Melissa is applauding. Chris is aghast.
My sister Melissa the Foodie was upset with me before I left for The
Grand Tour because I wasn't interested in trying European
cuisine. I am not adventurous in eating, making me the Ugly American in that
regard.
Well, tonight, upon a recommendation from Mark, the chateau owner, we went to a restaurant named Grenier A Sel in the town of Chagny. When we walked in, I knew I didn't particularly care if the food was good because the place was so gorgeous.
Uh-oh. No English menus and the server knew few English words. But since I was so enthralled with the ambiance, I decided to order a 3-course dinner. Melissa will be so pleased!
When I ordered the main course, I chose a chicken dish. Can't go wrong with chicken, right? The waitress said, "Tripe?" I looked at her blankly. She gestured to her stomach and said, "Chicken guts?"
Oh dear, no, mademoiselle! Thank goodness, she knew I was American and was ordering very wrong! But, I soldiered on, Melissa, and ordered a pork dish. "No guts?" I asked our darling server and she laughed and said, "No no!"
So just for you, Melissa, here are my courses, starting with a fantastic salad that featured melted goat cheese on top of caramelized onions on bread.
All the meat is cooked on a wood-fired grill that makes the entire restaurant smell heavenly. This pork was one of the finest dishes 've ever had.
Dessert? The Mister and I each had creme brulee.
Melissa, I really wish you could have been with us. Earl even mentioned that you and your traveling friends should pick this part of France for your next trip.
While Melissa is undoubtedly applauding me, my friend Chris Wallace is surely wringing her hands at how Earl and I are not taking advantage of being in a famous wine region. Our chateau has a wine expert who will do a tasting, let us see the chateau's wine cellars, take us to any vineyard around, etc. etc. etc. And The Mister and I say uh, no, thanks.
We didn't come here for the wine -- we came here for the chateau and the small towns and to see this part of France. But, Chris, you and Roger would be loving this!
As for us, we spent our morning sitting on the terrace, listing to Mozart's Jupiter, reading, playing iPad games (me), reading the Peugeot manual (Earl), doing crossword puzzles, and even enjoying the owners' dog Ici.
When we decided to go into a few towns, Chris, I'm sorry! We completely ignore these signs (below):
Also, two fun things I want to share with y'all from our traveling around today:
#1 These are LIVE trees (below) we saw in a town. We think they must start out as individual plants and are woven, trimmed, and shaped over the years, sort of like bonsai maybe? We don't know but they are definitely cool!
#2 Last week we had some laundry done at a Paris laundry/dry cleaner but we know we will have to be finding a laundromat soon to do some more. But not at this one (below) that we saw today!
It's outdoor self-service -- 2 washers and 1 dryer, in a grocery store parking lot!
Thanks for reading my blog!
Jane
Well, tonight, upon a recommendation from Mark, the chateau owner, we went to a restaurant named Grenier A Sel in the town of Chagny. When we walked in, I knew I didn't particularly care if the food was good because the place was so gorgeous.
Uh-oh. No English menus and the server knew few English words. But since I was so enthralled with the ambiance, I decided to order a 3-course dinner. Melissa will be so pleased!
When I ordered the main course, I chose a chicken dish. Can't go wrong with chicken, right? The waitress said, "Tripe?" I looked at her blankly. She gestured to her stomach and said, "Chicken guts?"
Oh dear, no, mademoiselle! Thank goodness, she knew I was American and was ordering very wrong! But, I soldiered on, Melissa, and ordered a pork dish. "No guts?" I asked our darling server and she laughed and said, "No no!"
So just for you, Melissa, here are my courses, starting with a fantastic salad that featured melted goat cheese on top of caramelized onions on bread.
All the meat is cooked on a wood-fired grill that makes the entire restaurant smell heavenly. This pork was one of the finest dishes 've ever had.
Dessert? The Mister and I each had creme brulee.
Melissa, I really wish you could have been with us. Earl even mentioned that you and your traveling friends should pick this part of France for your next trip.
While Melissa is undoubtedly applauding me, my friend Chris Wallace is surely wringing her hands at how Earl and I are not taking advantage of being in a famous wine region. Our chateau has a wine expert who will do a tasting, let us see the chateau's wine cellars, take us to any vineyard around, etc. etc. etc. And The Mister and I say uh, no, thanks.
We didn't come here for the wine -- we came here for the chateau and the small towns and to see this part of France. But, Chris, you and Roger would be loving this!
As for us, we spent our morning sitting on the terrace, listing to Mozart's Jupiter, reading, playing iPad games (me), reading the Peugeot manual (Earl), doing crossword puzzles, and even enjoying the owners' dog Ici.
When we decided to go into a few towns, Chris, I'm sorry! We completely ignore these signs (below):
Also, two fun things I want to share with y'all from our traveling around today:
#1 These are LIVE trees (below) we saw in a town. We think they must start out as individual plants and are woven, trimmed, and shaped over the years, sort of like bonsai maybe? We don't know but they are definitely cool!
#2 Last week we had some laundry done at a Paris laundry/dry cleaner but we know we will have to be finding a laundromat soon to do some more. But not at this one (below) that we saw today!
It's outdoor self-service -- 2 washers and 1 dryer, in a grocery store parking lot!
Thanks for reading my blog!
Jane
Remind me to tell you my story of the lady with French cruise ship menu at the frame store.
ReplyDeleteThose woven trees are WAY COOL,!
ReplyDelete