Yesterday evening I visited a nearby restaurant after a much heralded (and welcomed) change of ownership. Let me describe to you what I ate.
I chose from the more expensive €28 menu, and was served packet soup, frozen fish fillets, badly cooked duck, a tiny slice of goat cheese, and a bizarre version of a tarte tatin.
The soup was brought to the table in soup bowls rather than a tureen, and was without question directly out of a Knorr dried soup packet. I have no idea what flavour it was supposed to be, but it was gloopy and dreadful.
For my entrée I went for the rouget; three tiny fillets of de-frosted red mullet served on a bed of unidentifiable nonsense.
I chose the magret de canard for my main course. I love all things 'duck', but what on earth this 'chef' had done to it, I cannot imagine. It was dry, tasteless, and chewy.
Then came a tiny sliver of goat's cheese surrounded by 3 dots of honey (need I say more!).
And finally the tarte tatin (I happen to be a tarte tatin aficionado). This was so unlike a tarte tatin that they could almost have been sued under the 'trade's description act' (had they been in the UK). It was served with some pale brown sugary sauce; truly bizarre.
So what WAS good about the meal? Well, the bread was excellent (the restaurant is in the small village where I buy my own bread), our 3 bottles of wine were good, and the waitress was cheery.
If French restaurateurs think they can get away with such poor quality cooking (and an awful lot do) then they've got a big shock coming. Locals would certainly never eat there, and they should be made to understand that foreign tourists are not fools.
40 years ago, when I first came to live in France, wonderful restaurants were simply EVERYWHERE. Now I struggle to find more than one or two. Sitting back on past laurels is no longer an option for the French.
We shall NOT be going back!!!!!!!!
27 comments:
I got as far as the Knorr dried soup, foul and disgusting stuff, then I had to stop my brain from imagining the rest. Glad you enjoyed the wine!
Some places buy their laurels from a catalogue and then freeze and microwave them.
Vote with your feet.
Elaine, I'm sure you'd agree that there is no mystery behind the making of a decent soup. Nor is there any mystery behind a good entrée (e.g. charcuterie). Cooking a duck breast correctly is taught to 5 year-olds. Presenting a decent cheese board is simply a matter of selection. And, finally, any chef who can't make a decent tarte tatin doesn't have the right to call himself a 'chef'.
Many restaurants now buy ready-made, vacuum-packed, dishes. But this guy must have selected his from a Taiwanese catalogue.
Sounds awful - what a disappointment.
Did you make your feelings known? I hope so!
LLX
I didn't know that famous double act Brake Brothers now get as far as France?
LLX
Did you complain? pay?....I suffer from the british blight of saying nothing even if the meal is foul....then I pay and leave..
Running a restaurant must be really hard.
How on earth you cook fresh produce every day when you have no idea how many people might turn up, I do not know. I suppose it gets easier if you know you will always be fully booked.
Our local uses pre-prepared meals, I'm sure of it, but they are always delicious and well presented.
It seems to be getting more and more difficult to find good restaurants - in France and the UK. So disappointing when you look forward to something and end up with mediocre food.
Sounds like your average Venetian restaurant.
That's exactly what WE did. We just won't go again.
We did go with open minds. We'd heard both good and bad reports. The bad turned out to be right!
I so agree with you. We eat out very rarely now. Our last restaurant meal was in Guerlande. Excellent and cost us 13euros each. Other than that I really think it is a waste of money. Have you tried the routier places where they are masses of lorries outside?
Sue
Unfortunately I am not a big lunchtime eater, and most of the 'routier' type restaurants are aimed at a mid-day clientèle. But you're right; they are often very good.
On the bright side, you had a 'change' of appetite :-)
I am very surprised. Did you see Jeremy Clarkson's tour of French motorway restaurants? He thought they were fantastic.
If one's gourmet aspirations stop at chicken and chips, he would have been well catered for. No, sadly I didn't see it; I rather like Clarkson.
Sad to go out for an expected treat and be disappointed.
I have enjoyed finer cuisine in railway stations and autobahn cafés than in many starred restaurants.
When I open, I will only operate over the weekend and do as much of the prep I can during the week (stocks etc.) and keep the menu sensibly tight. The last thing you need on a first night is to balls it up, so best to start slow and easy.
French domestic cuisine (which is probably some of the best in the world) hardly involves much actual cooking. Other than soup and a main course, it is mostly uncooked. Salads, charcuterie, cheese, deserts, etc just need presentation/preparation. Anything that needs actual cooking usually gets put in an oven.
Here it is mainly what we would call stews and the ever pervading funge, a paste (it really does look like congealing wallpaper paste) made from Manioc flour. I need to do a few posts on some of the traditional meals here. It's just that in that tiny bloody galley of mine, I lose the will to live. Last night a frying pan full of boerwors sausage, eggs and fried tomatoes skidded off the cooker and cascaded onto the floor burning my legs with hot oil all because I tried to squeeze onto another burner a small pot of beans. It's like trying to cook on a camping stove.
I thought I had as much patience as you but I have now started legal proceedings against the contractor. I want my house finished and my restaurant open.
The finest French cuisine I ever enjoyed was in Alsace-Lorraine (Metz, Strassbourg). Worth driving four hours south from 3 Base Ammunition Depot in Germany. Mind you, I was famous for driving three mates of mine all the way to the Black Forest to prove to them that's where the best ice cream desserts were made.
Well that makes a change of the usual " french is best" you hear on the tv
not even three bottles of wine could deliver a good review, eh? Sounds awful. So much for new management....
Unfortunately they still bandy that around as if they were back in the 50's/60's when it was probably true. As far as cuisine is concerned they are insular and nationalistic, almost as if the rest of the world didn't exist.
I may visit another 'new' restaurant tonight.... stay tuned!
Massive pet hate of mine being ripped off, particularly when it comes to food! At least the bread and wine were good.
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog - I am also a slow responder at the moment, but do appreciate you saying 'hello'.
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