« August 2006 | Main | July 2008 »
July 24, 2007
La Cuisine D'Alain
La Cuisine D’Alain
Hotel Orsay (Opposite Le Gare)
29 Rue Roger Salengro
Mountauban
Tel: 05 63 66 06 66
I was in a slight panic when I trundled into this restaurant: it was Sunday lunch time and I had decided on a Michelin selected restaurant but found to my dismay that I was waved off: complete! I drove around Montauban in some desperation before I finally followed a sign to La Cuisine D’Alain, but I was put off by the proximity of the railway station. When I found the place open and with a table I was more than happy. Of course I then saw the sign that said Maitres Cuisiniers de France and realised I had been stupid: I had that guide in my car and it has never failed me yet!
When I arrived I was told, rather grandly, that I must eat off the menu. I said I had no problem with that: well I was desperate! I was escorted through a large restaurant and offered a seat on the terrace: this was joy indeed as that Sunday was the first day, since my arrival in France, it had been warm enough to sit outside and this attractive geraniumed terrace was just the kind of place I wanted to be. The menu was limited but adequate for me as I selected Duck foie gras followed by beef and then the offering was cheese followed by the desert chariot.
I worked it out half way through the meal as I watched the desert chariots (note the S) being wheeled around and the loving way in which the head waiter prepared the deserts with dribbling of this and that coulis, then finished the pattern off with knife. The foie gras was good and nicely cooked, the little steak was excellent served with the interesting addition of a small tortilla type pancake, the cheese board was massive and the cheese was in great condition but the whole meal was about the desserts! Not only was the desert offering lovingly presented and on offer was virtually every type of desert imaginable, then in addition each helping was three deserts on the gloriously decorated plate. Before the chariot arrived a couple of taster style desserts including an éclair was presented: just to get you in the mood so to speak. I know places where those tasters would have been the dessert!
Do not get the impression that the desserts were the only good part of the meal: they were not; However they were magnificent but I can get foie gras and steak elsewhere, and to be fair the cheese trolley was worth a few lines as well. Worth a decent detour: especially for a sunny Sunday lunch!
Posted by Sam at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)
Demeure de Flore
Demeure de Flore
Grand Rue - Allée des Tilleuls
81240 Lacabarède - France
Tel. 05 63 98 32 32
Website
I had a discussion with Francisco the charming owner of Demura about exactly what it is? Michelin gives it a few red turrets suggesting it is a comfortable hotel. On his website Francesco says ‘passionate about food.’ I suggested restaurant avec chambers was a better description as the hotel status belittles the splendid food that is served within this delightful petite chateau.
The house is set well back from the road with tree lined drive and plenty of grass to keep Francesco busy on mowing duty when the grass is growing. At the back of the house is a charming terrace on which I ate breakfast just outside my room everyday and in a hedged in area a swimming pool lurks. The area surrounding is steep hills with the black mountain towering over this attractive valley. Not far away are some high lakes that are picturesque summer destination: barely surprisingly then, that from early July to mid-September all eleven rooms are booked solid. However for the rest of the year this is a wonderful haven either for a night or a few days.
This website suggests food is the main attraction of this chateau in the hills. Francesco, who is from Italy, spent his youth working in some of the finest hotels in the UK: from the Ritz to the Old Course Hotel, as a waiter and often the maitre’d. However since setting up his own hotel Francesco has taken to the kitchen. As he explains as a good waiter you must understand food, and maybe all those hours spent looking at it and not being involved in putting it together has stirred up some hidden juices. I understand because I have indeed worked and indeed earned my living as a chef: primarily because I owned businesses that needed a chef. Fully trained and experienced chefs are a tricky breed and if you are not in control: which you seldom are unless you can say: I’ll do it: they will quickly control you and your business.
Francesco produces a four course fixed menu each night. There is no choice unless you express an allergy or similar to the offered food. This is not bad because you will be exposed to some wonderful new ideas: such as carrot capochino. This is smooth full flavoured hot carrot soup with pesto crafted into the top. I also had wonderful gnocci and large individual ravolli as starters. The best main course I had was described as veal but not white veal: this was more like baby beef. The fillet was cooked and seasoned to perfection and served simply on a bed of baby grilled artichokes. This course is followed by cheese: one option I had was a brie split in half horizontally with a thick cream cheese and walnut layer being spread before putting the cheese back together again. The final course is desert occasionally featuring tiramisu with a wonderful creamy.
This is all served in a elegant dining room which features art deco as well as modern art. The house wine is carefully selected and thoroughly recommended and comes from a vineyard about an hour away in lower Longuedoc.
Posted by Sam at 3:28 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2007
L'Essentiel, Chambrey, Once a restaurant of gastronomic excellence
L'Essentiel,
183 Pl. Gare,
Chambery,
0479969727,
Sadly L'Esentiel, in this mode, is no more. Not sure why: I suspect costs but it is now no more than a superior wine bar and as such a tad pretentious!
July 2007
De-luxe restaurant, French classical,60, (In Mercure Hotel)
L'Essentiel is a very serious restaurant located in a glass pyramid opposite the station in this attractive town, best known as a winter sports centre. Inside the glass pyramid is a comfortable restaurant with well spaced tables and pleasant armchairs to relax in. The restaurant oozes seriousness with displays of freshly baked breads, a massive cheese board and plenty of polished glass and under stated but elegant show plates.
The top menu degustation is not for the non serious eater in that it is priced at Euros 82. The only slight catch is that all persons at the table must have this menu, and whilst at first sight that may seem unreasonable, having had the menu I can understand why: it would be impossible to pace other dishes around those many courses.
We started with two off the menu items. The amuse bouche was a kind of wild mushroom tart with plenty of diced and salted mushrooms on delicate flaky pastry. Then, as we expected the first course, a taster course arrives. This was four items on a wooden plank. In our case it was a very light smoked salmon mouse, a tiny portion of mussel soup, foie grass mouse and a little smoked duck on a pastry stick.
The first real course was pan fried Goose liver on toast, with a slice of fresh fig and essence of beef. The goose liver fell apart and was suitably pink.
Next a smiling lobster's head supported by its tail on a bed of tomato confit which was cleverly both solid, as in slice, and soft, as soft fruit. Of course the lobster was delicious and the whole presentation was almost too good to spoil!
The red mullet fillet came with seared tuna and a mushroom tart: again a great presentation with loads of different flavours and consistencies.
I must admit I am not a great fan of the dreaded sorbet course, it may clear the palate but I always thought that was what wine was for! Anyway we now had an interesting lemon sorbet with basil.
I am not sure which the main course would be in a menu such as this? I suppose there is not one! However the final meat course was pigeon with foie gras, well that was the description. In reality it was the barely cooked pigeon breast in small pastry cornets. There were three flutes and one included foie gras. There was also a pigeon leg to suck on. For me this was great dish as I like game and enjoy pigeon. This was certainly the most imaginative way that I have had it. And at the end of a large meal this was light enough to please, but would not be too much.
The comment about too much suddenly became very relative as there were two courses left. The cheese board looked great, but at this stage none of us really fancied doing it justice. However just when you thought the chef must have run out of ideas and we were thinking a light pud might just be fitted in somewhere, the pud arrived. Or maybe it would be better described as the table suddenly got covered in different puddings. The basket of gooey meringue biscuits looked good, but that was before another plank of goodies arrived. This included a chocolate soufflé, an apple tart, kiwi fruit mousse and fresh strawberries. Then as we finished this two more courses arrived in the form of pannacotta with blackberries and a really superb Chartreuse ice cream, doused with chartreuse. By the time we had finished we knew we had not only had a brilliant meal but we also felt a bit how one of those geese must feel just before it's liver is removed!
We stuck mainly to the local wines and they were adequate rather than memorable. I suppose with this type of meal one should have dived into the wine list and had some of the superb wines on offer. But this time I was more than happy to let the food do the talking; and what it had to say was more than enough!
Posted by Sam at 1:20 PM | Comments (0)