That one meal redefined French food for me. I can't believe the difference between a main in a random place in Beaune for 22 euro and a main at the one-star place I went to tonight for like 30 euro. It just defies description.
It probably helped that I went really French for my food choices, with escargot for entree and pigeon for main. Also, having decoded some of the secret code of Burgundy, I knew that "Montrachet 1er Cru" is code for "incredibly good chardonnay", so I ordered a half bottle of the Domaine Hubert Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Hameau De Blagny. For the uninitiated, wines in France always have names like that. I could tell you what it means, but then I'd have to kill you.
The lesson here for those coming after me in France is what I've always suspected: there's no room for the middle class. In Australia there's a smooth progression of food quality between cheap/poor and expensive/good. In France, the shift between bad and good food/wine is both very sudden and very steep. Don't try to do France on the cheap. You're much better off with one week of good quality stuff than you are trying to do two weeks of average quality.
Also, I ignored any worries about the amount of the bill by simply not looking at the amount when signing for my credit card. It's great - I feel like I didn't pay anything at all.
4 comments:
was the chardy a bit acid like the one Jason opened or a big butterball?
Neither really. Pretty elegant. More towards the acid end than butter.
Escargot is pretty good, but then again so is Garlic bread :P
The escargot I had there wasn't garlic, it was a different style. Was only OK though. The pigeon and wine blew me away.
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