Le Loup Blanc

A return to the païs for Quercy-native Pascal de Ventura, formerly of Frida in Bordeaux. His personal haven? A stone- and wood-clad inn with white walls and industrial light fixtures. The day we went for lunch, the menu featured a delightful zucchini and fresh goat cheese salad topped with beet vinaigrette and a piperade jus, plus pumpkin seeds and shaved chioggia beets; a very simple redfish fillet, cooked to perfection in the oven and seasoned with an herb pesto, bulgur wheat tabbouleh and New Zealand spinach; before a flavorful pear poached in white tea, served with blancmange, coconut sorbet and a madeleine cookie. At night, the loup blanc (aka the white wolf) bares his fangs: foie gras mi-cuit with piment d’Espelette, olive caramel and piperade; Iberian pork pluma with a Mojette bean purée and roasted vegetables; a millefeuille with pistachio cream, white chocolate and vanilla whipped cream, served with a scoop of hay-flavored sorbet. As a bonus, there’s an épicerie corner and four bedrooms available for rent if you feel like spending the night. // Gérard Roubeix 

FEELING THIRSTY? Traditional wines – Marie, a Pays-d’Oc white from La Maison Ventenac (€4 a glass), Les Beaumonts, a Chablis from the Domaine Dampt (€32 a bottle) – and organic wines – a Cahors Divin from the Domaine des Croisilles (€35) – or craft Lot beer from Les Acolytes (€4.80 for 330 ml). 
PRICE: Set menus €18-22 (lunch), à la carte €33-37 (dinner).