ekscrunchy

I read with interest Carlux' high recommendation of Bistro de L'Octroi in Sarlat. We will certainly have dinner there one night during our stay. With the help Carlux, and anyone else familiar with the region, I would like to put together a list of places to try in mid-October. We might consider L'Esplanade; I have read a bit about that restaurant. We are looking primarily for restaurants that serve cuisine of terroir, regional food; we are less interested in formal dining a la La Centenaire. For our first night we would like a recommendation either in Domme or an easy drive away since that will have been a long travel day for the six people in our group. Anything in Domme, or Cenac? On my first visit to the area a few years ago we had a great lunch at the walnut oil mill near Martel. Any similar ferme-auberges that might tempt for lunch? Finally, what places are musts: La Meynardie? La Recreation (combined with sightseeing in the Lot?) Last time we dined at Presidial in Sarlat but this time, Bistro L'Octroi sounds more tempting......we will be in Domme for a week so have lots of time and much interest in seeking out great food...

Many many thanks...

leuk

We had a great meal at Hotel Bonnett in Beynac.

ekscrunchy

Thank you. We have 7 lunches and 7 dinners so looking for further information and reviews, particularly for our first night, in or within an easy drive of Domme.

ekscrunchy

anyone??

Carlux

You may already know that we love Le Vieux Logis in Tremolat
Phone: 33 5 53 22 80 06
www.vieux-logis.com

Excellent lunch menu- inventive cuisine in a wonderful setting, at a reasonable price
From my review on Slow Travel:
For those of you looking for remarkable French food in a wonderful setting, at a reasonable price, I recommend the Vieux Logis in Trémolat in the Dordogne (east of Bergerac, between Limeuil and Lalinde). It’s a Relais et Chateaux an hour away from where we live just east of Sarlat, but still worth the drive. A Michelin one star restaurant that does what they call a ‘tapas’ menu at lunch on weekdays only – in 2006 for 32 euros, tax and tip included. (Note that the dinner menu is completely different, and more expensive. It is the weekday lunch menu that I am describing)

The restaurant itself is lovely – done with taste and charm, in a restored tobacco barn, with a gallery around the sides. Beautiful fabrics line the walls, where there are also little alcoves for more intimate groups. In the summer you can eat outside in their attractive garden, with stream, topiary, manicured lawns, and the weathered roof of an adjacent 18th century barn

The menu changes every day and is a surprise – they bring you many small courses, and explain each as it comes. Part of the enjoyment is the excitement of trying different things.

If you have an allergy or pet food hate, they usually provide options. We have gone with a friend who is allergic to onions, and sent another friend who is celiac, and neither have had any difficulty.

We have been a number of times, and this week on a lovely sunny day enjoyed:

Boudin noir (black pudding) pastry sticks, fougasse – olive oil bread, with olive oil for dipping. melon ball with cured ham

green tomato gazpacho, coeur de boeuf tomato carpaccio, with basil mi-cuit green tomato

courgette cream with la vache qui rit (cheese)mousse

granitée de foie gras, foie gras crème brulé

young cod with Mediterranean beans

volaille stuffed with cepes, creamed potato, fondant potato and delicate girolles (mushrooms)

Chevre with lemon gelatine and crispy micro croutons

cream of mascarpone with fruit de bois and fruit sorbet, chocolate mousse cake with praline, grapefruit mousse topped with vanilla cream ,dice-decorated brownies meringue with fraises des bois

All tiny portions, and so we came away happy and comfortable.

We accompanied our meal with a Bergerac sec blanc. They offer a full wine list, but also a selection of red, wine, and rosé at reasonable price and good quality, chosen to go with the menu – which the restaurant knows in advance, but the customers don’t.

Sorry, no photos of this lovely meal. Beautiful as it was I can’t bring myself to take photos in restaurants.

Their other restaurant, Bistro d'En Face always gets good reviews, but we can never resist Le Vieux Logis at lunch.

One more thing - at La Recre, make sure to check out the church with Zadkine carving. But phone to make sure they are open. Often off season they are not open during the week.

ekscrunchy

Carlux, thanks very much. I did read your review on Le Vieux Logis and am hoping to have lunch there on a Tuesday after the Le Bugue market. Do you have a suggestion for our first night that would be close to, or in, Domme? We look forward to visiting your part of the world soon.

La_Tour_de_Cause

Our favorite restaurant in the entire Sarlat area right now is in Domme. It's
Cabanoix et Chataigne, run by a charming young couple who previously had a restaurant in Paris specializing in the cuisine of southwest France.
We like this restaurant because it does not have a typical "touristique" menu. The do serve a magret de canard with a raspberry vinegar reduction glaze, but no duck confit on the menu.
It's friendly and unpretentious yet stylish and fun, reasonably priced, a full and varied menu, dishes are well-seasoned and artfully presented, service is excellent and friendly. The entire dining room is NON-SMOKING!
They can serve you foie gras prepared six ways (or you can just try it one or two ways).
It's casual, and not truly "gastronomique" like some others aspire to be, but it's always just delightful.
Address: 3 rue Geoffroy de Vivans, closed Tues & Wed beginning Oct. 1.
I send all my guests there, and have never had a single one complain!

wren

We had a wonderful lunch at La Belle Etoile and we will return this next summer. The food and view were divine!!!

ekscrunchy

LaTour..that is most helpful, thank you. I am curious about one point: You say that they serve magret but not duck confit. I would have thought that the confit was more of a regional dish and that the magret with raspberry glaze would be more of a gastronimique dish. I know this is a small point but I am always eager to learn more about any aspect of regional food!
Many thanks for this tip; we will be in Domme for a week and will be sure to seek out Cabanoix et Chataigne. And my friends will be glad to have a non-smoking venue, although I will have to light up outside!

La_Tour_de_Cause

Ekscrunchy: The reason they don't serve confit, I think, is because nearly everyone else does. I should probably go ahead and classify them as gastronomique, because, in fact, their menu is highly creative and very professionally put together. But their place is just so totally unpretentious, it's hard for me to classify them with the more formal, subdued and elegant Belle Étoile/Bistro L'Octroi/Le Presidial style of place.
Have fun! Bring an umbrella.

StuDudley

I'm pretty sure I sent you my Dordogne itinerary, but in case I have not - here is part of the restaurant section of the itinerary.

L’Espanade in Domme 05 53 28 31 41
This is a Michelin 1 star restaurant. (lost star in ’02)
We had a great table by a window overlooking the Dordogne. Though a 1 star restaurant, the service was most pleasant We had a great dinner, Daddy & I each had the “turban of eggplant caviar”. The turban was a slice of marinated eggplant wrapped around caviar. This was followed by lotte (monkfish) en casserole. Daddy started with lobster bisque, then followed with filleted sole with cepes. Stu had the menu a 380FF. He started with a pan seared foie gras, then lobster ragout with a potato millefeuille. Then, he had lamb with truffle slices with a vegetable flan and a “package” of other vegetables. We had a cheese course & selections from the dessert chariot. The dessert chariot was the restaurant serving piece equivalent of an architecture “folly”. The chariot incorporated all sorts of swiveling trays, shelves, and lids – accommodating all the gateaux (with a heavy leaning toward chocolate), the bowls of fruit based sweets, and a number of sauce boats with the “de rigeur” selection of sauces appropriate to each dessert selection. Chocolate mint cake landed on Stu’s & my plate, & daddy went for the Black Forest cake.

Sept ‘05
We did not dine at l’Esplanade when we visited the Dordogne in ’03. We had heard a few rumblings that it had slipped a bit. We returned in ’05, and thought it was as good (if not better) than ever.

We had an attractive plate of Amuse Bouche items – a small cup of vichyssoise, saumon marine on toast, prosciutto wrapped around melon, a slice of pate en croute. Stu had the menu a 50E. Cepes presse (terrine) in pastry topped with several large meaty sautéed fresh cepes with a light veal stock sauce. Then he had a demi-pigeon roti (a point) served with an exquisite deep, dark colored game sauce. It was accompanied by strips of roasted carrots & parsnips & a cube of crisp polenta speared with a cherry tomato. I had the menu a 42E. Thin “sheets”/slices of Sandre marine, served with marinated vegetables layered with crispy light pastry. Then I had Pintade stuffed with herbs under the skin – cooked to perfection – velvety, buttery texture with a light butter game sauce. We both had dessert selections from the dessert chariot - and what an awesome set of choices!! Pineapple tart/orange tart, cups of berries, fruit napoleons – but Stu had the chocolate/caramel “dome” with crème anglaise, and I had the chocolate ganache (maximum, strength chocolate) with red berry coulis.

Jardin d’Epicure - outside of St Cyprien, on the north side of D703 before the turnoff to St Cyprien & Castels. 05 53 30 40 95

Since the evening was somewhat warm, we opted to sit on the terrace for dinner at Jardin d’Epicure outside of St Cyprien. The dinner started with 3 pastry type amuse bouches, & one (probably gesiers) en brochette. This was followed by small cup of chilled cantaloupe puree. I had the menu a 170FF, starting with smoked salmon in a chive crème fraiche sauce, followed by daurade with tomato basil fondant. I had a cheese course (and, as always the case one helping of house made fromage fraiche). All followed by a chocolate mousse cake. Stu had the menu a 295FF (toujours le gourmand!). He started with a salad with vegetables and pan seared foie gras, with a sour type dressing, then bar (fish) with awesome (I tasted) eggplant caviar, then “lasagna” of riz de veau (sweetbreads) which was only a lasagna in that 2 feather light sheets of pasta were placed above & below the sauced entrée. His cheese course was truffled goat cheese with walnut oil and dessert was a chocolate gateau with an almost liquid center served with strawberry compote & candied orange rind. The owner/chef/waiter came out several times to chat & genuinely seemed to enjoy our praise (which was well earned). He said he had been up since 4AM, personally buying the restaurant food and, since his wife was home with their new month-old baby, he was doing many jobs at the restaurant. He was looking forward to tomorrow when the restaurant would be closed so he could get some sleep.

We ate here a second time. This time we ate inside and, as before, had a great dinner. Daddy & I each had the menu a 170FF. We both started with foie gras mi-cuit with rhubarb compote. I then had daurade (as did Daddy) with tomato coulis followed by a cheese course & sumptuous chocolate dessert. Stu had the menu a 260FF, starting with escargots with onion, fava beans, & rosemary cream. He then had sole with cepes, followed by lamb medallions with olives & basil. The cheese course was a cabecou cheese with truffle slices, and dessert was an orange crème brulee.

Sept ’03
Stu had the Menu a 62E (big splurge) & I had the menu a 38E. The restaurant was just as we remembered it – the owners (now) 3 year old daughter was socializing with the dining room. We remembered in 2000 how exhausted the chef was – trying to perform all roles while his (new mother) wife was home with their newborn. We both started with an amuse bouche tomato sorbet with basil & a very dense, creamy froth on the top. We also had a small plate of savories including gesiers, smoked salmon, halved cherry tomatoes with a small mozerella ball on top served with a tooth pick. Stu’s first course was a “declinization” of 3 foie gras: mi cuit, poele, and a crème brulee style served with a fig quenelle & a small green salad. This was followed by a riz de veau ravioli with a creamy morrell sauce. Then Stu had bar (a fish) with polenta & a creamy veal stock sauce with black truffles. After the fish course, he had pigeon with preserved garlic & a basil spice sauce. Stu’s cheese course was slices of chevre with summer truffles with oil & fleur de sel, accompanied by toasts. His dessert was a grand Marnier soufflé (it rose about 4” above its ramekin) served with a timbale-sized glass of grand Marnier which he drizzled over it. I started with foie gras poele accompanied by a small pear tatin & served with an apple juice reduction. I then had the rouget with tomato & basil pesto. I had the selections from the cheese chariot, followed by a “minestrone” of red fruits. We remembered that on our previous trip, this was perhaps our favorite restaurant. If anything, it is better now.

Sept ’05
We started with aperitifs: a kir for me and a “house” specialty for Stu consisting of Champagne & fruit liqueur. Our amuse Bouche was a cold green vichyssoise sprinkled with chives & served in wonderful squarish glasses. Stu had the menu a 46E. Foie Gras served with figs (compote) and grapes. He then had Daurade royal with “mashed potatoes” – mixed with olive oil – very rich and tapenade and ratatouille. He then had Magret d’Oie served with a red wine reduction with grilled tomatoes. His cheese course was a warm cheese en tart with salad dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette, followed by a chocolate quenelle with chocolate wafers/croustillant and caramel ice cream. I had the menu a 38E. Salmon marine served on little pancakes (blini) with strips of horseradish & beet puree. My main course was a filet de Maigre, served over a bed of Mediterranean flavored risotto. I had the same cheese course as Stu. Forgot to document my dessert.
We were both somewhat disappointed with the Jardin d’Epicure. This was our anniversary dinner, and the creativity of the menu selections was not as remarkable as on past visits. The Vichyssoise was somewhat tasteless, and the cheese course was nothing special at all. I’ll leave it in the “top 6” for now.

La Plume d’Oie in Roque Gageac 05 53 29 57 05

This restaurant is right on the road bordering the Dordogne. We both started with the house aperitif (couldn’t quite put our finger on the contents, but it may have had some peach liqueur). I had the menu a 195 FF, starting with what was called a “bisque”, but actually was 2 lobster ravioli (perfect pasta with melt in your mouth stuffing), with a fabulous lobster sauce. Then I had the “declinaition” of fish. Although I had my dictionary, I could not find this word defined in a food context (the related verb was “to reject”), but decided for “go for it” anyway & it was a good decision. It was 3 different fish fillets beautifully sautéed & sauced. No cheese course for me, but the desert was incredible chocolate mania !!! – a small cup of coffee with ice cream & chocolate drops which were partially melted, with a round of what was basically chocolate truffle filling topped with hard chocolate and (yes there was more !) a ball of chocolate sorbet. I figured that with the coffee & chocolate, the caffeine would keep me going for a week. Stu had the menu a 295FF starting with the foie gras in aspic – but unfortunately, we forgot to write down his remaining courses.

Sept ’03
We were the first people there; we remembered the hostess/co-owner from our prior visit: quite a character. Stu debated between the 24 and 35E menus, ultimately deciding on the 24E menu with langoustines & scallops as an a la carte addition. We had two wonderful Amuse Bouche courses: pastry cups filled with buttery sautéed cepes and a thin, fried crispy “tortilla” square topped with fromage blanc and then topped with a walnut. THEN, we had a small cup of cold potato vichyssoise soup garnished with chopped chives! Stu then had 3 langoustines and 3 scallops in a buttery saffron sauce, while I had a langoustine ravioli with a buttery crustacean sauce – so rich a sauce spoon was provided. We both had the cannette next (it was served on this menu for two only). This included the breast in a red wine reduction and a confit of the leg in a pilaf with vegetables. There was also a tian/quenelle made with a grain (described as ble, wheat on the menu). For dessert, Stu had an assortment of three chocolate decadences. I had a creation with meringue wafers alternating with layers of peach fondant, all with a peach coulis.

Sept ’05
The hostess was just as we remembered her from prior visits – quite a character. We discussed various topics of interest before and after the meal. We found out that she and her husband (the chef) had owned the restaurant for 25 years. We started with a plate of savories - pickled salmon on a toasted pastry, a luscious little tartlet filled with wild mushrooms, and a crème de foie gras on toast. We then had an amuse bouche of cream of leek soup with chives. We both had the 45E menu. Stu started with a presse (terrine) of chicken and foie gras, confit de pruneau, and a small side of frisee. His main course was grilled rascasse with saffron butter sauce, with broccoli & creamed root vegetables, garnished with chives. Cheese selections from the chariot. For dessert he had “all around chocolate” – chocolate sorbet, raspberry sorbet (granted – not chocolate, but a nice contrast), chocolate truffle in a small cup with a walnut half, a layered bittersweet chocolate hard “wafer” alternating with chocolate & caramel mousse. My choices were langoustine raviolis with crustacean sauce & julienned leeks & green onions. Breast of cannette with a vinegar reduction sauce & cubes of crispy-on-the-outside-&-creamy-on-the-inside potatoes (or perhaps polenta). Selections from the cheese cart, and then the same chocolate dessert as Stu.

Le Presidial in Sarlat 05 53 28 92 47
Sept ‘05
We had reserved for dinner at the Presidial in Sarlat, but went to town early for a beer/wine before dinner. The evening was very warm and the townspeople/tourists who remained at 7PM were strolling without great purpose through the streets of town. We stopped at a café on the main square. Sarlat was simply magical at that time of evening. As we looked around the square and down the adjacent streets, it was rather awesome to think that the town is essentially as it was hundreds of years ago: stone buildings, some with half-timbering, some times awkwardly placed, one adjacent to another; imposing “public type” buildings next to smaller ones with their inconsistent, wildly sloping rooflines often set off by slate tiles glimmering in the last day sun rays. If straw were spread in the streets and the people changed into medieval garb, I hazard to say that you’d swear you had been catapulted several hundred years back in time.
Our dinner spot was absolutely captivating! I’m just speculating, but it seemed to have been a very upscale home at one time, made of golden stone with a black/charcoal slate roof with a small round corner tower and a dome/minaret shaped belvedere-type ornament perched in the middle of the roof. Since the evening was very warm & still, the dining was set up in the beautiful garden/courtyard. All this essentially in the middle of the center of Sarlat! I can’t imagine a more enchanting setting – I was truly in heaven. We had an amuse bouche plate of treats: smoked salmon slices with caviar on toast, puff npastry savories & cooked quail eggs with a creamy sauce.
Stu had the menu a 40E
-A coquille St Jacques salad – greens topped with several horizontally-sliced (but still joined) seard scallops, dressed with a lobster vinaigrette and topped with a small slice of foie gras poele, accompanied by tomato slices.
-Pigeoneau stuffed with cepes with a Perigord sauce, with pommes dauphinoise, & grilled eggplant.
-Cabecou on a bed of greens
-Tart tatin

I had the menu of 26E (still can’t believe the prices)
-Saumon marine: a boule of diced salmon “wrapped” in a thin salmon slice, served with a vinaigrette & herbs & capers
-Fillet of Daurade in a buttery fish stock sauce
-Cabecou
-Nougat Glacee, this time accompanied by a red berry sorbet.

It was still very warm as we strolled back to the car – such a wonderful evening

We dined here again with friends. This time we dined inside and the décor/ambience was lovely. It was just as enjoyable as dining outside.

La Meynardie near Salignac-Eyvigues 05 53 28 85 98
Sept ‘05
This restaurant is in a farmhouse way out in the country, down a small road, in a forest. The restaurant is definitely off the beaten path, although there are signs all along the way to make sure you don’t get lost and/or simply give up on ever finding it because it’s in such an unlikely location. We took winding roads taking us through small, fairly non-descript, but typical French towns and continued farther and farther into the countryside. Then voila, there is was, isolated in a fairly wooded setting. We really felt like we’d done the ‘over the meadow and through the woods’ in getting there. The setting couldn’t be more “idealistic” for someone seeking a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The “farmhouse” consisted of several buildings – one being the restaurant and outdoor dining terrace. The restaurant had a lovely traditional interior, but, as it continues to be very warm, dinner was served outside. It was a very pleasant setting – a dense arbor of grapevines sheltering a patio surrounded by bright geraniums & a tidy gravel courtyard with wonderful old stone outbuildings.
We started with a plate of quail eggs & diced tomatoes, black sausage, & foie gras on toast. The Amuse Bouche was a cold green vegetable soup. We speculated that spinach was among the greens in the soup.
Stu had the menu a 50E
-Risotto au ecrevisse, topped with a truffle slice. Three large ecrevisse were tented on top of the risotto –they had been shelled already (tho served with the shells in place), so no hand-to-hand combat (or a bib) was required to enjoy the course
-Lotte served with nettle butter, topped with a sauteed wild (meaty) mushroom and diced tomatoes, also with a slice of truffle.
-Pigeoneau served with a mushroom duxelle & potato gallette
-An assortment of 3 local cheeses with perfectly dressed greens with a “sweet” walnut vinaigrette
-Symphonie of Desserts – an amazing course with an equally amazing presentation – 7 individual items in all – on a large white square plate were:
-a soufflé Grand Marnier – a hollowed egg shell in an egg cup
-crème brulee – in a very small crème brulee cup
-Ille Flotante in a wonderfully shaped small glass
-Sorbet with a croustillant perched on top.
-Fruit “cocktail” with liqueur in another imaginatively shaped glass
-Chocolate fondant praline
-a chewy brownie-type square

I had the 31E menu, which was equally remarkable
-Foie Gras de canard prepared 2 ways
-Served layered with artichoke heart. I had presumed the foie would simply be set atop a heart, Nooo – far more sophisticated - it was if the choke heart had been pressed onto a small mold, then layered with a sweet apple slice, the layered with the luscious foie gras
-the second foie gras was served more classic “en terrine” – delicious – but here too the presentation was art: on a large frosted rectangular plate there was a grilled halved cherry tomato on a dollop of orange marmalade, apple slices with fig compote, the “en gelee’ wrapped in a slice of smoked magret, coarsely ground walnuts, a slice of truffle, fleur de sel, and walnut bread toasts
-Magret de Canard stuffed with cepes en croute. This was totally different from any magret I’ve ever had, in that it was not sliced thinly for serving, but was rather a half-breast with the mushroom duxelle in the center & then all wrapped in pastry. It was served with heavenly potatoes dauphinois, sautéed chanterelle mushrooms, and a deep reduction sauce!!!
-Astonishingly, I actually decided to decline the cabecou/salad cheese course
-Two slices of perhaps the best Nougat Glacee I’ve ever had – with crunchy, sugary bits of walnut contrasting with the smooth rice ice cream.

We dined here a second time with four internet friends

Le Velo Rouge in Le Bugue
Sept ’05
This evening we reserved at Le Velo Rouge (yes, red bicycle – they even had one just inside the front door). This restaurant was recommended by St Cirq on the Fodor’s travel board (she has a home very close to le Bugue). This is apparently a newer restaurant and the décor was very imaginative & plesent (very comfy wicker armchairs at the tables) tho in a style different (& a bit more contemporary) than what I call “traditional country French”. We weren’t that jazzed by the choices on the 36E fixed price menu, nor the items that could be substituted for a “supplement”. But there were a number of very enticing choices on the a la carte menu. At 15E for the first course, and 23E for the main a la Carte courses, it even made sense price-wise to order a la carte. Plus, it had an added “benefit” (depending on your point of view!) of bypassing dessert and cheese (both of which we’ve been regularly indulging in). Our Amuse Bouche “course” was a square bowl of pea soup with mint.
My choices were:
-Millefeulle St Jacques (scallops) – this was an absolutely awesome item. The plump sauteed scallops were between two layers of pastry, drizzled on top with a dark rich sauce – in such a way that it actually looked like a classic “Napoleon” dessert dish. It was accompanied with a rich wild mushroom fricassee, on a bed of lobster-based butter sauce
-St Pierre (fish – our favorite) served with sautéed diced vegetables & fava beans, topped with a piece of sautéed foie gras
Stu’s choices were:
-Boneless whole quail en croute, with foie gras layered under the crust, served with game sauce
-Turbot with morel mushrooms crème sauce served on a thin bed of sweet potatoes
We broke down and had a nougat glace dessert (with 2 spoons)

We dined here a second time with friends

Stu Dudley

ekscrunchy

Stu, yes I do have your notes but many thanks for taking the time to post them here.

And thanks to you, La Tour, for the clarification. This sounds like the type of place we are looking for. Although the more formal places are tempting, sometimes my favorite meals are in less fussy places.
Now..I would guess that I should reserve at C&C, no? Is there by any chance an e-mail address? This sounds as if it would be good for our first night in Domme. I do love confit duck, however, so I will be seeking out that dish on other nights! Thanks again.

ekscrunchy

...found their e-mail..no need to post it!

StuDudley

>>Although the more formal places are tempting, sometimes my favorite meals are in less fussy places<<

We've never encountered any "fussy" places in the Dordogne


Stu Dudley

ekscrunchy

Perhaps "fussy" is a poor choice of word. I meant formal, as in the style of Le Centenaire. ( Had lunch there a few years ago) Not sure if L"Espalande is this way or not......

ekscrunchy

LaTour..we now have reservations the first night at Cabenoix et Chataigne in Domme. Thank you for the information and thanks to everyone else who also provided help. (We also reserved lunch at Le Vieux Logis in Tremolat.)

hausfrau

Not to hijack ekscrunchy's thread, but this is all very timely info because we will also be in the Dordogne (based in Domme) for 4 days at the very end of October. I am finally getting serious about putting a list of restaurants together. We will not have our daily itinerary planned in advance so I am just wondering, would it be risky not to have reservations if we want to try places like Bistro de l'Octroi, Le Vieux Logis, and Cabanoix et Chataigne?

ekscrunchy

Haufrau you are not hijacking! Please continue to post your questions here and we can share the info. Have a great trip!

ekscrunchy

sorry, HAUS frau..rushing too much to get ready!

hausfrau

Thanks ekscrunchy, I guess I'll top this since no one has responded yet. I hope you have a great trip too!

I'm still wondering whether I should make advance reservations. We're going to be there Wednesday-Saturday nights.

We will be staying at L'Esplanade so we'll naturally eat there one night, but I think we'll try C&C as well - it's always nice to have dinner in the town where you're staying so you don't have to drive home in the dark!

My 2005 Fodor's says that Le Vieux Logis is not open for lunch on weekdays from September-June, but Carlux specifically refers to the weekday lunch menu. I don't see hours/days on their website. Can anyone clarify whether they're open for lunch in October? If not, would you recommend it for dinner? I see they have a monthly "Tapas Gourmand" night - has anyone tried that?

The other places on my list are Bistro de l'Octroi, La Plume d'Oie, and La Belle Etoile. Sound good?