An Insane Dining Experience in Montpellier
Oh. My. Goodness. You have GOT to get yourself to Le Bouzou, located just outside Montpellier at Castelnau-le-Lez. I don't even know if I can explain this place, but I'll try.
When you arrive, it doesn't look like much, seeing as how it is located above a supermarket. But once you enter, you are in a whole other, exotic world where almost anything goes. I strongly urge you to go if you're in a larger group or with your family; the more he merrier at Bouzou.
Order an aperatif for the whole table, and out it comes in a large glass vase with meter-long straws for everyone to sip without crowding the table. Once you've satisfied your thirst, it's time to belly up to the buffet.
Buffets are not a big thing in France, so the French don't really know what to do here, which means you can easily muscle them out of the way to get at over the 100 first courses and 50 main courses. I'd be hard pressed to categorize the types of food there are - "exotic" is really the only description that comes to mind. My last time there, I had everything from you-peel-em shrimp to avacado mousse to curried lamb to white chocolate chicken.
Oh, and on your way back to the table, be careful not to get in the way of the Polynesian dancers putting on a show in the large main aisle.
After dinner, the owner comes around with a large wooden box, inside of which are mints, Indian digestive spices and candied fruits, which he explains in English or French as he arranges them all on a plate in front of you. Then comes the digestif cart - fruity rum-based drinks with bases ranging from papaya to cinammon, and a special concoction that must be drunk in a very specific order rom two separate glasses.
It's a full evening's experience, and completely insane. Have a great time - and then roll on home and fall into a yummy-food-induced coma.