Le Mangevins

The potatoes! These were the best, crispy, garlicky, herby, tender potatoes I've ever had! Fortunately, the rest of the meal was good, too.

The menu was pretty short, but had all of the right things on it; beef, duck, lamb, cassoulet, etc. The beef steaks my husband and I had were good, a little gristle on the ends, but extremely flavourful. Be warned, if you like your steak medium it comes medium-rare, if you like it medium- rare it comes rare. Not so bad a thing since the meat was high quality.

The staff here was absolutely entertaining,too. And a clue for the ladies. If you're in the mood for a little bubbly (Champagne) you can get a bottle, FREE! Just one small detail. You'll have to hand over your knickers! Many women have, check out the wall...

I arrived at Toulouse's St Etienne Cathedral a little after 10.30 and the next time I looked at my watch it was 12.30, so I decided I should find somewhere to eat before everything closed for the afternoon. Yelp led me to a little place at 46 Rue Pharoah in Carmes called Le Mangevins which was described as "French BBQ". The waiter didn't speak any English but appeared to be encouraging me towards the set menu, and as the only alternative seemed to be cassoulet (which I had for lunch yesterday) I decided to give that a shot.

For appetiser I chose the fois gras (good God, how many fat geese have I killed on this holiday already) which wasn't as rich as some of the previous versions I've tried, but I think I actually prefer it made with a little subtlety like this one. It was served with a little tub of lettuce and a crusty bread roll.

Next was the Andouillette, a course sausage made from pork, intestines, onion, wine and seasoning. This was served in a shallow terrine in a yellow sauce with a huge tray of baked potatoes. The first bite was almost overwhelming, and the odour quite pungent. But after a couple of mouthfuls I actually started to like it. The trick for me was to skip the sauce and have the sausage with some potato which seemed to moderate and balance the flavour.

I ordered a glass of Fronton Rouge which, after the red I've become accustomed to of late, tasted pretty ordinary, but for 2.3 euros a glass I guess I can't really complain. The bill came to 13,3 euros in total. Overall, good value for money, good food and very fast service. The only thing I could fault it on is the rather limited menu.

The waiter's started to clean up, presumably in preparation for the afternoon siesta and the Fronton Rouge is starting to grow on me. Best get out of here while I still can....