After our lovely breakfast at La Cigale, buying books and some chocolate browsing at Maison Larnicol, we headed out towards the Cathédrale de Nantes where we were meeting my cousin. I had let her decide on where to go for lunch as she lives in Nantes and knows some really good places.
She took us towards place du Pilori and her favourite street for eating out and shopping: la rue du Château. She had mentioned a place in particular that I was eager to try, cafe Le Select.
We sat at a long table in a dark corner with my cousin, her husband, some of their friends and my mother who joined in later. The waiter quickly arrived with a blackboard on which we could read what was on offer for lunch that day.
A lot of us chose our dishes from the set menu and after selecting different starters, we realised practically all of us had ordered the same main course: le croque-monsieur!
Since I had never tried a savoury clafoutis before, I ordered le clafoutis aux courgettes for starter. It was quite wonderful and flavoursome with some subtle hints of fresh herbs and was accompanied by a salad of sweet tomatoes. This is definitely something I want to make at home with seasonal vegetables.
Our croque-monsieurs quickly followed and I could not have asked for more. It was perfect! Sometimes, the simplest of dishes can make me very happy, especially when it has been cooked so well. It was so good that I did not even notice les frites sitting on my plate!
The next time I visit Nantes, I want to make sure I go back to this lovely cafe and maybe have brunch there because it feels like it would be the perfect place to be with family or/and friends at the weekend.
Here is how the rest of my little trip to France went: