Ask me about my recent birthday dinner at Pierre Gagnaire’s 2-Michelin-starred restaurant La Grand Maison de Bernard Magrez and I’ll ask you how much time you’ve got. A flawless experience from start to finish, though I never expected otherwise. This Relais & Châteaux gem brings together the essences of three great men. The menu is…
Following an afternoon spent touring and tasting (and learning, a lot!) at Domaine Jean Baptiste Adam in Ammerschwihr and Humbrecht 1619 in Gueberschwihr, we were in need of a warm and hearty meal to heal our Riesling-stung gums. We tried a few spots in Gueberschwihr, but the town were largely deserted that evening and the menu offerings…
I don’t often review the restaurant of my travel accommodation, as it’s actually quite rare for me not to venture out for dinner, wherever I’m staying. But after a 30-minute nap that accidentally turned into a 2-hour snooze at the Hotel du Parc in Thann, nothing in the quaint Alsatian town seemed open to take…
Google “Alsatian specialties” and try not to salivate all over your keyboard. I dare you. Baeckeoffe, flammekueche, choucroute, fleischschnacka, tarte à l’oignon… These are hearty and filling dishes served in generous portions, perfect with a glass of local Riesling or Gewürztraminer on a frosty winter’s eve. It’s the kind of food you not just want, but need,…
There’s a delightful little neighborhood called Saint Seurin Croix Blanche located beyond Rue Abbe de l’Epee, around the Place des Martyrs de la Résistance, behind our street. This neighborhood rocks. Gorgeous, super-traditional, Bordeaux-style limestone houses all in a row, the perfect park surrounding a beautiful church, a little wine bar called La CUV Saint-Seurin with an adorable red facade,…
I’ve been spoiled since living in Bordeaux by the occasional weekend road trip out to Angouleme to spend time with my French beau’s French mother, who happens to be an excellent home cook and a very warm, inviting and kind individual in general. Her green thumb is quite evident, with all kinds of flowers, ferns,…
MILES is a culinary gem in Bordeaux, highly recommended by pretty much everyone who has been there. And despite the quality of the experience, it’s surprisingly accessible. We made our Friday night reservation just two weeks in advance for the restaurant’s signature 5-course tasting menu, very reasonably priced at 43 euros per person. Upon arrival, we…
Now that the grades are in and my time as a student has come to its ultimate end, nostalgia has been creeping up on me. And besides the friends, the wines and the actual learning, I’m starting to miss all of those lunches together on the terrace of Hangars 16 and 18. I miss the makeshift…
After some time melting my sins away in the dry sauna of our Saint Nectaire hotel, I shocked my senses awake with an ice-cold shower before suiting up in sweater, coat and Uggs and heading out again for dinner. We had made a reservation at L’Auberge de l’Âne, a charming, rustic tavern-type restaurant at an…
We rolled into Saint Nectaire at 2:00 a.m. at 40 km/h in a snow-white Fiat 500 with no chain on the tires, careful not to brake on the patchwork of slush and black ice that greeted us on the road. A surprise destination, I knew nothing about the Auvergne region (except that it was half-way between…
