Last week me and my family took hit the Alps for a week of skiing, there was a fresh dumping of snow, the air was crisp, and the sky was blue, it was a fantastic week. We enjoyed copious amounts of food and wine, which is what we do best, and I will be writing all about it shortly. This post however is about the drive home, and the amazing restaurant we stumbled across.
Driving to the Alps is admittedly not my favourite thing to do, on the way there I am simply too excited to get on the slopes, and on the way back I am too anxious to get back to my comfy bed, and have cuddles with my doggies. Our lunch stop however did indeed make the journey far more bearable and remind me why I love france their food - the last french supper as it were.
After six hours in the car, cramped legs and rumbling stomaches we pulled off the A1 and drove into the to Saint Denis, and saw a restaurant that was open - one happy family!! Based on the appearance of the town we were not expecting anything too fancy, however to our surprise the place was charming, the tables were simply laid with white table cloths and large wine glasses (which I filled immediately with a large crisp glass of there house Chablis which was just what I needed). The place smelt delicious, which really got our tummies excited.
The waiter brought us a lovely plate of nibbles while we looked at our menus, all of which were exceptionally tasty my favourite were the cheese twists, which I must attempt to make myself.
Next out was an amuse bouche - petit pois with fromage frais (pea and cream cheese). More English restaurants should do this in my opinion.
We decided against starters as we still had a lot of driving to do and skipped straight to the mains.
I had the 'Médaillons de Lotte en risotto aux Morilles' - translation, mushroom risotto with monkfish, and it was divine, just what I needed, delicate but filling and definitely hit the spot.
I did however manage to make enough room to pinch a few mouthfuls of my sisters 'Filet de Boeuf cuit selon votre Goût et son beignet de foie gras' and all you need translating from that is - amazing melt in your mouth fillet steak... yum yum!
These little bits of goodness were such a lovely touch, a frozen pallet cleanser of grapefruit and melon, which you then dipped in sugar.
and for the deserts...
Crème au Caramel et Brochette de Banane Flambèe (Flambeed in Rum... nom nom)
Tarte Soufflée au chocolat moelleux, glace vanille - melting chocolate magic in the mouth... I can still taste it now!!
Comme un Paris Brest glace a la noisette, et chocolat chaud - a large profiterole with a twist, the hazelnut ice cream for the centre was delicious.
Fondant de pommes au caramel d'orange Crème cannelle... I didn't actually get to try any of this as my mother had gobbled it up, but it was apparently delicious.
and because we hadn't eaten enough... a tray of homemade goodies (I may have taken some for the road).
If your planning a drive through France, I would recommend Le Moulin Brûlé as a refuelling spot, it is also a B&B incase you eat too much and need to slip into a food coma...
