We kind of stumbled on À Côté by accident. It was our last day in Arles, and we wanted to go out on…read morea truly memorable meal, but the few restaurants on our list of contenders were closed that day. We knew about Michelin-star chef Jean-Luc Rabanel's famous Atelier, but weren't aware of his casual establishment next door, À Côté, until we ambled by the place in a growing hunger haze. Since the menu out front looked promising and there were several free tables on the terrace, we dove in.
Starters were promising, though the wife's was better. She ordered what turned out to be one of the best caesar salads she's ever had. The presentation was elegant, the anchovies were potently flavorful, and it came with a side of clearly homemade mayonnaise, which was truly evil but amazingly tasty.
I ordered pumpkin soup with croutons, mushrooms, and chestnuts. This was a little under seasoned, but the croutons (or crouton - it was one long, thin piece of crouton) were infused with thyme, and whenever I had a bite of the soup with a piece of crouton, the thyme really brought the flavors to life.
The main dishes, however, were wildly delicious. My wife ordered the mussels, which were prepared with the most stunningly creative and potent array of herbs/seasoning either of us have ever encountered with a dish like this. You had all these complex layers and notes, and the overall effect was powerfully aromatic. The fresh flavor of the mussels came through nice and strong - they tasted like the morning's catch. But on top of that you had these beautiful strata of flavors and accents - some delicate, some a bit more bold, but all working together to create this rich harmony of flavor. My wife (who is a chef by profession) says the seasoning seemed to consist of ground almonds, parsley, garlic, parmesan, tiny bits of sausage, a hint of saffron, and probably lots of butter. This was exactly the kind of dish she was hoping to find in Provence, and each bite had us groaning in ecstasy.
I ordered the braised lamb shank, which was even a cut above one I had at Le Comptoir du Relais in Paris. The whole dish, sides and all, was beautifully conceived. The shank came in a beautifully savory sauce that was generously infused with garlic and herbs, with slightly crispy wedges of potatoes (with pesto dabbed on them) swimming around in it. The shank itself was cooked to absolute perfection: super delicate and juicy, and packed with that rich, deep, lamb-y flavor. One of those "savor every bite" kind of dishes. Both of our dishes were perfectly seasoned, too!
The lunch 'menu' came with a dessert, and I was less enamored with their selections. My wife had this wonderful apple and almond tart thing with some exquisite homemade vanilla ice cream. I had the crepes suzette, which came with a scoop of lemon sorbet, but had this orange liqueur flavored syrup that I found a bit cloying.
Five stars may seem a bit generous given that there were a couple of minor flaws, but I'm giving this score largely on the sheer strength of those two mains, which were so damn good they made us want to jump up and down and run around the block three times out of excitement.
