Saint-Amour (Jura)
There are two choices for luncheon in this little town, and the toss of a coin brought us to the HÔTEL ALLIANCE, an intriguing caravansary installed in an ancient monastery. The fine, vaulted dining hall dates from the seventeenth century and serves as a worthy selling for the delectable dishes supervised by Monsieur Dares. Among these were a noble pâté en croûte, truite meunière, poularde de Bresse, and a bedazzling soufflé.
Morez (Jura)
You are almost on the Swiss frontier when you draw up to this busy CENTRAL MODERN HÔTEL in Morez. It has an international atmosphere, and many languages crackle in its country-style dining room. Your host is Monsieur Mauvais, a gentleman who belies his name, and your chef is Monsieur Benôit-Guyot, who has presided at this kitchen for thirty-five years. Between them, they contrive to give you a very acceptable meal.
Saint-Hippolyte-sur-le-Doubs (Doubs)
This is an engaging village, picturesquely set at the fork of two mountain streams and not far from the Swiss frontier. In a favored spot on the riverbank is the HÔTEL DU DOUBS, a true citadel of Franche-Comté cooking. Here are the legendary trout of the Doubs, the mountain hams with the overtones, real or fancied, of cyclamen, and those incomparable waited mushrooms, morilles, from the forest, all prepared in the Jura tradition. A rare local cheese, Concaillote, adds further to the novelty of the fare. Madame Guénat is a gifted Cordon Bleu. You have only to taste her sublime croûte aux morilles to be convinced of the fact.
Maiche (Doubs)
This town, in the same verdant neighborhood, provides a worthy stopover for the food-conscious traveler. This is the HÔTEL LION D'OR, a well-scrubbed hostelry whose cellar is stocked with a treasury of Jura wines. The food is very good, but that cellar, rejoicing in fine years of Château-Châlon and varied vins de paille, is even better.
Mouthier (Doubs)
In this ancient village, set in an amphitheater of rocky cliffs, you will find an exceptional country inn, the HÔTEL DU MANOIR. The name is fitting, for you are received in an authentic fifteenth-century manor house whose garden and terrace overlook the picturesque valley of the Loue. It is a charming summer spot, and the cuisine is as good as the scenery. Trout with grilled almonds, chicken with truffles, morilles in crust, these are some of the happy marriages proposed in the carte du jour.
Luxeuil-les-Bains (Haute-Saône)
This is a pleasant, spa type of town, with a casino and a pavilion where, if you choose, you can take a cure and drink all that water. The hotels of the town are considerate of those pilgrims who are on a diet, but they also keep in mind the visiting voluptuary. The latter specimen receives particularly good treatment at the HÔTEL LION VERT, a comfortable place near the casino. Here is good regional cooking—trout, crayfish, and chicken playing stellar roles—at sensible prices. Monsieur Grille recommends his poulet archiduc, and with good reason. It is a magnificent dish. After lunch, a stroll will reveal several fine old houses and an ancient cloister in Luxeuil.
Champlitte (Haute-Saône)
Facing the old chateau in this little town is the AUBERGE FRANC-COMTOISE, a pleasant inn which has earned a fine reputation throughout the countryside due to the cordiality and the culinary gifts of Monsieur Perny. His regional specialties are familiar and toothsome—quenelles de brochet, truite meunière, escargots—but he has a croûte aux champignons which is his own personal triumph. In his cave are some fine Burgundies, in additon to a charming vin du pays. Prices are very fair, indeed.
Giromagny (Belfort)
The city of Belfort may leave you a trifle disillusioned, on the score of both architectural beauty and culinary charm. The somewhat larger Territory of Belfort, however, claims a true gastronomic shrine, one which is a magnet for all the region's epicures. This is the charming PARADIS DES LOUPS in the town of Giromagny, about seven miles north of Belfort. This wolves' paradise has none of the connotations of American slang to recommend it, but you can call its food superb and still be guilty of understatement. During the spring and summer months, its charming little garden welcomes you, and Monsieur Guay offers a series of exquisite specialties, along with some pleasant local wines. The stipend connected with a paradisiacal luncheon is a bit above the average, and well worth it.
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