Relais des Abbesses

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We recently enjoyed three nights at Relais des Abbesses in the beautiful village of Chateau Chalon in the Jura. Chateau Chalon sits on a precipice overlooking the vineyards that produce the grapes for the region's famous Vin Jaune. The Relais is the retirement venture of Agnes and Gerard Vidal, who had previously owned a restaurant in the region. Our large and airy room had a view over western Jura that extended into the Bresse plain.

Breakfasts were vast and varied: the usual baguettes and croissants, cake, both comté and cancoillotte (local soft, fresh white) cheeses, fresh fruit (peaches), stewed prunes, sugar and/or cream tartes, muffins, yogurt, a variety of housemade preserves, juice, coffee and teas, hot milk, all in quantity.

Dinners were equally delicious and generous: starters of salmon tartare with warm lemon sauce; tomato, cheese, basil and pasta tarte served with sliced morteau sausage; an extraordinary foie gras of Bresse chicken with Vin Jaune gelee. (Madame Vidal explained that select Bresse chickens were raised in cages and fed a diet of cornmeal, producing a fat liver almost identical to that of duck or goose. She emphasized that these chickens are not finished by gavage.) Green salad was served after the apetizer, along with tomatos, hard boiled eggs, sometimes grated carrots, sometimes white asparagus. Main courses ranged from roast pork with mushrooms served with green and mangetout beans, trout in Vin Jaune sauce and sauteed potato, veal with morels in cream and Vin Jaune. Cheese plateaus each night included Comté, Morbier, St. Marcelin and Polignaise, a delicious but obscure local cheese. Desserts included chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream, vanilla tart with red fruit, chocolate marquise with banana sorbet and caramel sauce. Wine was a local cuvee in generous quantity.

Other guests were Belgian and French couples and families. Mealtime conversation was varied in language and topic. Regardless of her guest's interests, Mme Vidal had a seemingly endless supply of local recommendations: historical sightseeing, hiking, brocante and, of course, cheese and wine tasting. Towns of Poligny, Arbois, Champagnole, Clairvoux, Lons are all easy drives.

The cost? Our large room was 60€ a night, breakfast for two included. Dinners were 20€ a person, wine included. There was an 8€ supplement for morels one night. Our total tab including all taxes, for three nights and three dinners, was 337€.

This address is a keeper.