After my cousin’s wedding in Lanouaille in the middle of June of 2019 (also the last international travel I had before the pandemic), France, my family and I drove to Bordeaux to catch a bus for San Sebastian.
We had half a day to spare before our schedule bus, so we briefly explored the infamous French city. After a few hours of driving, we arrived in the city around 10 in the morning. We just spent a few days in the country regions of Southern France, so we wanted to have a more modern dine-in lunch before heading to Spain. However, 10am was a bit too early for restaurants to be opened, so we walked through the narrow, busy streets, soaked in the old city charms and the clumsily tripped around on the uneven cobblestone pedestrian paths.
When noon came, we went to Hâ Restaurant (listed on the Michelin Guide but now closed as the founder-chef Grégoire Rousseau has moved on to what seems like his next passion project which you can read about here) for lunch. I found it by simply googling gluten-free restaurants nearby. I didn’t make a reservation prior to our arrival, but it was not a problem as we were the first diners to arrive. This establishment operates on tasting menu, so we had no idea what we were getting. We opted out of the menu with wine since being in a bus ride for hours while tipsy is not exactly a clever move. I informed the chef about our respective food allergies, which was not a problem at all. Shortly after that, the chef brought out a freshly baked baguette in a towel for the table and said I cannot have that. As anyone with food-allergies or dietary restrictions, this is something we experience all that time, and it’s not unusual at all. I was so excited for my family to experience their first baguette in France.
