Unauthorized

Another beautiful Provençal day allowed my wife and I to have lunch under the huge shade trees in the courtyard of La Beaugravière. The wine list here is legendary, especially if you love Rhône wines, but they also have a remarkable list of Burgundies. Even though truffles are out of season, no one does a better job than the truffle king of southern France, Chef Guy Jullien, in conserving truffles in a way in which much of their flavor and aroma is preserved. We certainly saw evidence of that as we basically had his full truffle menu at lunch. The risotto with black truffles may have been the greatest risotto dish I have ever had (and I’ve had some amazing ones). His chicken stuffed with black truffles is another version of the famous poularde de Bresse. It, too, was to die for. I doubled up on carbohydrates with my dish of homemade pasta with black truffles to satiate my obsession with these black beauties.

This was all washed down with a sensational bottle of Mont Rédon’s 2009 Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc and a legend in the making, the Domaine de la Janasse’s 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape Chaupin.

It was a wonderful as well as sentimental lunch as it was at this restaurant over another lunch in 1986 (sitting under the exact same tree) that my wife and I decided to add to our family by adopting a child. In early June, 1987, our three-month-old daughter arrived from Korea. Sitting in that same chair and thinking back about that wonderful decision was sheer happiness.