I’d like to tell you about a terrific dining experience I had recently at L’Hostellerie du Chateau, a small hotel and restaurant tucked into a fifteenth century castle in the picturesque working class-village of Le Bar sur Loup.
Insider Tip: Don’t go to L’Hostellerie du Chateau if you are “volume challenged”. I’ve never eaten in a quieter place.
My wife and I arrived at seven on a breezy spring evening and were warmly greeted and shown to our table by an attractive woman I could only assume was the proprietess (I didn’t want to ask, someone might actually have heard me).
We started with champagne aperitifs followed by a delicious amuse-bouche of roasted breast of hen medallions on dollops of sweet potato puree with fresh parsley garnish. That got me so jazzed up I briefly considered speaking in an elevated whisper.
A succulent entree of terrine of foie gras with narrow strips of bitter orange wine jelly followed.
Le plat principal? Tender cut filet mignon on a bed of caramalized onions with a thin layer of seared foie gras.
Too much foie gras? Never my friends, never.
Dessert was some sort of chocolate cake covered in chocolate with a chocolate center that had chocolate inside placed on a bed of chocolate with chocolate squirted all around it.
I have to tell you, it was so good that given a choice between the chocolate cake at L’Hostellerie du Chateau and a twenty two year old Brigitte Bardot dipped in butter? Well look, I’m no idiot, of course I’m going to choose a twenty two year old Brigitte Bardot dipped in butter, but my point is the dessert was outstanding.
And the service? Just the way I like it, efficient and pleasant without being overbearing.
So if you’re in the area, do yourself a favor and stop by L’Hostellerie du Chateau.
You can thank me later.
L’Hostellerie du Chateau
6-8 Place Francis Paulet
Le Bar sur Loup, France
06620
Tel: +33 (0) 4 93 42 41 10
Rooms from 140EU
lhostellerieduchateau.com
Very good column, Dirk! I’ve stayed and dined there 3 or 4 times in the past three years, but not since new management took over.
It was very good then! Sounds even greater now! Hard to believe, but I can’t wait to go back; thanks for info. Keep reportin’ . walt m.