L'Auberge Provencale
Most of last week was spent in Cannes with my buddy and colleague Will, where we were attending Mipcom. Hours of meetings are usually followed by hours of socialising at one or other of the overpriced La Croisette hotel bars. Beforehand though we’ll typically eat at any one of the many local eateries.
The majority of French restaurants in Cannes have very similar menus comprising a reasonable selection of local dishes, but there is only one thing I’ll ever order. This year alone I’ve eaten seven or eight meals in Cannes and every time I’ve opted for the fillet of beef. Last week we ate at the L’Auberge Provencale, the L’Assiete Provencale and one other restaurant on Rue St.-Antoine in the old town whose name I forget.
L'Assiete provencale
Like most tourist traps the food in Cannes is rarely worth what you pay for it. The food is almost always overpriced but you’ll usually be guaranteed a decent meal made up of good local produce and fresh seasonal ingredients. Each place usually has a slightly different way of preparing the meat and serving it. The L’Auberge seared the meat until it blackened before gently cooking the inside through. The L’Assiete presented the beef Au jus.
The other place probably served the best quality meat but the service riled me to the point that I lost interest in being there. Not only was my food served 20 minutes after my eating companions but when it arrived it was not what I ordered. 20 minutes passed until my food eventually arrived. Needless to say I will not be going there again.
Rue St.-Antoine
Quantity wise I was happy enough at each of the restaurants. Each beef serving was between 250-350 grams meaning over the course of the three days I consumed almost 1 kilo of fillet steak.
I wondered if this was at all healthy and did a little research online to explore average beef consumption around the world. I discovered that the world’s largest beef consumers are the Argentinians who eat on average 155 pounds of beef a year (source: NY Times). That equates to 70 kilos per year, which equals 200 grams per day, every day!
Bearing in mind that this is an average for the population and there will be some fatties no doubt nailing 3 or 4 times that amount, I think it’s fair to say that my biannual French Riviera meat feast is perfectly acceptable and will do no long-term harm to my health whatsoever.
It’s a shame the same does not apply to the bank balance.
Verdict: Cannes is not a place to go if you are suffering from the current credit crisis.
