I asked the concierge for the recommendation of a local restaurant and this was his choice. I'd been eating in too many "fancy" places. It was time to get some local flavor. While it was in the center of one of the biggest tourist places in southwestern France, it was definitely a place where the locals ate. There were a few tourists but there were mostly families and young couples out for the evening. The ambiance was quaint and rustic, the service was like being at a local bar but everyone was friendly and the food was good.
I selected a 2005 Chateau Cadet Bon Grand Cru of Saint Emilion, which was quite dry but excellent with my food. My first course was Escargot (Cagouille) a la Bordelaise, which was nicely presented by the guy in the tee shirt. The snails were lightly fried and very nicely seasoned. The greens were fresh, as were the tomatoes. The snails were wrapped in a very light and buttery crust. The taste combination in each bite was a fine compliment to the wine.
Second course was a Magret de Canard aux Cerise Noires. This was truly family fare. The quite large duck breast was prepared in black cherry sauce and was very tasty. The accompanying fried potatoes with carrots and squash were a bit over cooked, you might say mushy. Overall, not a bad course but too much food.
Next came three excellent cheeses. There was a firm and quite strong sheep cheese, a soft and very tasty Brie-type cheese, and an aged goat cheese which was too good. They formed an excellent pairing as I moved from cheese to cheese, sipping wine between small tastes.
Lastly, the Chocolatherapie. It took awhile to come because the restaurant had become quite busy, but it was worth the wait. There was an encrusted disk of light chocolate mousse surrounded by a pool of dark chocolate. Next to the dark brown pool was a large scoop of delicious mint ice cream. Maybe it wasn't as dramatic as the chocolate sphere in Amboise but it was certainly an excellent way to end the evening.
Well, I've been on a culinary roller coaster. I might need a day to recover. We'll see.
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