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.

Suggestions for Normandy


Archana

Recommended Posts

Have been invited on a booze cruise tonight - we land in Cherbourg tomorrow, it will be cold, we'll be hungover. With this in mind can anyone reccommend a decent bistro to soak up the 'night before?'. I'm under the impression that Cherbourg is a bit of a culinary wastleand, full of Sun readers loading trollies with Special Brew, so if anyone can save us from caff type establishments, would be much appreciated. We'll be on foot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Neither Michelin nor GaultMillau make Cherbourg seem like a destination. Michelin lists three restaurants without either stars or the distinction of offering a good buy at an inexpensive price and GaultMillau lists a totally different place which it awards a rank of 11, one up from the entry level 10.

Michelin:

Cafe de Paris, 40 quai Caligny

Vauban, 22 quai Caligny

Pommier, 15 bis rue Notre-Dame (a block west of the other two across a square)

GaultMillau:

Le Faitout, 23 rue Tour-Caré (that street seems to run into the quai just north of the two restaurants on the quai)

Good luck.

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

  • 10 months later...

Last week was spent in Honfleur, where I had the opportunity to try many quite a few restaurants. Here is a brief account, enough to make sure you have a few good meals if you ever decide to go there (which wouldn’t be a bad idea since it is such a charming town, where at 5 o’clock you still see the boats coming back in the harbour, full of shrimps, and you can buy the still-wriggling shrimps from the fishermen’s wives just a few minutes later).

Entre Terre et Mer

One Michelin « bib gourmand »

A very nice restaurant, one of those who strike the right balance between elegance and a more relaxed atmosphere. Two set menus and à la carte are possible. We went there twice and tried both menus. Here are the dishes I can recall. In the 22 euros menu: bouillabaisse à l’émulsion d’hile d’olive, filets de maquereaux marinés et lasagnes de légumes ; Filets de lieu au fenouil et vapeur de citronnelle, soupe de melon aux fruits rouges.

In the 27 euros menu : Foie gras poêlé, Pressé de thon rouge aux légumes confits, Pièce de bœuf au chorizo, Dorade Grise braisée, Tiramisu de fraises.

A cheese course with salad is included in both menus. Nice staff and satisfying cuisine.

La Tortue

This one is not in the michelin, but it is the best value in town. Their 15,50 euros menuu is a very nicely crafted succession of courses such as Crème de tomates et poivrons, émulsion de homard for amuse bouche, terrine de lotte et colin, served warm for starters, Trou Normand (or rather a variation of it, apple, calvados and cinnamon soup served in a shot glass), Filet Mignon sauce au cidre du Pays d’Auge, Grilled Camembert with three peppers, Crispy apple cake with toffee sauce. Would go there any day if it were in Paris.

La Grenouille

Very disappointing brasserie, probably only good for Sea Food. Anything that needs cooking is poorly done. It belongs to the Hotel Absithe, which is where were staying and which is very nice. They also have another restaurant, l’Absinthe’ that seems nice enough and is probably trying to get a star but we have not tried it.

La Terrasse et l’Assiette

The starred restaurant in town. Not a complete disappointment but one nonetheless.

We had the 25 euros menu (Carpaccio de tranches de boeuf au pistou, caviar d'aubergines, Suprême de volaille à l'andouille de Vire, blanquette de pommes de terre au citron, Croustillant de camembert rôti au caramel poivré, Mousse citron-basilic, coulis de mangues et curaçao bleu) as well as the 45 euros one (Tartare de daurade grise au gingembre, sorbet ratatouille, pomme de terre grillée, Poisson noble du jour selon la levée du chalut – it was a filet de St Pierre- Croustillant de camembert rôti au caramel poivré, Mini-gaufres aux framboises, crème glacée au poivre de Séchuan).

The 45 euros menu was not at all plenty. The grilled potato announced with the Starter (I should have been warned buy the singular) was actually one slice of grilled potato. They also gave the tiniest scoops of sorbet and creme glacée I have ever seen. Whet is strange is that what they gave way too little of were usually not at all the more expensive ingredients.

It was clearly a star level as far as pure taste is concerned (Szechuan pepper is great with raspberries) but having to eat so carefully in order not to clean the plate in three bites ruined it.

La Cidrerie

A great place, hidden in an alley roughly in front of ‘Entre Terre et Mer’, that specializes in Crepes, sweet or salty. They also have oe of the more impressive selection of Calvados by the glass in town. Try the 1957 Bouvachon Cidre Rouge and write me thank you! A very nice place to chill away from the more refined restaurants, and one I enjoyed a great deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for the tip. I love Honfleur too. Love that little colourful port - surrounded by the grey slate roofed buildings. Some of the best salted caramel ice cream - must be the milk. And thanks for the reminder - I said that the next time I went I'm bringing a hot plate and pan and frying up some of those tiny grey shrimp in Normandy butter myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Towards the end of September, I enjoyed a lunch at La Grenouille.

Perhaps I didn't challenge the menu as, indeed, I had 'grenouille',

but they were quite good. We chatted w. the couple next to us

who claimed to be enjoying their selections. Service was

regional bistro.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4724461/

This was written back in April, but I think it slipped thru the cracks. Given the upcoming celelebrations I think this might be of some interest.

What are your favorite foods from Normandy? For me, it has to be Calvados and Cidre Bouche -- although I have never had a Normandy lobster.

This page also has some older articles that are interesting as well:

http://www.dininginfrance.com/normandy.htm

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jason, thanks. That "good" article was written by the great Mort Rosenblum - author extraordinaire of James Beard award-winning Olives : The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit and A Goose in Toulouse and other Culinary Adventures in France and The Secret Life of the Seine - just a few of I've lost count of how many books he's written. Mort is an incredible man - legendary war correspondent and former editor of the International Herald Tribune - and a good friend. He's now working on a book about that other essential of civilised culinary life - chocolate.

I travelled through Normandy pretty extensively when I first moved to France a couple of years ago - and like Mort - I adore Honfleur. My favourite food has got to be the salted caramel ice cream from the little glacier right on the old port. My second favourite - maybe their calvados ice cream. Bonheur.

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

there certainly is a difference in the Calvados there, than the fire water here!

The lobsters in normandy and Brittany are grilled, wonderfully done in various ways. Here in New England, you rarely see lobsters cooked that way, and the one time I did at Jasper White's Summer shack it was too dry.

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly....MFK Fisher

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Saveur, some ten years ago actually, there was an article of note on calvados:

Saveur article

Calvados, of course, is the region's world-famous apple brandy, distilled from cider just as cognac and armagnac are distilled from wine. (Appellation laws permit the use of a limited percentage of pears as well, though most quality producers eschew them.) A well-aged calvados of the best quality, glowing amber and gold, with its mysterious and complex aromas of fruit and vanilla—its haunting suggestion not so much of apples as of the elegant ghost of apples—is simply one of the world's great spirits.

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't been in Normandy lately except for a couple of days a few years ago on our way back from a wedding in Brittany. We took a path back to Paris that led us through Giverny and Monet's gardens. What I remember most about Norman food when we were first there in the 60's was the cream sauces. In general, one sees fewer sauces of this kind in France. I wonder how that's changed in Normandy.

Rich fatty cow's milk cheeses are what I associate with Normandy besides apples, cidre and Calvados. Mort Rosenblum assures us, in his article, that there's still a great supply of rich unpasteurized cheese.

I asked if the worrisome trend in French cities toward pasteurized, prepackaged supermarket cheese had made itself felt in Normandy.

“Not a chance,” Chantal replied.

That may be true at the artisanal fromager's in Trouville, I hope it's true throughout Normandy. I know the world is seeing tons of pasteurized camemberts and I believe it's one of those French cheeses that's escaped rigid AOC type laws. It may come from all over France, if I'm not mistaken.

The most famous dish from Normandy may be Tripes à la mode de Caen.

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

A favorite stop for us is Trouville at the Brasserie, Les Vapeurs, for their mussels in cream sauce.

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly....MFK Fisher

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

This is a little a la minute I know, but please offer your suggestions. My wife and I will be staying in Caen for one week. We will have a rental car. She is vegetarian. Of course, her vegetarianism will not circumscribe our restaurant choices: I am a chef in Cleveland, Ohio; I love food and eat everything.

We are looking for mostly quality in midrange-low cost food. One night or two we might open the purses a bit for something a bit above par.

After a week in Normandy, we'll be staying in an apartment in St Germain-En-Laye (where we have stayed before. We'll have a kitchen and do most of our own cooking. However, Paris and East Suburb recommendations are appreciated as well. In previous visits we dined at Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Aux Lyonnaise and Le Petit Margerit (sp?).

Thanks in advance for your speedy replies.

Ben Fambrough,

Cleveland, OH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all, if you're going to stay in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the market there is probably the nicest in the West suburb. There's one on Sunday, I don't know about the other days.

As for Caen, it's a surprisingly nice city for one that has been almost completely bombed in the '40s. There's still a city center with friendly restaurants and you should try the tripes à la mode de Caen. But my advice would be to head North towards the D-Day beaches, not for history but because it's one of the nicest coasts in France, with great seafood (try Arromanches and Port-en-Bessin). Also, the piece of Normandy that lies between Caen and the sea is enchanting (try to see Thaon, Creully, Fontaine-Henry, and the convent of Saint-Gabriel-Brécy where there is a horticulture school. You may visit the wonderful gardens). Courseulles has nice bakers and charcutiers including one who won a gazillion medals and silver cups for his tripe recipe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much. I am glad someone responded! Yes, the market in St Germain-En-Laye is great (and right outside our window--it's moved location due to temporary construction to a square (place de la victoire)). We will be cooking up a storm most evenings there.

Cheers,

Ben

Please, more suggestions welcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much. I am glad someone responded! Yes, the market in St Germain-En-Laye is great (and right outside our window--it's moved location due to temporary construction to a square (place de la victoire)). We will be cooking up a storm most evenings there.

Cheers,

Ben

Please, more suggestions welcome.

Ben, I apologize for not answering, but the truth is that despite the fact that Colette and I get over to Normandy once every couple of years, it's been the sights (do not miss what's called the Swiss Normand and the tapistry display and slides in Bayeux- one of the best teaching museums there is), not the food that's left an impression. Except for an incredible meal at Le Manoir d'Hastings some 21 years ago, no name sticks in my mind and my notes are in the US. One probably cannot miss at a Michelin Red Bib Gourmand, of which there are a ton in Normandy. A friend of mind will complete a tour but I won't see him til May 24 and I assume that's too late. Sorry not to have been more helpful.

John

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ben, I've just seen this thread now, so hopefully, I'm not too late.

I think you would enjoy a trip to Honfleur. It’s a lovely little harbour with plenty of restaurants, although most of them don’t face onto it. If you wind up the street from the harbour there are a few nice seafood spots (great assiette de fruits de mer, with oysters, clams, mussels, prawns,crab and lobster), and moving onto the Place Saint Catherine in the town, there are plenty of good places to eat, some a little more formal but nothing too posh. I have stayed in/near Honfleur quite a few times, and I can honestly say, I’ve never had a bad meal there. Most of the restaurants offer a number of fixed price menus as well as a la carte, so there’s some very good value to he had. As far as I remember, the market in Honfleur is on Saturday mornings. It’s very friendly; you could literally eat your way around the stalls of cheese and charcuterie with the amount of samples you’ll be offered. I love it. And don’t forget to drop into the Cider House.

Trouville and Deauville are worth a visit too, although they are primarily beach resorts (Deauville, with its famous equestrian racecourse, being the upmarket one. There’s a casino there, if you like a little flutter!). Both of them have wide, long stretches of beach. Trouville has a great fish market in the mornings (most days I think), and also plenty of seafood restaurants similar to those in Honfleur. For something on the more expensive end of the scale, I had a very nice meal in Le Bellevue in Villerville, between Honfleur and Deauville, although it was many years ago.

Moving inland from here, you’re into the Pays d’Auge, with its rolling hills, lush pastures, and pretty, half-timbered houses and barns (we spent part of our honeymoon driving around this area, so it seems terribly romantic to me). It’s famous for its creamy cheeses: le Pont L’Eveque, Camembert, Liverot etc and there’s a signposted cheese route, which is a great drive. So too is the cider route, and there are some producers well worth dropping into, where you can sample the cider, Calvados (an apple brandy), and look out for Pommeau, which is stronger than cider, but lighter than Calvados (it is really delicious poured over some homemade apple sorbet as a palate cleanser). The cider here is much stronger than traditional English cider, and is drunk out of small earthenware bowls, a bit like large sake cups. It’s potent!!! And be sure to stop for the odd café Calva, which is like an espresso with a shot of Calvados. Tarte aux pommes (the local apple tart), is of course on just about every menu.

Pont-Audemer, sitting like a pretty picture on a river, is also worth a visit. Get there in the morning to catch the busy market on the street which runs from Monday to Friday (and doesn’t clear away until lunchtime). There are some nice little places to eat, but in a small village outside of Pont-Audemer, and up the hill, there is a little restaurant perched on the side of a narrow road, which is particularly popular with the locals. It specialises in the robust cooking of this area, with some great charcuterie, like boudin and (quite challenging) andouillettes. I am so sorry that I can’t remember the name of it, but if you’re in the area, it would be worth enquiring. And if you find it, please let us know.

From a sight seeing/tourist point of view, I found the Memorial Museum in Caen very moving, the Bayeux Tapestry well worth the visit (nice little town too), the Mont St Michel is wonderfully dramatic, and Rouen Cathedral is enthralling. When I visited Monet’s garden in Giverny it was high season, and I think the crowds and queuing detracted from it, so May is probably a good time to visit, when things are starting to come into bloom and there aren’t too many tourists around. Another beautiful place is le Bec-Hellouin, a quiet village with a large walled abbey (not too far from Pont-Audemer). We went to service there on Easter Sunday, and it was a wonderful experience to hear the Benedictine monks sing; and walk around the courtyard, and absorb the calm. It really feels like it’s lost in time. The restaurants in the village looked quite nice too, although we didn’t try any of them.

Enjoy your holiday, and I’d love to hear how you get on.

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

My flight plans were muddled. Would have missed the connection in Newark. Alors. Apparently, the afternoon flight out of Cleveland has problems daily. Thanks, Continental. Very dissappointing, as well as muddling things on the arrival end. We're leaving a day late and going through Houston. I guess we've been very lucky in the past not to have experienced any trouble with international flights. C'est la vie. Anyway, the bright side is getting to read responses from John Talbott and Corrina Dunne. Thank you both. I'll post back here in June about any noteworthy culinary delights.

A bit off topic: another bright side to this (I think) is the opportunity to repack. I'm trying the Rick Steves' pack light "technique" for the first time. I am guilty of overpacking for long trips.

Cheers to all!

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I’ve located my archives of our last trip to Normandy and tho’ too late to help you, I’ll put them in for the next person. Our best meal of the trip was not far (46 km) from Paris, actually, on the way out, in Cormeilles en Vexin, a place called the Maison Cagna, yes, it’s run by the son of the famous Jacques, who’s taken over the old Relais Sainte Jeanne and made it sing. Another place that was merely OK was the Petite Auberge in Le Perou. To be avoided is La Table de Roi in Thury Harcourt.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am in Caen now. My wife and I are staying in an old Abby, L'Abbaye D'Ardenne. She is researching the works of Michel Foucault in the IMEC archives housed here. Mostly we have taken our meals here: good, simple regional cuisine prepared/served family style with ample wine and local cheeses. Our one meal in Caen was decent, but unremarkable at Le Bistro de Vaugueaux. It was moderately priced and tasty, but not much else. We will be out and about for the weekend: up to the beaches at the very least.

More later. Cheers,

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am in Caen now.

Ah then I caught you just in time. This week's "News from France," published by the French Embassy in DC says there's a new museum that just opened in Caen on - of all things - the Cold War. You could be the first on your block to see it between meals, of course, so we stay on topic.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update,

So far the meals in restaurants have been completely un-noteworthy. We've dined mostly in Caen and once in Bayeux. I am, however, very taken by Pommeau. Bought a bottle to bring back to the states, and some Calvados, of course. The best food of the trip has been the cheapest: simple omlettes and buckwheat crepes in creperies and the food we are being served here at the abbey. Lunch today, for example, was some small, baked headless, but otherwise intact, mackerel, stuffed with lemon, shallots and herbs: nice crispy skin, well seasoned and succulent inside. Also some baked, stuffed red pepper halves with basil. Simple and delicious. There is no shortage of good cheese and bread here.

Alas, I returned the rental car today--no more wandering around Pays D'Auge. We're off to "our" apartment in St. Germain-En-Laye tomorrow. At last I'll have a kitchen. And maybe, finally, some restaurant experience worth reporting. I've got of possibilities in mind.

No more easy internet access for me, but possible updates from an internet cafe. On va voir.

Cheers,

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Back in Cleveland now and the restaurant didn't burn down while I was away!

Now for the meager report. I have, alas, no really good or bad reports from Normandy. I should change the title of the thread to reflect my Paris dining.

I was so frustrated by the lack of kitchen tools (knew this ahead of time) and "heavy equipment" in the apartment that it really put a damper on my cooking. For example, the oven would trip the circut breaker at anything over 100 degrees C. This set back a cuisse de poulet considerably as I had to adjust the cooking method. I did discover the pleasures of some inexpensive Cotes de Vivarais and Cotes de Bourg while dining chez moi.

Of dining out: I have comments on two restaurants.

We ate with friends at Le Belier D'Argent where we have dined before. We did not choose this restaurant for ourselves. We were, rather, being courteous to our enthusiastic companions who love this place. It's a bit of old and new with some sort of off-the-wall attempts at cuisine moderne. These, while mildly imaginative, come off fine, albeit a tad clumsy. We spoke with the owners who went on about being inventive and experimenting with new things, keeping fresh. I had to smother my non-plussed reaction when we were told with proud smiles that they changed the menu two times a year. Yikes. My confit (magret) with frites was unremarkable. Why for goodness sake don't some chefs use herbs in the curing part of the procedure? Is it some purist esthete that relegates these chefs into an avoidable posture of one-dimensional cuisine? My friend's tete de veau gribiche was well prepared, but the gribiche really need a kick of acidity. No more criticism. The food was good, not bad at all--just nothing special. I will eat there again (with my same friends, no doubt), but not make special plans of my own.

The best meal was lunch at Carte Blanche. And, you know what, sorry, but I'm running out of time this morning. This would be better left to another day when I have more time. In fact, I'll just start a new thread so it doesn't get hidden here.

Cheers. Back on Tuesday with the finish.

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s a shame you had no meals of note in Normandy. We were particularly lucky in the Pont Audemer area because we stayed at a farmhouse called Le Manoir de L’Aufragere and ate there every evening. Unfortunately, this is not a restaurant, but a table d’hote for people staying at the house.

It is not top end luxury, by any means, but it is a lovely taste of rural life in Normandy. Each evening, we all gathered to sit at the large kitchen table, Nicky's food was incredibly good, and the conversation with people from all corners of the world was always interesting and lively. She’s English, a Cordon Bleu cook, and runs a number of cookery courses at the house from time to time. Her husband Regis is French, and after a spell making goats’ cheese in England, moved back to Normandy. He makes his own Calvados (when the travelling still comes around) and Pommeau. They are the most gracious, engaging hosts you are likely to meet. They gave us great pointers on places of interest to visit and Regis even arranged for us to go out riding on a neighbour's Percheron horses.

We found them, just by chance, in the Alastair Sawday Special Places to Stay guide, but there’s also an interesting piece on them here in the Telegraph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

This Noël we will be spending in Paris. My son would like to go to Mont Saint Michel. Does anyone know where I should stay, where should I eat? I know it is touristy, but I want off the beaten track si cela est possible.

Paris is a mood...a longing you didn't know you had, until it was answered.

-An American in Paris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...