If there is one Bordeaux restaurant that can truly be called an institution, it’s La Tupina. This undisputed temple of regional cuisine features dishes made with top-quality ingredients, cooked in a huge fireplace and served on checkered tablecloths. Complementing the food is an excellent selection of Bordeaux handpicked by chef and proprietor Jean-Pierre Xiradakis. The enterprising chef, affectionately known as "Xira," has all sorts of irons in the fire. Indeed, rue Porte de la Monnaie has undergone such a renaissance during his tenure that the street should almost be renamed after him. His culinary realm extends beyond the restaurant itself to Le Bar-Cave de la Monnaie, a wine bar and bistro up the street, and Au Comestible, a grocery shop presided over by Tupina alumnus Kader Kherradji. Au Comestible is the ultimate épicerie—not only can you buy fresh produce and prepared food there, but you can make yourself right at home and eat in the kitchen. A bakery is the next project on the agenda. There appears to be no stopping Xira, a wine connoisseur and indefatigable hiker who is in a class by himself when it comes to tracking down good, reasonably priced Bordeaux. What better to accompany his delicious cuisine de terroir, which ranges from tricandilles (tripes), magret de canard and côte de bœuf to eel, morue de Bègles (cod) and cèpes?

La Tupina, 6 rue Porte de la Monnaie, 33800 Bordeaux, Tel. 33/5-56-91-56-37.

This delicious dish is easy to make—all you need is pasta, mushrooms, foie gras and a little crème fraîche.

When I was a child and my mother was cutting up ducks to make confit de canard, we kids would be charged with putting the foie gras into mason jars. There would always be a few pieces left over, which my mother would set aside. At dinnertime, she’d chop up some cèpes, then put some macaroni—the big kind—on to boil. When the pasta was ready, she’d drain it well then put it in a saucepan with the leftover foie gras, the mushrooms and a splash of cream. After letting the mixture simmer for a little while to reduce the sauce, she’d add salt and pepper at the table. What a treat!