Auberge Etchegorry

Description:

• Its windows overlook a verdant patch of lawn that's so green, you might for a moment imagine you've entered a rustic countryside inn. The building was once a cabaret frequented by Victor Hugo. Dark paneling, deep colors, hanging hams and pigtails of garlic, and lacy curtains emulate the Basque country, the corner of southwestern France adjacent to Spain. The cramped tables are a drawback, but not much of one in this rich atmosphere. The menu includes such specialties as cassoulet, squid in its own ink, magret (breast) of duckling, beef filet with peppercorns, a peppery omelet known as pipérades, cocottes of mussels, and terrines or pan-fried slices of foie gras.

• © Frommer's 2012