Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

The best of Burgundy?


PS

Recommended Posts

Thank you everyone for you time, effort and insights. My trip won't be until November, but I am trying to firm it up mostly beforehand. Most of my accommodations and winery visits are done (though I will always take suggestions). It is just the dinning and shopping/cultural excursions that are in the works. Thanks to you all, I'll be able to hedge my bets for a great trip.

Best Regards,

JR

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you everyone for you time, effort and insights.  My trip won't be until November, but I am trying to firm it up mostly beforehand.  Most of my accommodations and winery visits are done (though I will always take suggestions).  It is just the dinning and shopping/cultural excursions that are in the works.  Thanks to you all, I'll be able to hedge my bets for a great trip.

Best Regards,

JR

Actually the best restaurant in burgundy is the 3 star Lameloise.Its traditional food at its best.Its also a very reasonable 3 star.

Bon appetit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually the best restaurant in burgundy is the 3 star Lameloise.Its traditional food at its best.Its also a very reasonable 3 star.

Bon appetit

Not 3 anymore, lost one this last guide. Not that it should matter all that much, but they did.

chez pim

not an arbiter of taste

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you everyone for you time, effort and insights.  My trip won't be until November, but I am trying to firm it up mostly beforehand.  Most of my accommodations and winery visits are done (though I will always take suggestions).  It is just the dinning and shopping/cultural excursions that are in the works.  Thanks to you all, I'll be able to hedge my bets for a great trip.

Best Regards,

JR

Actually the best restaurant in burgundy is the 3 star Lameloise.Its traditional food at its best.Its also a very reasonable 3 star.

Bon appetit

I love Lameloise, but I believe it has lost one of its stars. And I have to say that the dinner we had not long ago (before it fell to 2 stars) was not at a 3-star level; the flavours were slighly muted and lacked the clarity and intensity that I experienced at places like L'Ambroisie and Ledoyen. Still, it's a pleasant place to stop for dinner and breakfast on a trip through Burgundy, and it's a stone's throw from some fine vineyards.

Jonathan Day

"La cuisine, c'est quand les choses ont le go�t de ce qu'elles sont."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent about 3 months taking cooking classes in Lyon. In that time, my favorite places in the area were:

- L'Etage in Lyon. A steal for the quality in creativity of the food. A focus on Lyonnaise ingredients (pig's ears and the like) but made wonderful with amazing sauces and light preparations.

- Lameloise has my recommendation, the prix fix food was terrific, the service impecable and the overall environment wonderful. A good friend of mine worked there and noted that they put most of their effort into the dishes in the a la carte menu. Something to think about.

- While the food wasn't incredibly, the 1 star Chateau de Bagnols is an amazing place to dine if the day is nice, they put tables out on the bridge over the moat and you get a wonderful view of Beaujolais.

- There is a little bouchon called Notre Maison in the old city, we made friends with the owner and had a wonderful time there every time we went. The chocolate cake is incredible and the food is great. This place represents all that is good about Lyonnaise dining...plus the dining room is something like 400 years old.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had a wonderfully long lazy lunch at Le Gourmandin (8, Place Carnot) in Beaune and would recommend it for lunch or dinner. Not too terribly expensive either.

The food was excellent and the service flawless.

The only dish that didn't get top marks was the creme brulee which we found a little too firm and eggy.

We started with a tuna and avocado salad with wasabi crème fraiche paired with a Thierry Matrot 2002 Chardonnay. The hint of ginger mixed with the tuna and avocado was subtle and refreshing...

gallery_21060_313_290505.jpg

We couldn't resist the foie gras. This picture was taken after 1/2 of it was eaten so you can see that it was quite a generous portion. I liked the glass plates so much I brought a set home with me.

gallery_21060_313_176789.jpg

For dessert we shared a crème brulee and then moved on to a wonderful plate of cheese...

gallery_21060_313_471215.jpg

We had a glass of Red Burgundy with the cheese course and maybe that's why I can't remember any of the varieties that we sampled but all got top marks.

gallery_21060_313_85385.jpg

Have a wonderful trip!

cm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chef, It's interesting to me that you had the cheese after the dessert. I've heard about and seen this order in the UK, but I don't recall cheese every being offered after dessert in France. To the best of my recollection, it's always served before dessert, or simply as the last course when no dessert is ordered. In French homes, I've often seen salad and cheese served as one course between the main course and dessert. Green salad as a course between the main course and the cheese course seems to have all but disappeared in restaurants. To continue, is this a custom that's been carried from the UK to Vancouver or just a spur of the moment decision on your part to continue the meal?

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chef, It's interesting to me that you had the cheese after the dessert. I've heard about and seen this order in the UK, but I don't recall cheese every being offered after dessert in France. To the best of my recollection, it's always served before dessert, or simply as the last course when no dessert is ordered. In French homes, I've often seen salad and cheese served as one course between the main course and dessert. Green salad as a course between the main course and the cheese course seems to have all but disappeared in restaurants. To continue, is this a custom that's been carried from the UK to Vancouver or just a spur of the moment decision on your part to continue the meal?

Interesting question Bux.

That particular day we ordered the dessert and cheese to come at the same time as my SO ate most of the creme brulee while I wanted to go the savoury route.

On my menus, I have always served it after the dessert.

I'll pose the question on the Vancouver board and take a general consensus but I think you are probably right in that it is usually served before the dessert course.

cm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chef, It's interesting to me that you had the cheese after the dessert. I've heard about and seen this order in the UK, but I don't recall cheese every being offered after dessert in France. . . . To continue, is this a custom that's been carried from the UK to Vancouver or just a spur of the moment decision on your part to continue the meal?

Growing up here, the cheese course was always served in Vancouver restaurants and homes after dessert, at least until the resurgence of independent French dining rooms in the early 70s. It was for precisely the reason that you cite, Bux--it is British Columbia, after all. Or as my father said, You eat the pudding, the women retire, then cheese and any old Port in a storm (i.e. pitched debate on the issues of the day).

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw that in London where a table of three rather smartly dressed women in a very upscale Italian restaurant finished dessert and ordered cheese. I thought perhaps it was an excuse to order more wine, as I believe they did. I wondered if they weren't next going to order some meat and then fish as well as pasta. Having picked up my style of dining by spending a great deal of time in France as well as reading about France, and having spent little time in the UK, (some of which dates back to the dark ages of the 1960s in British -- dare I use the word -- cuisine) I thought they were a bizarre table. With the assistance of members here, I learned they were a proper table and the entire UK followed bizarre practices at the table and afterwards. In France, I believe, it's the custom for the men and women to pair off privately by couples after the meal. :raz:

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chef, It's interesting to me that you had the cheese after the dessert. I've heard about and seen this order in the UK, but I don't recall cheese every being offered after dessert in France. . . . To continue, is this a custom that's been carried from the UK to Vancouver or just a spur of the moment decision on your part to continue the meal?

Growing up here, the cheese course was always served in Vancouver restaurants and homes after dessert, at least until the resurgence of independent French dining rooms in the early 70s. It was for precisely the reason that you cite, Bux--it is British Columbia, after all. Or as my father said, You eat the pudding, the women retire, then cheese and any old Port in a storm (i.e. pitched debate on the issues of the day).

After double-checking my memory with Marlene, I can confidently report that at least when I was a kid, my anglophilically-obsessed Toronto-raised mother and family served cheese after dessert, so it's not just a Western Canadian thing. It was only on moving to Boston that I saw cheese and salad served together before dessert.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

For folks searching this thread for good places to eat in Burgundy, Ann Morrison has an article in today's travel section of the NYT that recommends several restaurants in the Burgundy wine country: Le Bon Acceuil, l’Alambic, La Buissonniere, Domaine Comte Senard + Olivier Leflaive.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

We had an absolutely fabulous experience at Lameloise. The greeting was warm & gracious, the service exceptionally fine.

We had the menu degustation which began with a trio of munchies: sardine canape in the style of herring, a spoon of tuna tartare & a cheese puff pastry.

[sorry, no menu..and no foodies vocab]

The amuse was a glass with layers of celeriac, then poitrine mousse topped with smoked bacon foam.

My first course was exquisite. ..a soup dish with a tepid celeriac puree topped with a green apple gelee upon which was placed tartare of raw langoustine topped w. slightly warm langoustine crowned w. slices of apple.

2nd--sous vide St Pierre in a nage containing moules & girolles

3rd--blue lobster pieces on top of pureed artichoke + stuffed small ? purple atrichoke, finished tableside w. a shellfish sabayon

4th-pigeon lightly breaded w pain d'espice

5th- lovely cheese cart

6th-a pre dessert glass layered w. raspberry coulis, a cream mousse of some sort and topped w sliced strawberries

Dessert was a superb ultra thin and carmelized apple tart w. green apple sorbet on the side

The mignardises were marvelous....and I deeply regretted being until to sample each and everyone one of them.

A lovely evening in every way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We returned to the Hotel Montrachet to recapture the warm, homey feeling and pleasant lunch we had enjoyed there a few years ago. Alas, the hotel--or at least the restaurant-- has a new owner. The cozy room with its charming lamps of grape clusters have disappeared. Two months ago the diningroom changed. It has been enlarged and markedly upgraded...is pretty..but a completely different experience as is the menu.

The traditional gougeres were followed by a glass of something green. We couldn't identify the taste--which wasn't pleasant--plus it contained grit or sand. We left it but were not asked why.

We chose the Bresse chicken in 2 courses [76 E]. It was presented whole tableside. A pleasant but not special chicken breast was followed by the legs in a pot au feu style. They were tough. The servings were surprisingly small, especially considering the price.

It is always difficult when you return and find changes. I imagine that they are trying to shoot for the stars with this new approach...but on this single sample, it may be a long journey. For those seeking a regional experience, don't add this to your list.

Edited by PaulaJK (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Approaching Jardin des Remparts is a fabulous experience in itself. It is a stunning stone edifice, enchantingly illuminated. Within, the tables are widely spaced. Service is efficient but with a regional feel. The cuisine is a bit unusual and I'm not certain how I feel about it.

Two butters are presented on an irregularly shaped piece of slate. I didn't 'get' the slate and I didn't get that one was "seaweed butter". Perhaps if we were in Brittany?? A basket of three warmed rolls is set beside each diner.

The amuses included cones of diced tomatoes w. mustard ice cream, curry covered hazelnuts, a lollipop of crisped pigs foot and a sesame wafer.

The next offering was a glass a pumpkin soup w. bacon foam--good.

We ordered the 70 E menu. Since there were 2 selections in most categories, we ordered both and shared

1st--an excellent mille feuille of Foie gras pate in which mushroom slices substituted for the pastry. Mine was tartare of Charolias beef surrounded by raw oysters. They forgot to mention that the oysters were in a gelee and that the

beef tartare was covered by a thick seafoam mousse!

2nd --a tough,stringly piece of lotte surrounded by seaweed and with a seaweed disk--not enjoyed

2 scallops on a bed of warmed celeriac puree and quite tasty

3rd Magret, quite stringy and without interest

Agneau--dry, tough and not tasty

Both entreees were very disappointing.

4th-nice cheese cart and some superb grapes

5th-Shards of white and dark chocolate shooting out of whipped cream w. foie gras and pumpkin ice creams !!!!???

A chestnut melange where I couldn't discern the marron, accompanied by irish coffee ice cream.

To each his own, but I thought that these concepts were way off...the menu too inconsistent...and overall, not a fabulous experience. They were less than half occupied so perhaps some others agree.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We returned to the Hotel Montrachet to recapture the warm, homey feeling and pleasant lunch we had enjoyed there a few years ago. Alas, the hotel--or at least the restaurant-- has a new owner. The cozy room with its charming lamps of grape clusters have disappeared. Two months ago the diningroom changed. It has been enlarged and markedly upgraded...is pretty..but a completely different experience as is the menu.

  The traditional gougeres were followed by a glass of something green. We couldn't identify the taste--which wasn't pleasant--plus it contained grit or sand. We left it but were not asked why.

  We chose the Bresse chicken in 2 courses [76 E]. It was presented whole tableside. A pleasant but not special chicken breast was followed by the legs in a pot au feu style. They were tough. The servings were surprisingly small, especially considering the price.

  It is always difficult when you return and find changes. I imagine that they are trying to shoot for the stars with this new approach...but on this single sample, it may be a long journey. For those seeking a regional experience, don't add this to your list.

Disapointing news - we had enjoyed a great lunch there a couple of years ago. Its relaxed casual style was perfect - sounds like it has gone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bernard Morillon [beaune] has closed and Loiseau des Vignes now resides in this location. This restaurant is a simply decorated pleasant room with tables rather closely spaced...in fact, we struck up a conversation with our French neighbors. Service is good enough.

Again, we ordered the set menu --59E if I correctly recall.

Gougeres were offered.

We both chose a first course of cocotte [?sp] of foie gras. They presented the pot and its contents prior to dishing out an enormous serving of white beans and a very generous portion of foie gras. Unfortunately for me, it was very, very raw

and I couldn't eat most of it. I owned the issue and when offered a substitute, demurred.

We also both chose the veal, requesting it medium rare to rare. It arrived barely pink, was dry and generally quite uninteresting.

The cheeses were in prime condition.

The dessert selection included the signature dense chocolate fanned with sable cookies...I think it bears 'rose' somewhere in its name.

We weren't particularly enthused about this meal and probably wouldn't return there. As the restaurant was quite full, we realize that we may represent a minority.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[Jardin des Remparts]

To each his own, but I thought that these concepts were way off...the menu too inconsistent...and overall, not a fabulous experience. They were less than half occupied so perhaps some others agree.

You're not alone. I had one of the most mediocre Michelin starred meals there. Food appalling. Service appalling. Incompetent sommelier (!!)... Apart from the setting, a meal I will not forget... unfortunately.

Cheers

- Michael

"Je préfère le vin d'ici à l'au-delà"

Francis Blanche

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I don't know where to put this and am too lazy to start a new thread, so I decide to post it here. Hopefully, it's ok

One of the unique parts about French fine dining is that there are many establishments which have been there for 2 generations or more. Troisgros and Auberge del’ Ill (Haeberlin) are the most notable ones. This time, I had a chance to visit another legendary restaurant owned by the Lorain’s family in the Burgundy area … it’s no other than Cote St. Jacques

Food (and wine) - 94/100

The menu’s content is quite varied – there are at least 5 items each at the appetizers, fish/seafood, meat and desserts. The price is not as bad as Paris of course. I decided to have the menu gourmand. I tasted their classic entrees like blood sausage and oyster terrine, but to keen of them. In fact, I like their current dishes like the escargot wrapped in fried onion served with garlic & buttery foam. The lobster is tasty with good texture with licorice foam. The lamb loan is perhaps my best dish for lunch; it’s scrumptious and juicy reminding me of the one in Troisgros. I also loved my tete de moine – firm & milky. The desserts are not bad, but nothing special either. The napoleon was wonderful for the 1st byte, but then a bit too sweet for my taste.

Located in Burgundy area, as expected I’m supposed to enjoy the Burgundy wine too. I had a glass of 2006 Chablis domaine laroche and 2005 Harvey-Chambertin domaine denis mortet. I like my meal in general, though it’s certainly not the best I’ve had. At least it’s about as good as Hof Van Cleve and slightly above Les Ambassadeurs. I gave it 94 pts (solid 2 1/2* by Michelin standard). I’m not sure whether it could do better should Jean-Michel himself was in the kitchen.

Service (and ambiance) - 92/100

It was such a nice day at that time – sunny with a bit of breeze. The hotel/restaurant actually overlooks the beautiful and peaceful Yonne River. The dining room itself is fine, but nothing is really outstanding. The brown-black leather chair is comfortable. The restaurant was relatively quiet. Only 1 dining room was filled, even that there were only 10 people for that day. The staffs are professional, but not really enthusiastic. They seemed to be a bit down cause there’re not that many guests. They’re trying, but it cannot be hidden that it’s not from their heart. No mistakes though and no one was unfriendly. My overall experience here is 93 pts (2 ½* ), the same experience at Le Bristol with a slight better food. All the pictures are here - cote st jacques

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...