Here are just a few snapshots that I took in Saint-Aignan last week, when Chris and Barbara were visiting. You'll see that we had nice weather (though it had rained earlier in the day).
View of the church from in front of the Lapin Blanc café
The sign on the left (above) is on the building below (now a shop called Le Comptoir), and the photo on the right (above) is my view of approximately the same scene. The building (below) that the shop is in dates from the 15th century, they say.
15th century house in old Saint-Aignan
Saint-Aignan is not as bustling and commercial as Montrichard, with its large community of retired people. Still, there are plenty of shops and restaurants in town, considering the population (3,500 or so). Unfortunately, one of the towns mainstays, the restaurant called Le Crêpiot, has been closed for a few weeks because of a fire in the kitchen.
Along the main street in Saint-Aignan...
Last Sunday, we had a nice lunch at the restaurant L'Embarcadère, down on the Saint-Aignan riverfront. We parked in the lot by the bridge, and walked the block or so to the restaurant. A man stopped us and asked us for a restaurant recommendation. He said he had tried Le Crêpiot, which was closed because of the fire; Le Mange-Grenouille, which doesn't ever serve Sunday lunch; and Chez Constant, which was closed for some reason as well. A lot of local merchants schedule their annual closing in September, after working through the busy summer season.
We told him we were going to have lunch at L'Embarcadère, and later we saw him and his party having lunch there too. The restaurant was crowded — no surprise, considering that every other place in town was closed — the food was excellent, and the atmosphere was busy and convivial.
Shops and cafés in old houses in central Saint-Aignan
We told him we were going to have lunch at L'Embarcadère, and later we saw him and his party having lunch there too. The restaurant was crowded — no surprise, considering that every other place in town was closed — the food was excellent, and the atmosphere was busy and convivial.
Is it a new restaurant? In your opinion, was it busy only because the others were closed? Could it have steady, regular patrons on its own right? Inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteJean-Luc and Béa have told me about the fire at Le Crépiot. They wanted to go and have a meal there to celebrate the acquisition of their holiday home when they were in Saint-Aignan in September.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame! I hope the restaurant will be restored in its former glory and that business will pick up again. It's such a nice restaurant and the food is delicious. Martine
CHM, it's not a new restaurant, but it has had new management several times over the past three or four years. The food was excellent — I had a nice shrimp salad (bouquets, tomates, etc.) and a cuisse de canard confite servie sur un lit de haricots lingots, and Walt had a salade de chèvre chaud au miel and a dos de saumon avec sauce béarnaise et garni de champignons et légumes. Not being one to go out to restaurants often, I can't say how much business the Embarcadère does, but I hope it is successful. We'll go back when there's occasion to do so.
ReplyDeleteMartine, thinking back, we remember a hot day a few weeks ago when we were out and about in the car and we saw heavy smoke in the air to the east of La Renaudière. I remember thinking at the time that it was a strange time to be burning debris or whatever, because the weather was so hot and dry. I think the smoke was the Crêpiot restaurant on fire. I'd heard that the owners wanted to retire, so I wonder if the restaurant will ever be the same again.
Sorry to hear about the fire at the Crêpiot, but I must say that your meals at the Embarcadère made me lick my chops!
ReplyDeleteEvelyn, do you remember when you and Lew and I think Betty and Conn had dinner at the Embarcadère? The food is better now than it was then. New owners, new cook, I guess.
ReplyDelete