Le Dauphin

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

Our TGV left Zürich Main Station at 07:34 and arrived at Paris-Gare de Lyon on time at 11:37. It was my oldest daughter Kate’s first visit to the city of light. After we had checked in to our hotel in the 6th we took the Metro to the 11th and arrived in time for the table we had reserved at Le Dauphin for 13:00.

Le Dauphin is two doors down from its infamous big brother restaurant Le Chateaubriand. I had eaten at the latter early in 2012. Both are owned by Iñaki Aizpitarte. Technically speaking Le Dauphin is a Wine Bar with food. For lunch it has these options: Entrée & Plat ou Plat & Dessert ou Fromage for 23€ – Entrée & Plat & Dessert ou Fromage for 27€. In the evening it has a “tapas” style menu.

I started with a dish of Horse Heart served with Potatoes. It was excellent, cooked rare and extremely tender. For our mains the kitchen obliged by cooking Kate a simple piece of fish & I had Pork & Seaweed Sausages served with Black Rice Risotto, Salsify & Red Onions. The sausages were meaty & moreish and they had been made locally. Kate had Passion Fruit Tart for dessert which had a good crispy base and I had the Cheese.

The wine list follows a predominantly “Natural” route. It was November, so it was Beaujolais Nouveau time, the glass of which I had was surprisingly good. I also had a glass of Vin de Pays de la Vaunage which was equally as good. Both were Bio-Dynamic.

All in all we had a great relaxed lunch, service was informal and friendly & the price was perfect, totaling a very reasonable 68€ for two. I would definitely go back to try the “tapas” style food in the evening. After lunch Kate and I visited the famous Italian lady that resides in Paris! For Le Dauphin’s website click here for info. (Click on a photo to start slideshow)

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Ski Lodge Engelberg

Posted on April 1, 2013 by

Sweden does not have a shortage of snow in the winter time but it does have a shortage of good places for winter activities such as skiing and snowboarding, so it came as no surprise to find out that Swedish “ski-bums” Eric and Niklas decided to open their own Hotel in Engelberg after they were struck by the easily accessible, endless off piste areas and the charming atmosphere of the old monastery village.

It was an easy drive from our home near Zürich to Engelberg, a resort town in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. We arrived mid afternoon in late January and our family room was ready for us to settle into for our short break. After a walk around the old part of town we had a drink in the bar and then it was time for supper in the Brasserie Konrad which is the “Ski lodge Engelberg” restaurant.

Brasserie Konrad is named after the founder of Engelberg, Konrad von Sellenbüren who rode into Engelberg 900 years ago to found the monastery. Anna-Karin Haglund is the Restaurant Manager.  We met Anna-Karin last year in Stockholm when she was part of the front of house team at Esperanto/Råkultur. Before that she was in charge of front of house at Fäviken where she helped Magnus Nilsson achieve what Fäviken has become today.

That evening we ate well. It was clear that the kitchen gets its influence from the Swiss Alps, Northern Italy, France and doesn’t forget its Swedish heritage, where most of the staff come from. You can also see that they have a passion for local produce and recognise that Switzerland has some great cheese, meat and wine. The Slow Roasted Pork Belly, Sole & Cheese Board were all excellent. (I have to apologise as this time I don’t have any good photos of the food, the light for taking them was bad and I don’t like to use a flash). A very reasonably priced 3 course “Skiers” menu for 55CHF is also available.

The next morning we had a great breakfast buffet to set us up for the day. Whether you are looking for a great Hotel to use as a base for your mountain holidays with so much to do in Winter as well as Summer – or just an awesome place to have an evening meal, Ski Lodge Engelberg has it all on offer. I also love the informality of the Swedish hospitality you get at Ski Lodge Engelberg with the “Nothing is a problem attitude”. For Ski Lodge Engelberg’s website click here for info on prices and menu etc. (Click on a photo to start slideshow)

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L’Esprit du Vin

Posted on March 31, 2013 by

Albi is the capital of the Department Tarn and is situated on the River Tarn. Its main attractions are the Gothic Cathedral, Toulouse-Lautrec Museum and its very old bridge. The main attraction for me however is a relatively new, “living” one……..David Enjalran’s cooking and his restaurant L’Esprit du Vin.

David was born and bred in the region of Tarn. After nearly following in his parents footsteps taking up a career in medicine he ended up studying at the Toulouse Hotel School. He then went on to spend three years working in Paris for Alain Dutournier at Le Carré des Feuillants before returning to Albi to open L’Esprit du Vin in 2004.

After we had visited Albi’s covered market we took a short walk to L’Esprit du Vin just down the hill from the very impressive red bricked Gothic Cathedral. L’Esprit du Vin is a small 24 cover restaurant. This was our third visit and we were warmly greeted by David’s wife Marion.

David Enjalran’s cooking style is a mix of Tradition & Molecular - He is always looking for new taste combinations using the local & seasonal produce from the South West of France. For lunch that day we ordered the “La Pause Gourmande”, a three course menu which costs a very reasonable 29€ and includes the usual extras of amuse bouche and petit four. It was excellent (our two children had “Le menu enfant” for 15€ each), see photos & captions.

On the wine list you can find good locals such as the one we had: Gaillac Braucol 2011 (33€) from the Plageoles brothers. It’s Bio-Dynamic and worked well with the food. David Enjalran has 1 Michelin star & 3 Hats in the Gault-Millau guide.  For L’Esprit du Vin’s website click here. (Click on a photo to start slideshow)

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La Falaise

Posted on February 11, 2013 by

It was a short drive through the wild countryside in this part of the Department of Tarn before we arrived at La Falaise Restaurant which is situated on the edge of the village Cahuzac-sur-Vère. It was raining on the 14th of October & we had a table reserved for Sunday lunch. La Falaise is owned and run by husband and wife team Guillaume & Sylvaine Salvan, and we have been visiting them for over five years now.

Guillaume is a Chef who cares passionately about the ingredients that make it into his kitchen and where they have come from. When ever he can he uses organic produce which is seasonal and mostly locally grown, foraged, raised or hunted. We ordered the 4 course menu this time which cost 47€ and came with the usual extras of amuse bouche and petit four. The children were looked after accordingly with their own simple 3 course menus for 20€ each. La Falaise also has a Vegetarian menu for 31€ and on week days you can have a 3 course menu for a very reasonable 20€.

Eighty percent of the wine list is made up with local Organic or Bio-Dynamically produced wine from the AOC region of Gaillac. Joël the sommelier helped us with our choice and we ordered a bottle of Brin de Temps from Domaine de Brin, which was an excellent red.

Our favourites this time were: Oyster Amuse Bouche; Foie Gras with Green Beans, Apple, & Hazelnut Crisps; Shank of Veal (this is a great dish which uses a cut of meat that is usually ignored; a lot of work had gone into preparing it resulting in the meat being tender with loads of taste); Wild Maigre (fish) with pureed Pumpkin & Coconut Cream; Autumn Fruit with Edible Earth for dessert.

Sylvaine runs the front of house with sommelier Joël and they make you feel welcome as though you would be visiting them in their own homes. La Falaise is a little gem of a restaurant. Guillaume Salvan has 1 Michelin star & 3 Hats in the Gault-Millau guide. We are looking forward to returning in the forth coming Autumn. For La Falaise’s website click here. (Click on a photo to start slideshow) For a great video about La Falaise click here.

 

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Michel Sarran

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

It was another beautiful Autumn day when we visited Toulouse on the 12th October 2012. In the morning we went to the wonderful covered Victor Hugo Market which is situated in the city center. After buying some meat for supper from Organic Butcher Fabien Besnier we made our way to Michel Sarran’s restaurant for lunch. Michel was born in Saint-Martin d’Armagnac in Gers, not far from Toulouse. He opened Restaurant Michel Sarran with his wife Françoise in 1995.

We were greeted warmly by Arnaud Ducroux and his team of front of house staff, and it wasn’t long before we were having a glass of the house champagne. Karin and I each ordered the 3 course lunch menu “Le Capitole” which comes with amuse bouche, wine, petit fours and coffee which is an amazingly good price of 49€ per person. We discussed what the children would have, and they were looked after with “special” menus.

Our favourite dishes that day were: Artichoke & Prawn Soup, Cold Risotto with Mussels & Parsley (This dish really surprised me & I liked it very much) & Maigre (Fish) served with Squid stuffed Peppers. The children also had the same fish served with special chips. Our dishes were perfectly paired with wine that Head Sommelier Jean-Luc Planelles had chosen – White: Domaine de Laballe “Sables Faves” 2011 – Red: Château de la Clomobière “Vinum” 2011. Both wines are from the South West of France.

Michel Sarran has 2 Michelin stars & 4 Hats in the Gault-Millau guide. Françoise and Michel with their team have created a place of calmness to enjoy good food and hospitality without pretensions. I can track my receipts back to 14th October 2005. We have been going back most years ever since. Michel ticks so many boxes for me, for example: He is from the region, stays true to the seasons and loves Rugby even if New Zealand’s All Blacks are winning! For Restaurant Michel Sarran website click here. (Click on a photo to start slideshow)

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Domaine de Brin

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

The autumn sun was shining as we drove up to the main buildings of the Domaine de Brin which is in the wine region of Gaillac. It was the last day of harvest, which is not normally a great day to visit a Winery. We were greeted warmly by Cathy Bonnet and her father-in-law Jean-François Bonnet. On this very busy day we felt welcome immediately. The family Bonnet is steeped in tradition and that shows in the way they produce wine. Damien Bonnet is now the wine maker. The Domaine de Brin has 10 hectares of  terroir to produce wine with.

Damien uses the grape varieties that grow well in this region such as Duras, Braucol & Cabernet Sauvignon for red, Mauzac & Loin de L’oeil for white. Damien insists on using organic growing and natural vinification methods. Weeding is done naturally. A high-quality yield of around 35 hl/ha is achieved. Harvest is done by hand and the grapes are quickly delivered to the winery in small batches, destemmed and then fermented for around 15 days.

Natural clarification methods are used without fining agents. The wine is matured without sulphur and very little sulphur is used before bottling, which is done without filtration.

In his early thirties Damien is a young wine maker. His father Jean-François is now happy just driving the tractor and helping out with degustations. From the wine we tasted it is clear that Damien has a natural talent for making wine and is one to watch.

I can only recommend that if you are in the area you must visit this vineyard, because  Damien is a wine maker who understands what his vines are doing now and how they will taste in the bottle tomorrow. Tonight I made a Stew of Pork & Borlotti Beans which worked perfectly with “Domaine de Brin Vendemia 2010″ For the Domaine de Brin website click here. (Click on a photo to start slideshow)

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Château de Salettes

Posted on January 24, 2013 by

The Château de Salettes restaurant is set in the heartland of one of the oldest AOC Wine producing regions of France, Gaillac, in the department of Tarn, just North of Toulouse. It was a typical warm autumn day in October when we visited and had Sunday lunch. The atmosphere was informal & inviting.

We got things started with 2 glasses of a local sparkling dry white wine from Domaine Plageoles made with the Mauzac grape. It is grown Bio-Dynamically and was excellent. We ordered the “3 course menu” which costs a very reasonable 39€ and included the usual extras of amuse bouche & petit four. The children were looked after with a special “menu”. The wine we had was from the local Domaine Peyres Roses – Aoc Cuvee Charles 2009 which contained the Duras, Braucol, & Merlot grapes. This red wine was also Bio-Dynamic and cost 31€ for a bottle.

I have eaten three times at Château de Salettes now & every time Pascal Augar’s cooking has failed to disappoint – always something different and imaginative (See photos and captions). He has 1 Michelin star & 3 Hats in the Gault-Millau guide. The Château de Salettes also has rooms and is set in its own Vineyard which produces its own wine. It would make a great weekend break. If you just go for lunch be sure to take a walk around the garden and vineyard with its wonderful views over the relatively unknown region of Gaillac. For the Château de Salettes website click here. (Click on a photo to start slideshow)

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