Food as art

We have decided we are so rich that we can go out to eat every time we decide we can't be bothered to cook. Which is quite often at the moment, given the temperature of the kitchen even before you cook anything.

So we reserved a table for lunch at Le Bastion in Lagrasse. We've only been once before. It was excellent, and we weren't disappointed this time. The menu hasn't changed much: many of the same ingredients, arranged differently. The chef has worked in 3-star restaurants, so the presentation is exceptional. My main course looked stunning: hake with three different sauces, crushed potatoes, sieved hard-boiled egg, flakes of truffle, samphire, salad leaves. With it, a lovely bottle of local white wine ... since S was driving we only drank half of it and took the rest home. And have just enjoyed it as part of our self-indulgent evening apero.

Side note: as a connoisseur, I noted that the bread was particularly good, and when I commented on it to the waitress, she said they had it delivered weekly from a baker in the Tarn (quite a long way away ...) because they couldn't find any good bread locally! There is a bakery in Lagrasse but obviously it isn't up to scratch.

And in other news: the mayor has just cancelled two musical events in August because of the passe sanitaire, and also announced that if you want to use the swimming pool you are now required to go and show your papers at the mairie in order to get certified. Crazy: it's outdoors, and when I go I'm usually in splendid isolation. This morning's count: five people. Even in the afternoons there are no more than 20 people. But the mairie is forced to implement the new rules.