A quest for a salad

[jhm]

Just a placeholder for a weekend trip which phaleesy and I have planned in a few weeks time.

A roundtrip of 1,000+ miles; 4 flights; 2 coach transfers; 2 hotels; a hire car; and a lunch reservation which we made 6 months ago ... for a warm vegetable, herb and flower salad.

Oh well, we'll have to try again next year. This salad bar is only open from April to October. When we contacted them back in March, they were fully booked every Saturday evening for the whole year and the first available Saturday lunch slot was yesterday.

The second try this weekend was successful!

Not taking any chances with AF again, we took a day off work on Friday to get there the day before.

LHR-CDG - BA for me; AF for phaleesy.

CDG-ORY by AF coach - every 30 mins; takes between 40-60 minutes; EUR 19 oneway; free for AF gold/plat

ORY-RDZ on AF (operated by Brit Air) - about an hour; 1-class CRJ100; a drink plus a savoury or sweet snack

An hour by hire car to the town of Laguiole in the Aveyron region of France - famous for its genuine Laguiole knives (to be distinguished with "Laguiole" fakes from China and Pakistan)

phaleesy books the best of course and a night in the Laguiole Best Western - joking aside, it was better than I imagined and seems of a higher standard than a French Accor Mercure (say) and definitely far better than the Accor Formule 1 I was unlucky enough to stay in in South Africa (a room with a smell; and another room with sticky surfaces...).

The next morning, a quick 5-10 minute drive into the hills to join the others turning up there for a pilgramage to Michel Bras (apparently the best in France and number 7 in the world according to one ranking). The restaurant is very modern - like a space ship on the side of a hill.

We went for the 9-course tasting menu with the highlight being the salad - the Gargouillou which varies with the seasons and consists of about 40 different vegetables (each cooked in its own seasoned water), flowers, herbs and seeds. It has a few pieces of ham.



Yes, the salad was certainly unusual and nice but phaleesy and I were somewhat disappointed with the meal. Besides the salad, it wasn't memorable like some other meals we've had and - truth be told - we enjoyed much more the Charolais steaks we had this evening at the Hippo restaurant in CDG (between terminals 2B and 2D)! (The food was good but the service can be - luckily not tonight - excruciatingly slow and this is at an airport!)

So overall a bit of an anti-climax!

[Kyo]

That salad looks awesome - any chance to see the other dishes?

It also sounds like a very hard-to-get-to kinda place. Alot more of a diversion to get there coming from Singapore!

[jhm]

That salad looks awesome - any chance to see the other dishes?

I'll type in the French menu and upload the pics when I get them from phaleesy. We arrived at 12:30 and left 4 hours later after:

* Chef's surprise (amuse bouche) #1 - an egg concoction in shells with cheese sticks (a bit like soft boiled eggs with toast soldiers)

* Chef's surprise #2 - 3 spoonfuls of monkfish etc with various ingredients

* 5 mains - the salad, fish, foie gras, a truffle vegetarian pastry and lamb

* A selection of cheeses from the trolley

* 3 desserts - a molten apricot biscuit; a selection of miniature ice creams and sorbets and some jelly thing

* Petit fours with coffee/tea - chocolate crunch; some alcoholic Turkish delight things; and another alcoholic drink

They use a lot of wild herbs and plants gathered from the Aubrac countryside around the restaurant. (The chef, Michel Bras is sometimes likened to a botanist.)

With all that food and a glass of wine paired with each of the 9 courses, I was a bit queasy at the thought of more food so only had a light dinner that evening (5 hours later)!

[StarG]

Very interesting food run, jhm & phaleesy. Thanks for sharing with us.
Looking forward to the rest of the pictures.

[hsf]

So pretty!

[G_G]

Yes, the salad was certainly unusual and nice but phaleesy and I were somewhat disappointed with the meal. Besides the salad, it wasn't memorable like some other meals we've had and - truth be told - we enjoyed much more the Charolais steaks we had this evening at the Hippo restaurant in CDG (between terminals 2B and 2D)! (The food was good but the service can be - luckily not tonight - excruciatingly slow and this is at an airport!)

So overall a bit of an anti-climax!

Thanks for sharing this experience. "Nouvelle Cuisine"'s chefs are sometimes overestimated

[phaleesy]

Entrance to a long driveway and large parking space




The ship which was too big for me


Starship on top of the hill

[phaleesy]

Waiting area:



Corridor leading to eating area:


Laguiole

[phaleesy]

Aperitif – tomato juice for me


Amuse me - egg shell and cheese sticks


Surprise me - spoons of stuff


Bunny food

[phaleesy]

Fish


Foie gras


Truffle pastry


Lamb


Carbs

[phaleesy]

Soft cheeses and goats cheese for me


Anything can for jhm


Molten apricot biscuit


Summer berries, jelly and ice



Balls - fruity, white and dark

[phaleesy]

Petit fours


Green tea

[phaleesy]

$$$ dormitories

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