i am not the only one who loves macaroni and cheese....

Ou Ravi Provencau restaurant in the village of Maussane les Alpilles makes the best macaroni and cheese. I know that sounds like a strange dish for a place like this but believe me there is nothing but foodie heaven after this taste sensation. I am sure the chef Jean Francois Richard would prefer that I write lyrically of his boeuf en daube, his home wood-fired jambon or his fois gras with petit radis and cornichons but I am a woman with simple tastes and sometimes macaroni cheese just hits the spot. Let me clarify ....the macaroni cheese is an accompaniment to his Provencal cooking but I wouldn't be all together truthful if I didn't admit to sometimes ordering for this side dish alone.

Ou Ravi has the prettiest decor imaginable - in the French country way - Pierre Deux meets Souleiado with a touch of Anthropologie thrown in. The fabrics are colourful, richly patterned and in abundance on the tables, chairs, banquettes and in the heavy curtains that keep the chill at bay on winter evenings. The china, pretty as a picture with floral motifs, changes for each course - I always want to throw my simple whites away after eating here; there is something so cosy and so comforting about old-style Provencal decor. I often think I prefer Ou Ravi in the winter, when we are tucked up inside with the log fire burning and the velvet curtains pulled tight against the night. A balmy summer evening sitting in the courtyard out back with flickering candlelight and I am not so sure.... All I know is that the macaroni and cheese tastes pretty good whatever the temperature.....

....The wall of photos is in the entrance hall....and it would appear that many famous folk have enjoyed the mac and cheese too....xv

Ou Ravi Provencau

34, av Vallee des Baux

13520 Maussane les Alpilles

+33 4 90 54 31 11 

www.ouravi.net

image - me