My French Grocery - the Hyper U

 

Everytime I go back to the States, I am asked the question.....What is it you miss from France when you come home to the States?  You might be surprised, or maybe not, but I miss my Hyper U, the grocery store.  No matter where I am, hardly a day goes by that I am not in a grocery store   And the U stores are the best.... they make grocery shopping a pleasure....WHY???   

In a nutshell, they are clean, very well organized, and the U brands are exceptional....

(Remember, if you want to see the photos larger, just double click on them.)

Let's go inside....

You only see it this empty during lunch time when most French people are home having lunch.  Great time to shop...no crowds.  Yep, you can buy your dog house there too.

Produce is seasonal. You won't see strawberries in September or grapes in June.....so much more flavor.  Notice the price of the leeks...and that is per kilo (2.2 lbs)  Why do they have to be so expensive in the US.

Well, it goes without saying that the cheese aisle...no, make that plural...aisles are over the top. Cow, goat, ewe.....fresh, aged.....bio (organic).  What did DeGaulle say?  "Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage?" (How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?)  And, I am sure there are many more than that now.  This is just 2 of the 6 photos of the cheese areas.

 It's BIO!

Bio (organic) products are integrated into all areas of the store.  But this particular week, they brought them to the front of the store into what I call the 'special features' area that gets changed every 3-4 days.....This area is one of the first things you see when you walk in the store and it is always changing. 

Another special feature....Products of the World...

ROSÉ TIME!

OK.....maybe this would be my favorite section......so many choices....so little time....

There are also my favorite things to accompany the rosé...and all of these go home in my suitcase.  Great hazelnuts that are so so fresh.  The U brand fois gras is to die for.  The duck rillettes are really just duck BBQ...quick spread for a crostini. And sometimes the cheese palmiers find their way into my carry-on for a petite snack on the way back. Notice these are all the store brand....the best!

The Romans Did Everything

It was a beautiful evening on the coast, but we would learn later that it was the calm before the storm.  We journeyed 30 minutes South to check out the coastal town of Ste. Maxime.....explore a bit and have dinner.  Here are a few photos.....

 

After walking the back streets and checking out the shops, we see there is an Italian Fair on the waterfront.  Among the vendors are the Parmesan guys from, you guessed it,  Parma.  We have bought from them before...their cheese is OUTSTANDING......bio (organic) and aged.  We bought the 24 and 36 month.  Older than that,  the texture was a bit powdery.  125 Euros later, we thought we had purchased what we needed! 

Then we come upon the truffle booth......can't get past without making a purchase.  I bought a couple of jars of the truffle/mushroom spread that I will use on some blinis the next couple of weeks.  We are having a great time discovering what we love best.....FOOD!

Time to move on to dinner.  We head down the coast and this is where the Romans come in.  You know they were everywhere here in the South of France.  Julius Caesar came over from Italy (on the Aurelian Way) around 45-50 BC.  Frejus was a big Roman enclave, but here, between Sainte Maxime and Frejus, is a small unique site.  I guess you would say it was the first fish farm.  Yes, way back then, the Romans had the idea to farm raise fish (a vivier). 

Look very carefully in the center of the picture and you will see, underwater, the walls to contain the fish.  They used the natural calanque on each side to construct the ponds between them.  If you focus, you will see 2 connecting walls.

It is getting dark now so we turn our thoughts to dinner. Nous avons faim!  A little further down, we stop at a restaurant on the water.  Great setting....casual...and the food was exceptional.  

X had the gambas and I had the whole grilled fish of the day.  Have a photo of his but I dove into boning mine before I realized that I had not taken a photo.  C'est dommage....it was great and their sides were outstanding...a couscous.  Here is Xavier's shrimp...

 And our wine was, of course, rosé......from Rocquebrune s/Argens....our neighbor!

Headed back home as raindrops started to fall.  It was the night of the big storm.  Made it into the garage as the deluge began! Perfect timing.

BOXWOOD BEAD CURTAINS

What beautiful craftsmanship! One sees these 'rideaux' (curtains) in doorways all over Provence. The true boxwood curtain is made from 'box', a very dense wood with beautiful grain patterns. From forest to bead is a long process. It takes almost 30 years for a box to have the 8-10 cm trunk necessary for harvest. Then it has to be stored for 2 years to dry before being transformed into a bead.

It is at this point that Manou Dia-Noguera, one of the few artisans left in France still producing these curtains, begins to work her magic. We see her at the Tuesday market in Lorgues and I can't help but marvel every time I see her handy work.

These curtains are multi-purposed as they not only allow air to circulate, but the boxwood also repels flies and insects. Most curtains are predominately the natural boxwood color, but as you can see, beads can be colored and patterns worked into the curtains. I have also seen them used as window coverings and room dividers. Visit Manou's website.  International shipping is available.