Moules moules moules

Last night, we ventured to Saint-Laurent-la-Vallée for Moule Frites (mussels and fries). Every Thursday, a restaurant in town, La Cigalou, offers a night of 10 Euro bottomless moules frites and fromage (cheese), with chansons français (French songs), and accordéon (accordion). The restaurant is off the beaten tourist pact, and we were surrounded by locals, who, the more they drank, the more they sang along to the chansons français. They offer bottomless moules frites every night (with an accompanying non-seafood item for those fish sensitive), but on Thursdays, they take out all the tables from the restaurant and put them out in the gravel parking lot underneath the trees and the strung lantern lights. They have built a new structure, called "La Cigalette " where they serve the beverages and fries out of, and welcomes the lively and hungry crowd.

A fun bunch

The tables that are empty gradually fill up, as everyone has called ahead to reserve their space. You don't need to tell them what time, you just call, give your name, and they put a sticky note on the table. Arriving is like a Easter egg hunt, searching for that treasure table so you can get to the important things-eating and drinking. Promptly seen by our waiter (the owner's son, and the nephew of the neighbor of the B&B), we were well underway to receiving the moules. After a pitcher of rosé, our appetite had built, and conversation dwindled as each large bowl of moules that passed us by was looked at anxiously, only to watch it go by. After what seemed like an eternity to my growling stomach (I think it was only 20 minutes from ordering, if that), our moules arrived but with no frites. The frites are almost as important as the moules because you need them to soak up the gloriously delicious sauce that the moules are cooked in. After ANOTHER eternity (3 minutes max), the frites arrived and we were ready to go.

Bowl o' Moules

bon appétit!

As most of my close friends and family already know, I tend to eat, and eat a lot. So to me, bottomless food is always an exciting option. But after my third serving of moules piled high, I had finally had my fill. The five of us could not even finish the orange bucket fully. But, see that lady in the picture of the the bowl? The little elderly lady, with her gray shawl? Well, she could eat me under the table. In a moules eating boxing match, she would have had me KO'ed within minutes of the  first round while she would continue to fight by herself for another 10 rounds before they would pull her out the the ring. And even then I'm sure she have some in her pocket to have for dessert. Between this lady and her husband I think THREE whole bowls of moules were eaten before they called it a night. Someone really loves their seafood.

The night was fun with the singing, camaraderie, and the fact the French were actually eating food with their fingers. But only the moules with fingers, those silly frites had to still be picked up with a fork.

Testing my moules eating skills

Mmmm mmm good

What goes best with these moules frites? Well, since the recipe is of a Belgium origin, a nice glass of the Belgium beer, Grimbergen, was a perfect match. Also good? The little crabs that make their way into some of the shells, fully edible and actually desirable by some, though it is the luck of the draw if you find one in your shell.

Little crab, Good taste

We finished our night with the formage (a slice of bread with brie) and some glacée (ice cream) and headed home. 



Anyone interested in making their own moules frites can try this recipe,  which seems to be very similar to the moules we were eating and very simple to make. Maybe next time I can make my own, and prepare myself for a battle with the magnificent moules-eating lady. Or if that doesn't work out, just to enjoy a dinner with some friends :)