Eating & Drinking Well in Burgundy

Eating & Drinking Well in Burgundy

In a land where glorious wines define both lifestyle and cuisine, you'll find savory, soul-warming dishes, from garlicky escargots to coq au vin rouge, both of which pair beautifully with the local vintages.

While Burgundy's glittering wine trade imparts a sophisticated image to the region, Burgundy itself is basically prosperous farm country. Traditional cuisine here reflects the area's farm-centric soul, with lots of slow-cooked, wine-laced dishes. Distinctive farm-produced cheeses, such as the magnificent, odiferous Époisses, and the mild Cîteaux, made by Trappist monks, cap meals with rustic flourish. During a day of wine-tasting in the Côte d'Or, dine at a traditional bistro to savor the Jambon Persillé, chunks of ham enrobed in a parslied aspic jelly, or a rich boeuf bourguignon. In the summer, be sure to spend a morning at one of the region's bountiful weekend markets—Saulieu on Saturday, perhaps. Afterward, enjoy a Charolais steak à la moutarde at a local café and raise a glass to the good life.

Some Like It Hot

There is no place in the world more famous for its mustards than Dijon. Produced from stone-ground dried black or brown mustard seeds macerated in vinegar or verjus, the juice of unripe white grapes, Dijon mustards accompany the region's savory beef dishes, bind vinaigrettes, and heat up local specialties like lapin à la moutarde, rabbit in a mustard sauce. There's mild, coarse-grain mustard called à l'ancienne, or old-fashioned style, and the classic, creamy mustard—much hotter—for which the seeds are ground into a smooth paste. Be sure to visit Dijon's famed Maille mustard emporium, founded in 1747, at 32 rue de la Liberté.

Escargots

Burgundy's plump snails, which grow wild in the vineyards, star on menus throughout the region. The signature preparation is à la Bourguignonne—simmered in white wine, stuffed with a garlicky parsley-shallot butter and baked until bubbling. The delicacy is served in portions of six or eight on ceramic escargot dishes called escargotières, accompanied by tongs and a little fork. Those immune to the true snail's charms may succumb to the luscious imposters made of solid chocolate and available at local candy shops and pâtisseries.

Époisses Cheese

The greatest of Burgundian cheeses, the rich, earthy, cow's-milk Époisses is not for the faint of heart. This assertive—yes, even odorous— cheese with the russet-hued rind develops its character from a daily scrubbing with marc-de-Bourgogne brandy as it ripens, a process that inhibits mold but encourages the growth of a particular bacteria necessary for the development of its creamy interior and distinctive flavor. Go to the modest village of Époisses and buy your cheese from top producer Robert Berthaut. Caveat: Transport in a tightly sealed container.

Boeuf à la Bourguignonne

Burgundy is the birthplace of this beloved beef stew, aka boeuf bourguignon, and no place on earth makes it better. One-to- two bottles of hearty red wine cooked down in the sauce is one secret to its success; the other is the region's prime Charolais beef. The beef is braised with wine, onions, bacon and mushrooms, turning tender as the sauce reduces and intensifies. Other wine-soaked specialties here include coq au vin and oeufs en meurette—eggs poached in red wine.

Kir Apéritif

This rosy and refreshing apéritif, combining an inexpensive white wine called aligoté with a dose of crème de cassis blackcurrant liqueur, was dubbed a "Kir" during World War II when the Resistance hero and mayor of Dijon, Canon Félix Kir, began promoting the drink to boost local sales of cassis liqueur. Traditionally made, the Kir has four to five parts dry white wine to one part crème de cassis. In the Kir's aristocratic cousin, the Kir Royale, Champagne replaces the wine.