Mitro

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Free-range pork chop with sorrel puree at Auberge Basque The next morning, at the Pau train station, Maiyo and Mitro readied our bikes for departure while Made and I wandered into the train station café.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

To work up an appetite, I dragged Made and Mitro, a professional photographer, into the hills for a four-hour circuit.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal The Ferme Iturburia mountainside hostel I knew the patch of paradise awaiting us, a modest off-the-grid restaurant called Le Petit Nice Sud, nestled in a pine-forest park by the beach just south of Pyla-sur-Mer

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Lobster salad with vitelotte potatoes at Le Relais de la Poste Our next stop, the town of Saint Pée-sur-Nivelle, was having a party the next night, and some hotels were simply closed.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Duo of foie gras, seared and mi-cuit at Relais de la Poste At the long, communal table of Ferme Iturburia that evening, the view was staggering, the company delightful, and the from-the-farm cooking as rewarding, in its way, as anything we had tasted so far.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Made, Maiyo and Marlowe Hood at the coast near Guethary The high-speed TGV from Paris crept into the port city of Arcachon well past 1 p.m., which meant a sprint to our first culinary rendezvous before the kitchen closed.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Marlowe, Made and Maiyo Hood on bikes, passing by the vineyards from the Jurançon wine region near Pau.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal "Mignardise" served with espresso coffee at Briketenia The restaurant works within a self-imposed constraint: every morsel, herb, and plant must come from within a 100-kilometer radius.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Maiyo right, Made, Marlowe and a staff member at the winery Domaine de Souch Wrong, oh so wrong.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011

Mitro Hood for The Wall Street Journal Fresh, pan-fried sardines and lemon with a baked potato at Le Petit Nice Sud "My philosophy begins with the terroir and the season," Mr. Coussau said when asked how he balances creation and tradition, the eternal tug-of-war with which all thoughtful French chefs must struggle.

A Foie Gras Tour de France Marlowe Hood 2011