Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises, Sainte Cécile les Vignes

Our friends Allison and husband Adam told me they wanted to take me out to dinner after we dropped off our mutual friends from Bistro Des Copains at the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse - high-speed train) station in Avignon who were headed off to Paris for a few days before returning to the United States.

I suggested we try Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises in Sainte Cécile les Vignes, a small village located about 15 km from our home in Sablet. I had tried to go there previously, but each time the restaurant had been closed or fully booked. I called for a reservation and this time I was successful and we got a table.

Sainte Cécile les Vignes is surrounded by vineyards in the plains known as the "Provence of the Popes", in the Haut Vaucluse near the Drôme. As its name suggests, Sainte Cécile les Vignes is a Côtes du Rhône wine village.

Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises is located a little north of the village on Route de Suze-la-Rousse. I had read about Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises in several restaurant guide books, most recently I had seen that it was designated as a Bib Gourmand restaurant in the 2010 Michelin Guide.



We arrived at our appointed time and walked into the small but very charming dining room. We were warmly greeted by Sylvia who owns the restaurant along with her husband Sylvain who is the chef. We were seated and shortly afterwards a basket of warm breadsticks and olives were placed on the table for us to enjoy while we looked over the menu.



Allison and I chose the Retour de Marché Menu for 21 Euros and Adam chose the Menu Découverte for 32 Euros. We selected a bottle of the 2007 Domaine de Beaurengard Côtes du Rhône Village Rasteau to accompany our dinners.

Our dishes included Salmon and Crab with lemon cream sauce.



Adam started his meal with a salad that included sardines and goat cheese.



Saddle of rabbit, stuffed with rosemary and sage served over fava beans and fried potatoes.



We had Magret de Canard au Miel - duck breast with honey served on top of a corn galette and topped with a whole steamed fava bean.



Adam finished his meal with yoghurt, strawberries and pistachios.



We finshed with blueberry clafoutis, blueberries baked in a thick flan-like batter and served warm.



Thank you Allison and Adam for a wonderful dinner and evening. I can't wait to go back.