Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises, Sainte Cécile les Vignes

One of my favorite restaurants in the Vaucluse is located not very far from Sablet just outside of Sainte Cécile les Vignes along the road to Suze-la-Rousse. The restaurant Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises, is owned by Sylvain who oversees the kitchen and wife Sylvia who graciously cares for guests in the dining room.

My first meal at the restaurant was with friends Allison and Adam when they visited last spring. Shirley had returned to California and Allison and Adam were leaving the next morning and they took me out to eat as a thank you for staying with us. We had a wonderful meal and I made a mental note to return with Shirley.

We went to Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises last fall on our first evening back in Sablet. We sat on the terrace and the food was wonderful but Shirley couldn't enjoy her meal as she was struggling to stay awake due to jet lag. It must have been pretty obvious because Sylvia came by and said "its too bad madame is not enjoying her meal".

I was in Sablet a few weeks ago with friends Steven and Susan and we decided to go to Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises. As I said, there is a terrace for dining outdoors during good weather and a small very pretty dining room. As the weather was still cool, we were seated in the dining room.

We enjoyed some olives while we considered the options for dinner in the printed menu and on the blackboard which detailed the Retour du Marché menu for 21 Euros. All three of us chose the 3-course Campagne menu for 32 Euros.

We selected a bottle of 2007 Côtes du Rhône-Villages Rasteau from Domaine Beaurenard from the large wine list, a delicious blend of Grenache (80%) and Syrah (20%) to enjoy with our dinner.

Our entrées - starters included Des Ravioles, des petits Gris dans un bouillon aux herbes - ravioles with little escargots in an herb bouillon

and dans une cocotte, un velouté d’Asperges, un Œuf poché, quelques Morilles et crème fouettée - asparagus soup with a poached egg, some morilles mushrooms and whipped cream.

For our plat - main courses, we chose un filet de bœuf, réduction de vin de pays du Vaucluse et Morilles - fillet of beef with a red wine reduction and morille mushrooms and

un filet de Sar, Poivrons et Ail nouveau confit à l’huile d’Olive de Pays - fillet of sea bream, roasted red pepper with garlic confit in local olive oil.

Our dessserts included Des Sacristains, une sauce Araguani, Coriandre et Ananas - sweet puff pastry on a bittersweet chocolate sauce made from a blend of Criollo and Trinitario cocoa beans from Venezuela, coriander and pineapple and

des Fraises de Pays et de Rhubarbe, mousse légère au Lait de Brebis - local strawberries and rhubarb with a light sheep's milk mousse

We also shared a selection of cheeses aged by our favorite cheese lady Josianne from Lou Canestéou in Vaison-la-Romaine.

This was a wonderful meal and I can't wait to go back. Don't hesitate to go to Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises if you are going to be in the Northern Vaucluse.

Bon appétit et à bientôt mes amis.

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.