menu du jour chez Louisette
la carte chez Louisette
Here is some material to feed the stereotype: the French take their food seriously… even when on skis or snow shoes, and even more in the Southwest of France.
While in Baréges- La Mongie, at the foot of the Tourmalet pass ( a well known pass by fans of the Tour de France), and taking a break from snowshoeing, my extended family took a break from exercising at the local restaurant Chez Louisette only accessible on skis, or snowshoes. I was amazed by the line up that people were willing to put themselves through just to enjoy the quality home fare, representative of a good traditional restaurant in the Pyrénées valleys. Line ups are just not a French thing, far too undisciplined for that unless a good meal is the prize. The Lunch break turned into a full hour and a half to 2 hours stop with rich food, red wine and sunshine on the patio to be enjoyed. Let me do a rough translation of the menu du jour and a few items out of their regular daily fare: Roll of Pyrénées trout, foie gras with figs, leg of duck with a wild mushroom sauce, duck magret in blueberry sauce, roast beef with wild mushrooms, traditional vegetable soup of the region ( ie garbure), melted local Pyrénées cheese with potatoes ( tartiflette).
After a rich meal like that in the afternoon, two options left: exercise hard that afternoon to eliminate such a rich meal or collapse for a long nap in the sun in one of their lounge chairs.