I awoke as the sun rose on our first full day in Beaune. The previous day had been pretty busy, arriving in Beaune, getting settled and making reservations and finding a place for dinner. But this, well this was going to be a full day, we had a car and the Missus was rarin' to go.
But first, I headed out……
Down the quiet streets of early morning Beaune.
I recalled passing a Boulangerie the previous day as we were walking in from the train station. And it was one of the few places open this early in the morning.
Very friendly woman working. All I needed was on croissant to share with our morning coffee.
Boulangerie Pâtisserie Lapalus
1 place du docteur jorrot
Beaune, France
A decent, but not great croissant. I'd grab a baguette there before we left Beaune that was quite good though.
And then we headed out; around the ring road, finding the sign to Autun.
It was, without a doubt, beautiful.
As we kept stopping to take photos.
Imagine waking one morning, getting into your car and driving into a "postcard".
The road slowly crept upward.
Until we came upon the town of Meursault, with it's distinctive Town Hall.
It was a Friday, which turns out to be Market Day (Friday). We enjoyed walking around. Not only were food items on sale…..
But all manner of furniture and household goods as well.
From kitchenware to baskets to beds!
We took a short walk……this town is so charming.
We decided to take another break and hit up the Boulangerie.
For another croissant and espresso.
Le 7éme Péché
11 Place de L Hôtel de ville
Meursault, France
We then headed off down to Puligny-Montrachet.
Where according to many, the best white wine in the world is produced.
Because I drove, I could not partake. The Missus was free to sample whatever She wanted.
We came around the loop and took time to admire the Château de la Rochepot.
Which dates back to the 12th Century.
From here it was another climb uphill.
There was one more stop the Missus just had to make. On this trip, the Missus had grown fond of wine from the appellation of Saint Romain. And so, we just had to head downhill and stop in that town.
And stalk Her favorite producer…..
Yikes!
Luckily, there were no embarrassing moments as no one was around.
We then headed back toward Beaune. We'd made a complete loop and got back no the main road. The Missus had read about a restaurant in the town of Pommard. So decided to stop and see if they would be able to accommodate us.
Luckily, we'd arrived early and we got a table without reservations.
We were actually given a pretty nice table, with a street view. The lunch menu was basically a choice of two tasting menus. We took the more expensive option which was still a very reasonable 50 Euros…remember, we had become used to Paris prices.
The bread was interesting; it featured something the Missus would love later on; gougere….
Things started off with a nice and somewhat refreshing soup.
The thing I recalled the most was how the acidity of the cream really set off the flavors.
Of course we basically shared everything, passing dishes back and forth between us.
When the Missus's Escargot arrived, I knew that the chef was aiming for a more modern take on French cuisine, as per the "foam". There were some fairly tender grains under the delicious crème d'ail, a very smooth garlic crème. I asked what these were and was told "d'epeautre", basically spelt. It was nutty and slightly sweet. I recall on the menu that these were "escargot Bourgogne sauvage". Which I take to mean wild local snails. I thought all the ingredients were the stars rather than the escargot.
I had the Tartare de Dorade; which I believe is a type of sea bream.
This turned out to be basically a salad and I enjoyed the vinaigrette. I thought the squid was a bit tough.
Check out the Missus's main.
Yes, that is foie gras crowning a nice piece of tuna. I was kinda hesitant about the missus ordering this; but of course it had foie gras, which was decently prepared if a bit over-cooked. The tuna was actually perfectly cooked; quite rare and not dry.
To be perfectly honest, the Missus enjoyed the fennel, lima beans, and the wonderfully earthy mushrooms the best. I gotta say; the portion size on this was quite generous.
As was the portion size of the Entrecot of Veal.
Again, quite a large cut of veal, cooked perfectly for my tastes, decently tender. The mushrooms were again our favorite item on the plate.
The Mousse tiede d'epoisse was our least favorite dish. This was served separately and the flavors were so strong it as hard to enjoy.
Man, that cheese was so salty and the croutons on the bottom of the mousse; which tasted like gingerbread just added more strong flavors.
As for the rest of the desserts, well, the Missus enjoyed them.
Overall, we thought the meal was quite worth the price. The service was a bit spotty but quite pleasant and we were pleasantly surprised with our meal.
Aupres du Clocher
1 rue de Nackenheim
Pommard, France
Man, after that meal I needed to rest up. Plus we still had dinner reservations.
