Brittany, the land of eggs and butter, is also a
land of gigantic meals at very cheap prices, roughly
served, wholesome no doubt, but better appreciated
with an appetite sharpened by Brittany air than they
would be under less healthy conditions. In St. Malo
there is one restaurant, that attached to the Hotel
de France et de Chateaubriand in the
Place Chateaubriand, which has preten-
sions to distinction and elegance. The
entrance to the restaurant is in a side
The rooms have crimson portieres to their
windows ; there are palms, and the little tables are
not set too near each other. The linen and cutlery
are better than are usually to be found in Brittany.
A lunch and a dinner of the day are the meals usually
served in this restaurant, the prices, if I remember
rightly, being 3 and 5 francs respectively. It is as
well to take the meal which is ready, for I have found
by personal experience that the kitchen has no great
variety to offer for a lunch or dinner a la carte.
In the Place Chateaubriand, the little square which
is the centre of the life of the town, in which are
four or five cafes, two of which at least have ladies’
Hotel del’Uni- bands as an attraction, is the Hotel de
vers, Place l’Univers, the dining-room of which is
Chateaubriand patronised by the “ commis voyageurs ”
who come to St. Malo on business, and who go to
no hotel that has not good sound bourgeois cookery.
The room, or rather rooms, are rather low, and a long
table d'hote table runs down the centre of each; but
there are small tables at the side for the use of people
who do not wish to herd with all-comers. The price
of the meals is a small one, and the cookery is prob-
ably the best in the town.
French Provincial Towns
91
The Franklin Hotel, almost next door to the Casino
outside the walls of the town, caters for an English and
American clientele which lives en pension _
, , . , 1 , The Franklin
there. 1 he meals, neither very good
and not remarkably indifferent, call for no special
comment.
Other restaurants in the town, for which corre-
spondents have had a good word as to cheapness, are
the Perdrix in the Rue Jacques-Cartier, and that of
the Lion d’Or in the Place Chateaubriand, and the
restaurant in the fish-market, with a specialty of
shell-fish ; but I cannot speak of any of these from
personal knowledge, except the latter, where I ate
moules a la mariniere amidst noisy though amusing
surroundings.
AFTER DINNER
In summer any one staying at St. Malo is quite
likely to see a very good performance of opera at the
Casino. The opera and the ballad are recruited for
the season from the younger members of “ The ”
profession in Paris, and a clever band of singers and
dancers is usually brought together. There is, of
course, a baccarat club and the usual ball game in the
Casino.
Cancale
A tram connects St. Malo with Cancale, the town
of oysters. The Hotel Duguesclin, _
, . { , . . . ° , 7 Duguesclin
which has a large garden, is a plea-
sant halting-place, and its prices are very cheap.
Parame
My knowledge of the restaurants of Parame, the
town which adjoins St. Malo, is confined to a dinner
and a lunch eaten in the restaurant of the Hotel
92 T he Gourmet's Guide to Europe
Page 52
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Brittany, the land of eggs and butter, is also a land of gigantic meals at very cheap prices, roughly served, wholesome no doubt, but better appreciated with an appetite sharpened by Brittany air than they would be under less healthy conditions. In St. Malo there is one restaurant, that attached to the Hotel de France et de Chateaubriand in the Place Chateaubriand, which has pretensions to distinction and elegance. The entrance to the restaurant is in a side The rooms have crimson portieres to their windows ; there are palms, and the little tables are not set too near each other. The linen and cutlery are better than are usually to be found in Brittany. A lunch and a dinner of the day are the meals usually served in this restaurant, the prices, if I remember rightly, being 3 and 5 francs respectively. It is as well to take the meal which is ready, for I have found by personal experience that the kitchen has no great variety to offer for a lunch or dinner a la carte.
In the Place Chateaubriand, the little square which is the centre of the life of the town, in which are four or five cafes, two of which at least have ladies’ Hotel del’Uni- bands as an attraction, is the Hotel de vers, Place l’Univers, the dining-room of which is Chateaubriand patronised by the “ commis voyageurs ” who come to St. Malo on business, and who go to no hotel that has not good sound bourgeois cookery. The room, or rather rooms, are rather low, and a long table d'hote table runs down the centre of each; but there are small tables at the side for the use of people who do not wish to herd with all-comers. The price of the meals is a small one, and the cookery is probably the best in the town.
French Provincial Towns
The Franklin Hotel, almost next door to the Casino outside the walls of the town, caters for an English and
American clientele which lives en pension _
, , . , 1 , The Franklin
there. 1 he meals, neither very good
and not remarkably indifferent, call for no special
comment.
Other restaurants in the town, for which correspondents have had a good word as to cheapness, are the Perdrix in the Rue Jacques-Cartier, and that of the Lion d’Or in the Place Chateaubriand, and the restaurant in the fish-market, with a specialty of shell-fish ; but I cannot speak of any of these from personal knowledge, except the latter, where I ate moules a la mariniere amidst noisy though amusing surroundings.
In summer any one staying at St. Malo is quite likely to see a very good performance of opera at the Casino. The opera and the ballad are recruited for the season from the younger members of “ The ” profession in Paris, and a clever band of singers and dancers is usually brought together. There is, of course, a baccarat club and the usual ball game in the Casino.
Cancale
A tram connects St. Malo with Cancale, the town
of oysters. The Hotel Duguesclin, _
, . { , . . . ° , 7 Duguesclin
which has a large garden, is a pleasant halting-place, and its prices are very cheap.
Parame
My knowledge of the restaurants of Parame, the town which adjoins St. Malo, is confined to a dinner and a lunch eaten in the restaurant of the Hotel
92 T he Gourmet's Guide to Europe