SIMPLY DELICIOUS

The welcome is warm and the food is wonderful at these ten casual restaurants

By Judy Fayard

Since I moved to France 22 years ago, I've spent a lot of time in Provence, eating and driking in many of the region's restaurants. Yes, I've had some splendid meals in fancy eateries there. But I really prefer the places that are more authentically Provencal - more rustic, if you will.

The restaurants featured here are some of my favorites of the ilk. They range in style, yet they're all committed to Provençal cuisine and hospitality. That means they offer seasonal menus and regional wines, served at fair prices and with a smile.

(...) In La Cadière d'Azur, just north of the coastal wine town of Bandol, is Hostellerie Bérard, a family-run hotel-restaurant that is probably my top rustic pick. In the beamed-ceiling dinning room with its vineyard view, diners linger over the creations of chef-owner René Bérard. A recent meal here was close to perfection : a salad of field greens with roasted chesnuts and sliced raw cèpes dressed with a passion-fruit vinaigrette, followed by pan-roasted galinette, a local fish (it's usually in bouallabaisse) accompanied by a puree of potato and fennel, then milk chocolate and dark chocolate sorbets atop coffee granité spiked with candied orange peel. "It's simple", said René's wife and hostess extraordinaraire, Danièle Bérard, "but it's just what we all want".(...)