Thursday 1 July 1993

A sunny day, fairly hot.

The dinner anomalies—a surly, inexperienced waiter in sole charge of the dining room, the fat-filmed fish, the missing mignardises—all were resolved when Mme Tisserant told us that Monsieur the chef had been away acting as an examiner at a Culinary Arts school in another town. No doubt Madame herself had taken over the kitchen. We felt in a small way the retrospective alarm of an airline passenger who learns, after a bumpy flight, that a stewardess had been in sole charge of the cockpit.

Asked about our path not taken, Mme T. shed her habitual air of exasperation with all matters to do with the restaurant to show a glimmer of pride in the chef’s creation. Déclinaison d’oignons, she explained, denotes a series of dishes featuring onions in various forms—friture, purée, etc. We resolved to try it upon our return on 19 July.

Heading south by car, by lunch time we arrived at a country restaurant in the Voges:

D18, 3 km north-west of Vittel.

Big and bright in a modern style with glass walls and lacy swagged curtains, the dining room was abuzz with the joy of eating.

Le Vog’pot: Kir with plum liqueur and a light-green poached mirabelle plum.

The name of the apéritif is an allusion to the status of the fragrant, sweet-fleshed mirabelle as a prized product of the Voges region. The mirabelles served on this occasion were most likely preserved from the previous season, since the new crop does not ripen until August.

We drank Wolfberger Riesling 1991 (demi, F49).

Jambon cru: Unlike typical aged raw hams, this one had a mild flavor and a light, soft texture. We think it was a cooked ham—not what we expected, but pleasing enough.

Truite aux petits lardons: A waiter deftly filleted the cooked trout and presented the fish, reassembled, with a garnish of rice, steamed potatoes and an airy and tasty omelette aux oignons verts. We liked the way the flavor of the lardons had penetrated the fish.

Fromages de Bulgnéville: These examples of local cheeses (Bulgnéville is 10 km west of Vittel on D164) included a magnificent soft, strong-tasting Munster, and an equally fine Brie de Bulgnéville. We also tried a piece of Troubadour, a cheese we had never heard of, which proved to be a gold-colored, semi-soft with tiny holes and in quality comparable with the others.

Coupe Lorraine: A mirabelle ice cream and a spoonful of crème Chantilly, ringed with poached mirabelles.

The total at l’Orée du Bois was F277.

***

After lunch we set a course for Bourg-en-Bresse, and we arrived with an hour to spare before dinner. From the A40 Bourg-en-Bresse exit we took a right at the light on to the main street (Leclerc, but the sign is obscure) and another right at the Gare--railroad station--sign. Immediately after passing under the railroad tracks we made a U-turn to the right to arrive at the Parking of:

Bourg-en-Bresse.

Amuse gueule: Chicken, ox-tail and vegetables in aspic, served with a tasty mayonnaise.

We drank Givry Louis Latour 1989 (F190) from outsize chimney glasses. The wine was medium to light red with brick tints visible upon pouring. With spices and leather in the nose and some tannin on the palate, it proved a splendid accompaniment to food.

Salade de haricots verts au foie gras: Tasty round-section green beans served with gamy foie gras of a melting-consistency, and toast.

Terrine de foie de volaille: A savory slab of chicken liver, lumps of chicken and pistachios.

Magret de canard au vinaigre de framboise: A fan of sliced breast of duck on a small amount of a fruity and agreeably tart sauce, garnished with gratin dauphinois, spinach and baked tomato. The rose-colored slices of duck had a solid consistency and a good strong flavor—about as good as duck can be, we thought.

Poulet de Bresse rôti. The plump, solid breast (offered the choice, we had chosen the breast over the thigh) had a dark brown skin of great toasty flavor and a hard, almost brittle consistency. The meat also had a strong and wholesome flavor, and in case that were not assurance enough, an attached metal tag told us we had received a genuine poulet de Bresse. As if acknowledging that such poultry could not be enhanced by any conceivable garnish, the chef chose to serve it with no accompaniment but a small jug of the rendered juices.

With the poultry dishes the wine gave pleasing lollypop flavors on nose and palate.

A St-Marcellin cheese proved good with some remaining wine.

Fraisier: A layered strawberry cake offering delicate savors of cooked flour and butter with berry accents, served with fresh-tasting strawberry coulis.

Mignardises: Freshly-cooked macaroons, shortbreads, madeleines, and best of all, langues de chat carrying a faint aroma of cinnamon.

The total at Restaurant du Mail was F509.