I'll begin at the beginning. There are no photos for this part, maybe because I just wasn't expecting good food in the Netherlands. (And maybe because I didn't do a very good job with the photos I did take.) Ellen and Ben each took us to a favorite restaurant in Maastricht. Ben thanked us for helping him care for Wes while Ellen was gone by treating us at Tapas & More, a delightful Spanish place where we ordered somewhere around a dozen of the appetizer dishes and passed them around while we drank sangria.
Then, Ellen thanked us for teaching her French class by taking us to India House, where at the end of the meal we ordered additional bread because I did not want to leave one drop of the exotic and unbelievably tasty sauces on my plate.
So the best two restaurant meals we had in Netherlands were from faraway places. Coincidence? Not exactly. We had a third restaurant meal in the Netherlands - at a real castle. It was Haute Cuisine with a vengeance - Formal to the point of stuffy (I don't know if it was a rule that you had to whisper, but everybody did). It was verrrrry slow-paced, but tastefully so. It was delicious and well-presented. It was the most expensive meal Carol and I have ever eaten in our entire lives. (Maybe if you ply me with enough good wine, I'll reveal the price tag.) We knew all this going in; it was something we just had to do, and it was fun.
And then, we went to France. We had arranged with our hosts, Jean-Pierre and Danielle, for a home-cooked meal upon our arrival, since we would have been traveling all day (since six a.m.) and knew we would be exhausted. What a wonderful introduction to France, a reminder of one of the reasons we love this country. Jean-Pierre and Danielle welcomed us into their lovely home and gave us a lovely meal - regional wines (I learned to savor Monbazillac) and a famous regional specialty - duck, prepared exquisitely by Jean-Pierre. It was topped off with a delicious tarte au pommes, an apple tart made by Danielle. We enjoyed the good food and got to know our gracious hosts, practicing our French and having a thoroughly enjoyable first evening in France.
Ellen and Ben and Wes followed us in a few days. My daughter, I have to brag, knows her way around a kitchen. For a firsthand look at her culinary adventures, check out Ellen's cooking blog. She cooked that Dordogne specialty - duck - for us while she was here. Ooh! La! La!
Our first restaurant meal here in the Dordogne came last Friday, at La Belle Étoile (Beautiful Star) in the lovely town of Roque Gageac, on the Dordogne River. Ben and Ellen had celebrated their sixth anniversary there a few days before, while we happily watched Wes. They returned with rave reviews, so off we went.
Ellen and Ben had gushed about the little complimentary "amuse bouche" we started with - a cup of pumpkin soup. After my last spoonful, I thought long and hard about tipping the cup upside down to get what I couldn't spoon out, but I opted to not be an ugly American. I will experiment with pumpkin soup when I get home, with the hope of approaching this dish.
For the first course, I had a smoked salmon appetizer, and Carol had a poached egg with morel mushrooms - essentially a creamy mushroom soup. Doesn't sound so special, does it? Well, my dish was wonderful; Carol's was bowl-lickin' good. (She didn't.) For the main course, Carol had duck with pasta. I took Ellen's advice and had the veal, which they didn't order but ogled whenever the waiter brought it to another table.
It was delicous, fabulous, stupendous, scrumptious, heavenly. I saved my bread, so I did not have to lick the sauce off the plate. I would have. And the veal was perfect - tender and full of flavor. I chewed very slowly and only grudginly gave Carol a taste. (After 35 years, the romance still flames!)
For dessert, I had the tiramisu, since it was the specialty of their in-house chef. It was very good. Carol, on Ellen's recommendation, had a chocolate trilogy and loved it.
And then it was Sunday! Market day! I was so happy! We've learned not to arrive too early. (These French just aren't in a hurry to get started with their day, a trait I'm growing to admire.) When we arrived near 10:00, the street was bustling with shoppers. We walked up and down Rue Gambetta, the main street, taking it all in and deciding which vendors had the best-looking foods. Then we got down to business.
And finally! Our special treat at the Saint Cyprien market is the vendor who sells "to go" dishes. I should've taken more photos, 'cause words don't do justice to the dishes they serve up. Each week, they have huge wok-like pots on an open flame. They offer paella, cassoulet, mussels and duck confit. At our first market, we took home the paella. The following week we nearly cried because they weren't there.
So, what do a couple Americans on holiday in rural France do after such a frenzy of food acquisition?
There! I'm glad we had this little talk. I know that talking about food isn't the same as tasting it. I hope I kept it interesting. But I had to write this one.
2 comments:
Yay for food!
We made it to Paris and I've been to a gourmet food store, the grocery section of the Monoprix, and a patisserie.
Next, Wes and I are going to go meet Ben and see if he wants to swing by Le Bar à Soupes for dinner.
If I know my way around the kitchen it's because I apparently have a bit of a one track mind.
Oh, and good job with the link! Especially because you linked to my blog! Thanks!
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