It was Monday, and our week of amazing eats was all set to begin. My dad's longtime friend Alain had something to do in Marseille, so he took the chance to meet us for lunch before he drove down. We decided to go check out Avignon for the day. Avignon is somewhat reknowned for its theater community, and it just so happened that a theater festival was taking place the week we were there. The walled city was quite crowded indeed, with huge groups of stage troupes and tourists alike, as well as fliers plastered on every imaginable surface for the countless plays being performed.
We ended up eating at La Compagnie des Comptoirs, a beautiful restaurant tucked away to the side of the main road. It's a new place opened by the Pourcel brothers, chefs of Jardin des Sens in Montpellier (which we'd visit later in the trip). La Compagnie des Comptoirs is a semi-chain of restaurants, with I believe 5 or 6 locations around Europe. Their slogan is "pour découvrir autrement les saveurs des suds" which translates roughly to "to otherwise discover the savors of the south(s)." The concept seems to be a sort of fusion cuisine that combines Mediterranean flavors and ingredients with those from European colonies and other exotic places.
The branch in Avignon is very new, and it shows. A seemingly small building from the outside, the compound is quite big and very modern on the inside. As you walk in, you pass a trendy green-lit bar on your left, at which point you see the door to the interior courtyard, where all the lunch seatings are. The place is simply beautiful - quiet, serene, and bright. The menu is interesting, if a bit gimmicky. It's divided into categories of classic preparations and flavors influenced by Asia. So interestingly enough, this will be the only meal filed under "Fusion" from the trip. :) 
pressed tuna brandade, romaine with parmesan, beets - 14 euros This sounded interesting, but it kinda ended up being a fancy tuna sandwich, and not the greatest one at that. The bread was a bit too chewy, and the salad was a bit overdressed. 
braised jarret de beouf salad with mustard ice cream - 13 euros My dad's jarret de boeuf was more successful. It tasted kinda like a Chinese-style beef sausage. The mustard ice cream, which started melting a bit, became more like a cold mustard dressing. 
calamari a la plancha, espagnole of vegetables, lemon confit vinaigrette - 24 euros Calamari two meals in a row may seem like much, but I wanted to check out how they did this non-fried calamari. I'm glad I went with this. This is was the first time I'd ever tried calamari in whole pieces like this. They were sliced halfway into rings. The squid was cooked very well - tender on the inside with some slight browning at the edges. There was a tad too much lemon vinaigrette, but it was fine as long as I didn't drench the squid in the sauce. 
apricot tart with homemade vanilla ice cream and mojito shot - 11 euros This simple apricot tart was a special. We saw one going by to another table and it smelled and looked delicious, so a bunch of us ended up getting it. The tart was wonderful, with a nice, cakey texture and an intense apricot aroma and flavor. The ice cream was delicious too. The "mojito" was pretty gross though - it was like drinking sugar straight up. 
berry tiramisu with pistachio They finished by throwing us this freebie of berry tiramisu topped with pistachio. I'm not really sure what made it a tiramisu exactly, but it was good. Light, creamy, and refreshing. While the food here wasn't up to par compared with what we'd be eating in the next few days (well, the prices weren't either), the restaurant itself is worth a visit for lunch. The dishes were a bit overcomplicated, but still pretty good, and sitting outside was a wonderful experience. Dinner at Oustau de Baumanière is up next - my first 2 star meal...