Cindywho

We are considering a stay on the grounds of this wine estate:

Domaine Chandon de Briailles

www.chandondebriailles.com


Just wondering about the nearby town of Savigny les Beaune and whether it is sufficient for a decent dinner. Also, any information about the wine estate or the immediate area would be appreciated.

Thanks!

StuDudley

We stayed just a few kilometers south of Beaune for 2 weeks about 5 years ago. You are in the heart of Burgundy - so of course there will be restaurants in the area. Dijon is our second favorite large city in France, and Beaune is in our "top 5" medium sized cities.

Here are our favorite restaurants:

Top 3 restaurants

Stephane Derbord in Dijon – one of the top 5 meals of all time in France (we dine out about 40 times per year in France)
Michelin 1 star

First round of Amuse Bouches
Bite sized squares of Croque Monsieurs
Carp mousse with black & white sesame seeds
Parmesan chip and a bite sized tomato “truffle” with a semi-liquid center
Second round of Amuse Bouches
Sushi (California roll) with cockle, with Asian spices & bean sprouts
Potato puree
Leek Mousse with green beans
55E menu
-Smoked sander – thin rolls stuffed with finely julienned vegetables served with tart greens (incl dandelion greens) topped with paper thin lengthwise sliced carrots. The plate was edged with a piping of honey mustard and crumbled hazelnuts
-Perch with a wild mushrooms and green beans served in a deep plate with a “soup de poisons” reduction sauce
-cheese chariot
-Poached , pealed pear with a red wine sauce in pain epice with sage ice cream – all very refreshing

65E menu
-Sauteed scallops, each served on a cucumber “coin” with a topping of lemon cream & caviar, with julienned apples & dandelion greens
-Sandre on a bed of spinach with a butter sauce accompanied by a small tomato stuffed with diced cepes on a squash “coin”
-Filet of Cerf, served with berries & a dark berry reduced sauce with green beans & wild mushrooms with a ‘grain” of some sort
-Cheese chariot
-pre-dessert refresher
-Chocolate fondant – top & bottom layers of dark chocolate “sandwiching” lighter chocolate mousse with dark chocolate wafers & vanilla ice cream
-Post-dessert refresher


Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin in Bouilland, just north of Beaune
Also a hotel
www.le-moulin-de-bouilland.com
Michelin 1 star

Amuse Bouches
Skewered rolled duck breast slice, with mustard dollop
Homard tartare “confit”
Arugula sorbet with whipped cream top layer & balsamic drizzle (in a glass cylinder)
39E menu
-Seared tuna with fennel sorbet and a side of pickled vegetables
-Supreme de Pintade thinly sliced in a “spiral” presentation on a bed of herbed crushed potatoes, with vegetables in a side casserole
-Excellent cheese chariot
-Seasonal fresh fruit with pepper-flecked yoghurt ice cream

65E menu
-Daurade with vegetables a la Pistou
-Rougets with a confit of fennel and a bouillabaisse reduction with macadamia nuts
-Pigeon with polenta and zucchini “packet” stuffed with caviar d’aubergine and a rich reduction sauce
-Cheese chariot
-Poached plum with amaretto cream and puff pastry triangles

-Post dessert of Marc de Bourgogne ice and assorted sweets


Charlemagne in Pernand-Vergelesses just north of Beaune
Slight Asian twist
Michelin 1 star

37E menu
Six amuse bouches which arrived on a Plexiglas “cube” with holes & shelves to present the various items
California rolls with a “crisp”, held in place by a teeny wooden clothes pin
Fish mousse on a cracker
Parmesan pastry palmier
Pickled fish filling wrapped in a won ton wrapper on a skewer
Marble sized savory (no idea what it was)
Small piece of spiced pork on a bone
Second Amuse Bouche course
Glass of creamy smoked fish puree (to drink)
A herb-crusted langoustine
-Bread presentation – 3 different breads stacked on a skewer, with a wooden base into which a recess had been routed to hold a corked vial with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which were to be shaken before pouring onto your bread plate as a dipping sauce
-Tuna ceveche served at the bottom of a glass with a smoked tomato cream, slivered green onions, and a dot of washabi cream
-Cabillaud a la vapeur with a vanilla/olive oil drizzle, layered with wild mushrooms, served with a pork bun with a crustacean filling, on a bed of cucumber-wrapped ratatouille. This was not your grandmother’s cabillaud recipe
-Strawberry/red berry gazpacho – heavenly creamy/frothy served in a slanted glass with a brochette of halved strawberries and strawberry marshmallow cubes

45E menu
Same Amuse Bouche courses
-California rolls with snails and langoustines speckled with black and white sesame seeds
-Lisettes (small mackerel) served atop a bone marrow tube filled with spinach & julienned carrots tossed in Asian spices
-Porc cotolet (cutlet/loin) served with artichoke mousse, drizzled with peanut butter with a cluster of small wild mushrooms in tempura
-Pyramid of chocolate with other sweets

Other restaurants – all were excellent
Le Jardin des Remparts in Beaune. We dined here several years ago, and it was one of our top 5 of all time then. It didn’t “wow” us as much this visit. Michelin 1 star.

La Rotisserie du Chambertin in Gevrey Chambertin. It has an upstairs Bistro, and a downstairs restaurant in a wine cave, with animated winemaking scenes as you descend into the cave. We dined downstairs.

Le Montrachet on Puilly Montrachet. It was “complet” the first few times we tried to reserve. Obviously very popular. My St Pierre was overcooked. Lovely setting.

Relais de la Diligence in Meursault. Excellent value. It was the “sleeper” of the group

Les Gourmets in Marsannay la Cote. Michelin 1 star. Very nice

One day we took an overnight trip to Troyes, and dined there. On another occasion, we met some friends at a Michelin 1 star restaurant in Macon – which is not in Burgundy. We also spent 2 weeks in Beaujolais

We “checked out’ about 10 other restaurants in Burgundy (including 1 stars) and the menus did not seem interesting enough to make us choose them over the ones we selected. There’s a lot of Charollais beef on menus in this region. I have not experienced any beef in France that’s as good as the beef we have in the US, or beef I’ve tasted in Italy (one exception may be Aubrec beef). Bresse chicken is also a very popular item on menus. I’ve tried this several times in other areas of France & thought it wasn’t really that much better than a good farm-raised chicken.

Stu Dudley

Cindywho

Stu - Wow, thank you for the recommendations! I will definitely take this information with us when we go.

Very interesting remark about the beef and one that I will remember. You have also reminded me that I have to bone up on my French menu repertoire.

We are concerned about the driving following a dinner with wine - based on what I hear on this forum. If we stayed in the town of Beaune, for example, we could walk in the evening. I believe there are few restaurants within walking distance of this location, but wanted to see if anyone was familiar with it.

Thanks!

StuDudley

We dine in restaurants for dinner about 30-40 times each year in France. We've been doing this since '99. We stay in Gites, which are almost always in the countryside - so we drive to dinner. That's over 500 trips from restaurants after dinner. We always have kirs & a bottle of wine with dinner (plus I often have an additional glass of red wine). My wife drives home (I drink about 2/3 of the wine). We have not been stopped by the police or anyone else for a "breath" test so far. However, just like in the US, the French are becoming much more serious about drinking & driving.

The French love restaurants in small villages. I "hope" the police don't go overboard to the point where people/tourists choose to only dine in the city where they are staying.

Stu Dudley

Cindywho

Stu, I appreciate you giving me that perspective - especially after 500 trips to restaurants! It is very helpful. We will be as careful as we can without going overboard on worrying. We don't get drunk, but do like to enjoy wine (especially Pinot Noir for me) along the lines that you and your wife seem to.

Thanks again.

StCirq

I have been pulled over two or three times for random breath tests - French police do not have to have a reason to suspect you might be drunk; they can pull you over on a whim, and often pull over a bunch of drivers at the same spot (my 85-year-old neighbor got pulled over once, as did I, on the same stretch of road at the same time). The legal BAC is considerably lower than here in the USA. So be very, very careful. And make sure you have the required two breatholyzers in your rental car (actually, they extended the deadline for that; I'm not absolutely certain it's law yet), and test yourself before you get behind the wheel.

Cindywho

StCirq - Ha! great idea - testing yourself before getting behind the wheel! I had not thought about that one. I have never seen a breatholyzer - they can be reused?

StCirq

You should be able to buy them for about a euro apiece at any tabac, maybe supermarket. The French passed a law some time ago that all drivers must have at least two in the car - then they extended the deadline for when drivers had to have them. I'm not sure whether that deadline has come and gone yet (it still wasn't in effect when I was there in September); nonetheless, you should be able to find them (and you can ask at the rental outfit, assuming you're renting a car - if they don't provide them to drivers, they should know where you can get them).

They are disposable.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...icle-1.1106213

tomboy

Stu, if those restaurants are as good as your l'Oustalet recommendation, they're super!!

MarySteveChicago

Not as experienced as Stu but I can vouch for Les Jardin des Remparts. The rooms were as beautiful as the food was delicious. We stayed a week in an apartment in Beaune and walked to restaurants. We also had a less formal but good meal at Ma Cuisine, a lively place with fun owners.