Chez Louise

St Evrard
Yesterday's weather: Very nice, thank you.

Last night we met up with some friends and went in search of a restaurant. It was a spur of the moment meeting and as one couple live south of here and another were holidaying north, we ended up on our 'patch', so to speak.

Monday is not a particularly good night to try and find a restaurant as so many close for the day after a usually frantic weekend. We decided to head for the nearest large town but as we passed through a village I suddenly remembered passing a small auberge there so we thought we would give it a try.

Luckily it was open, and if Madame was somewhat surprised to have to find a table for six unreserved on a Monday evening she coped with it very well. Her English was very good and she obviously wanted to use it so we sat back and relaxed, not having to translate everything for friends who find French a little challenging at times. Our friend jokingly asked Madame if she needed a hand with the washing up as she had mentioned to us that she and the chef were working alone that evening, and quick as a flash she responded 'No, it's OK, I have the dog!'

We really did find a little gem there. While not cheap and not plentiful, the food was delicious, served hot (something that is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair especially in the tourist season) and the nougat glace was to die for.

As we were leaving, one of our friends stopped to chat with Madame, saying that he intended to live in France once his children had finished university. He asked what she thought about the influx of English, German, Dutch and Belgians in the area, saying that he had heard that the Dutch are renowned for bringing their own food on holiday with them. 'Yes', she laughed, ' they even bring the cat food with them! It's not so good for the local economy. But we are mostly happy to have people move into the area because they do bring good business to the area and they are friendly too.'

We left the restaurant with that nice warm, fuzzy feeling that you sometimes get after a good meal with good company. It doesn't always happen, but doesn't it make you feel great when it does?