if they have since removed it, but it signifies that the restaurant offers high quality meals at very reasonable prices.
The meal was probably the fanciest that we had eaten in France up until that point but we didn't find it to be any more expensive than other meals we had eaten previously.
It really had lived up to the Bib Gourmand title.
All of the meals that we had in Provence during both trips were very good but the two that stood out the most for us were from Restaurant Mitch in Aix-en-Provence and L'Agape in Avignon. I would recommend either of those two restaurants to anyone traveling in the cities. Keep them in mind if you ever go to the cities.
Hmm, I'm trying to decide who is the cutest wrapped like that... is it your wife, or is it the dog?
Everything looks amazing, except this:
I'm picky and the bubbles does something terrible to my mind, and I'm afraid I couldn't eat it... 😤
I also suffer from trypophobia.😖
My mom doesn't like the foams either. Everytime I show her a picture like that she says "Palmolive?"
😂
Haha! You make it sound ok when you describe it as "foam"... My eyes see something else 😂
Haha yeah I know what you mean.
The photos actually make it look worse too. Lol. Its not quite so spit like in person but...
It's does have that look
Haha!
Ah, so you know exactly what my thoughts were 😁
Thirteen. That's how many plates I counted. I can't tell at all you're a little embarrassed and think you're fulla mousse and is it weird my favorite's the fish, beet, courgette?
Hey, I said that I was getting better at it didn't I??? 🤣
Some of them are my wife's photos too.
Yeah man the fish and beets were great. Good choice! 👍 lol
That's a great tip about Bon Plat. Excellent plating of each dish and beautiful shots! I salute you for being able to take photos inside restaurants in France and why not, right? Do you get reactions when you take pictures of food? I used to do that a lot during vacations there and my in-laws were amused by this. Glad I did but I noticed that as the years grew on, I took fewer photos because I forget to 😄
The worst experience I had though was when I made the mistake of taking a photo of a shop window in Lyon once after I failed to see the sign. My bad though. The shop owner made a scene and ensured I deleted the photo, it was the most humiliating experience.
I don't get any reactions, no. I think food photography is fairly common now. You see it a lot. That's why I started to do it actually. I saw so many people doing it and I didn't care so why would others care? That was sort of how I was thinking.
The shop owner making a scene would be embarrassing. Shop owners tend to be a little more uptight about that sort of thing. I'm not sure why. They don't want people stealing their art ideas? Or comparing prices maybe - photo searches online? I generally don't take photos of shops though for that exact reason.
Yes, that's probably it. Since then, the experience created this habit of looking out for those signs and asking permission before snapping away.
These creative dishes are so beautiful, taking pictures would be the right thing to do before enjoying the flavors.
Aawww how cute is the little doggie all wrapped up like that, and he fell asleep too… just the cutest thing ever. It looks like that went really well 😎😊
I like restaurant 2 the most, it just looks delicious 😋 all of it.
The hardest I find when in a restaurant is that I set out to photograph our food. And what happens most of the time, we are waiting so long, that by the time it does arrive we just tuck in… than look at each other and say… we forgot again hahaha 🤣
Thanks for sharing… enjoy your day further!
Restaurant 2 was the best of the lot for this trip. All the food was good though. My wife is good at picking decent restaurants. I suck at it though lol.
We have definitely done that as well, started eating and then realize that we forgot to take pictures 😆
It did look yummy 😋
That is good… our licks are always hit and miss hahaha 🤣 some are good some are not. But it depends in what country we are. 🤓
It is just funny when that happens. We are not good at taking food photos hehehe 🤭
Good evening 👋🏻
Looking at online reviews helps a lot. Once my wife started doing that she never had a bad pick.
Yes, that will help. We tend to go to places where not many reviews are given or restaurants hehehe 🤭 we just normally think in the moment. Like : restaurant, oh we are hungry let’s go in, kind of thing 😉
But will think about that a bit more 🤓😎
It's pretty easy. We just use Google and search restaurants near us in the moment or back in the hotel before supper.
Ok, understand 😉🤓
Will do a bit more…
That was an unusual usage of a babysling, !LOLZ
Haha yeah that's true. It works great though and he really likes it 😆
Well your photos are really good, at first I was ashemed too to make photo in public places but I notice that many restaurants owner appreciate it especially if you sponsor them on social media, the first pictures I loved it , your dog looks super and so calm in the babybjorn ❤️ really lovely. So sorry no photos of the Italian dishes, as an Italian I love my country cuisine, the restaurant Mitch looks really fancy also the restaurant with no nome looks fancy, every dish is really good looking and appetizing!!!!
Yes that's true. You're right about that.
The dog really likes being in the babyBjorn 😂
I wish I would have taken some photos of the Italian food. I always regret it when I go to write a post and don't have pictures to show lol.
❤️😍
😁
this is amazing, it feels like to enjoy
We had some good meals. We really enjoyed the food in the region.
Oh what a lovely dog is it! It must make the food look fun and enjoyable to eat!😍
The dog had fun sleeping during g dinner that night haha 😂
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Thumbnail food is my favourite. Sometimes i eat this foods.
Excellent 😁👍
Oh how cute! It's a pretty great idea to put the dog inside the carrier while enjoying your dinner. It's nice that he fell asleep while you guys where enjoying the sumptuous meal. I suddenly craved for some sweets just by looking at the random dessert you had. 🤤
Yeah the carrier has helped us out in a lot of different situations. Luckily he really likes it too. Haha 😆
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