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Auberge de Chavannes

"What with its delightful little cities, great restaurants and stunning scenery, it’s only a matter of time before the Jura, a beautiful region of pine-covered hills in eastern France, is discovered. This is why the simple but stylish and very comfortable new ten-room Auberge de Chavannes by one of France’s most talented young chefs is so welcome; it makes a great base from which to visit the region and chef-owner Nicholas Pourcheresse’s cooking is so good, you’ll want to be back for both lunch and dinner. The largest neaby town to miniscule Courlans, Lons-le-Saunier, where La Vache Qui Rit cheese is made, may not be Ian Schrager territory, but these good-looking rooms with air-conditioning, dark stained floors, flat screen TVs, spacious showers with pebble-paved floors, and Moroccan lamps, pillows and other accessories have the winsome allure of a young talent striking out on his own. Further, they offer a welcome alternative to the plastic-ridden chain hotels that dominate the room offer in most small French provincial cities, and offer a lot for the money. In effect, what Pourcheresse has done is update one of the loveliest of all Gallic traditions—the wayside auberge where you both eat and sleep memorably well—for a new century. Be sure to book a table in the restaurant when you reserve your room, and don’t miss Pourcheresse’s mussels smoked with vine trimming or declinaison de canard—duck prepared in four different ways. Try some of the Jura’s ballsy and relatively little-known wines with your meal, too."