France!

We arrived in Dijon, in the Burgundy region of France, after a rather uncomfortable overnight train trip from Florence. It was very cold when we stepped off the train! We got our car rented and since it was Saturday morning and market day in Dijon, we spent some time looking at stalls selling a variety of things from used books to fashionable clothing. We spent a longtime in the covered market looking at case after case of French food—fantastic vegetables, beautiful poultry, incredible cheeses and amazing “french” bread. We made a few purchases then headed off into the countryside of Burgundy.

Our destination was a small town called Mont-Saint-Jean and a small “boutique” hotel called Chateau Les Roches. It has an interesting history as it was commissioned at the turn of the 19^th century by a Parisian judge as a place for his mistress to live.

Chateau Les Roches

It was occupied by German soldiers during WWII and a Nazi flag hung in the front of the building. 5 1/2 years ago the building was purchased by Tobias and Marco who have turned it into a beautiful hotel. We are staying in the recently renovated “gardener’s cottage,” a lovely two bedroom next to the main hotel with a kitchen and living/dining area.

We arrived in Mont-Saint-Jean about noon and since our check-in time was four we decided to have lunch at the local Restaurant Le Medieval. We were greeted by a warm fireplace and a lovely country French atmosphere. After looking over the menu we chose the Menu du Terroir, which is a prix fixe four course meal featuring the local cuisine. Here’s what we had:

Restaurant Le Medieval

Menu du Terroir

Les incontournables œufs en meurette et leurs croûtons aillés

Eggs poached in burgundy served on toast in a bowl with a wine sauce

Pavé de charolais à la crème d’Epoisses

Charolais beef with a cream sauce d’Epoisses

Suprême de sandre au coulis d’écrevisses

A small filet of pike with a sauce of crayfish

* * *

Assiette de duo de fromages de Bourgogne et leur verdure

A selection of Burgundy cheeses

* * *

Vacherin cassis et sa crème de cassis

Cassis sorbet with meringue and whipped cream

All this was washed down with a couple of glasses of white and red burgundy wine—the perfect way to begin our cuisine in France, a fabulous four-course French country meal.