Hide and Seek

 

"It really can't be this far.  After all, Annie told us this great little restaurant is only 2.4 km away from La Roche."

 

On we travelled seeing lovely things along the way.  I have this affinity to cows...

 



 

Having driven for over 40 minutes, we realized that we had taken a completely different turn and were hopelessly lost.  Well, not lost, but not where we wanted to be, either. 

 

There are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths.  ~ Mark Nepo

 

Déjeuner (lunch) is served between noon and 1:30, so if we didn't stop soon, we would be out of luck.  We stopped at Les Quatre Routes d'Albussac at the "Hôtel Restaurant Roche de Vic".  

 

This was a great find!  We were seated at the last possible moment and told they only had one "plat du jour" (special of the day) left and no more pie for dessert.  The choices were limited, but what they offered was excellent!



 

I had the cabillaud (cod) in a wonderful sauce that had a hint of berries.  It was served with rice and ratatouille.

 

Karl had the last "plat du jour" which was canard confit in a mushroom sauce served with beans, rice and zucchini wedges.

 

No pie, but what fresh raspberries and strawberries!  Frankly, that dessert was way better than a heavier one since it was another very hot day hovering around 34 or 35.

 

 

 

***

The next day was our 39th wedding anniversary and we wanted to have a great meal.  We decided to look again for this elusive little restaurant called "Restaurant Gouttenegre".  How difficult could it be to find?

Find it we did.  And what a find this restaurant turned out to be! 

It is a private home with the two front rooms converted, one to a restaurant and the other to a mini grocery store.  The restaurant part has a number of tables, but only 4 tables or groupings are used.  Anne-Marie, a woman of a certain age, seems to be the one running the show, with the chef being a woman in her 80s.  Her Mom perhaps? 

 

There are no menus.  It's like dropping in at Mémère's and eating whatever she has prepared for you.  What a feast she offered today!

We started off with  a wholesome creamy garden soup.  The tureen arrives and you help yourself to however much you want.

I enjoyed the next course which was melon balls soaking in some kind of liqueur.  It was refreshing and I was delighted that I don't seem to be allergic to melon (cantaloupe) here in France.  I am in Canada - go figure.

Then came the best, I mean absolutely the best, "rillette de porc" we have ever eaten!  It is potted pork served with crusty bread and "cornichons" (little gherkins).  Again this big bowl is brought to the table and you take a slice, however much you want, and it goes on to the next table.

 

 

The main course was a bowl of rice and a bowl of veal in a creamy herb sauce.  It was tender and delicious!  We must have eaten 3 pieces each!












Then came the cheese tray.  The "fromage Cantal" was a new one for us and we definitely will be buying some.  It is firm, not overpowering, and simply divine.



Did I mention that this restaurant is in Champagnac-La-Prune?  Perhaps because of the town's name, we were served a piece of cake with little plums nestled in the batter.  The Germans make a plum cake that is very similar in taste.

  

All this delicious food served in an interesting décor of grand-father clocks, copper pots, and a well-used fireplace.  Very cozy, very charming.

A building next to the restaurant. The upper block says M.R. 1899.  If only our house could last this long...

So glad we found this little gem of a place.  We'll be back often!

 

 

***

 

 

Anecdote of the day:  When we arrived at the Restaurant Gouttenegre, we introduced ourselves to Anne-Marie as the people who are renting Annie's home.  The hostess immediately knew who we were talking about and said our table was waiting. 

 

Was Annie far behind? she asked. 

 

We thought she had misunderstood, so we said we were alone, that Annie wasn't coming. 

 

"Annie is not coming?"  She seemed genuinely upset.

 

With a bit more conversation, we realized that Annie was expected with other guests, so we told Anne-Marie that we were not in that group but on our own.  She was relieved and sat us at the little corner table.

 

The surprise was then on Annie's face when she walked in with her guests and saw us sitting there.  It would have made a great skit on The Carol Burnett Show.

 

After lunch, we all went to Annie's place for coffee and we got a chance to visit her beautiful family home.