France Day 5 - A day of discovery & mystery meat

On this morning's jog, RRR & I discovered something wonderful... a bread delivery truck! A woman drives around the neighborhood where we were staying delivering fresh bread the way you would deliver a newspaper - the French certainly know how to live!

Anyway, after chowing down on some more rhubarb lemon jam, we headed south of Beaune to taste some of the wonderful white wines from this area. Our first stop was at a tasting room in Puligny-Montrachet where our Scott Storch look-a-like wine pourer told us about some good vineyards to hit in the area and then we headed to Savigny Les Beaune.

One of them was Domaine Les Guettottes where the woman who greeted us didn't speak English very well so her son, the winemaker, came out and chatted with us. We talked about his recent visit to NYC where he was treated to a Beyonce' performance (for GMA) in Times Square. "You don't understand, it's not like you'll see Beyonce' singing on the streets of Beaune"... So funny what we (me) take for granted living in New York. He recommended that we dine at La Part Des Anges that evening and was kind enough to make our reservation.

Later that day, we tasted what was probably the best overall wines in the cellar at Domaine Jean-Jacques Girard with a fun Belgium couple. He was a beer maker and neither one of them spoke English well, but you'd be suprised how well you can communicate about wine without speaking the same language. Funny thing was the more we tasted, the stronger her English became and so did our command of French language!

After more exploring and tasting we would up picnicking in Meursault and devoured our purchases from the previous day's trip to the market in Dijon. Somewhere along the way we stopped in Aloxe-Corton - after a marathon day of tasting it all becomes a blur!

I did find that as the trip progressed, I continued to gravitate to the wines of Savigny Les Beaune - there is just something about the scent, body and flavor of these wines that my palate just can't get enough of!

That evening, we received a warm welcome from the staff when we arrived at the La Part Des Anges. Apparently, they sell Jean-Baptiste's wines and I am sure we are not the first group he's sent there. After the couple sitting next to us helped us navigate the menu and our server gushed about how the chef cooks everything to perfection (and just happened to be her boyfriend) while answering our many questions, I chose the following menu which were that evening's specials so I do not have a French translation:

Duck with a faint raspberry sauce - the duck was tender and actually superior to the duck I had a Chez Catherine at the beginning of our journey. My inital thought was that the raspberry sauce would make this dish too sweet, however, it was light and minimal so it did not interfere with the meat but added some depth to the dish.

The duck was accompanied by braised apples wrapped in bacon which was a delicious combo of sweet and savory along with a braised "mystery" meat. I enlisted Mitch & RRR to help figure out what it was (SheGal wanted no part of it) and through the process of elimination decided it was some type of organ, especially since our waitress pointed to her midsection when we asked her what it was. Not much taste here but it was braised for a long time so whatever it was it was tender.

Trout - This fish looked like salmon and RRR was sympathic since she knows I am not a salmon fan, but it was trout or at least something similar with a bit more density to the fish. This came with mushrooms and pea pods with a butter & cream sauce. God, why does everything taste fantastic with butter & cream?

For dessert, we collectively decided on a cheese course and the chocolate "cigar" with sorbet. We also picked a fruit terrine-type desert and we were all a bit disappointed in that dessert.

But you can never go wrong with cheese, especially in this country, and the chocolate cigar was a light crispy flaky crust on the outside with a souffle-like chocolate sauce on the inside. What a way to end the meal!

One more note: I woke up the next morning with the realization that I ate duck gizzards!