Day Four, by Stephanie
After yesterday’s rain, we were greeted with fresh streets in Bordeaux. Kelly and I ran down the street to pick up fresh, buttery croissant and hot out of-the oven chocolate brioche @https://auxmerveilleux.com/en/. I couldn’t resist buying a couple of their specialty Merveilleux cakes for later.
While Kelly’s landlord came to the apartment to fix the toilet seat, Karen, Kasey and I headed downtown to experience the shopping center of town.
Kelly stayed behind to prep and setup for the video class of the French Onion Soup recipe. And THAT soup was so delish! Our Recipe Club members will be ecstatic when they learn how simple and fabulous this recipe is when they receive the it in their next mailing. It was an amazing lunch.
We reflected on the fact that we’ve been eating tremendous food in France, but nothing compares to the food Kelly creates. We’re so lucky!!
After lunch, we got our steps in while searching for a check-in bag to pack home our “extras”. It was delightful to experience espressos and the hospitality of @CafeBrasserie on Rue St Catherine.
And now for the Michelin Star restaurant experience…
One of my personal goals as a new “Foodie” came from watching @EmilyinParis. It was to experience a true French Michelin Star restaurant. Kelly planned our dinner @C’yusha, a French Michelin Star restaurant, with an exquisite continuous display of six courses. Each course was a small plate of modern French cuisine, which we enjoyed with two fantastic bottles of St Emillion Grand Cru wines. The first course was described as a scrambled egg and lobster mousse, followed by warm bread with homemade carrot infused butter. The second course was a delicate creamy truffle-cauliflower soup, with a cauliflower stuffed brioche with dollops of bright citrus sauce. (Continued after photos…)
Course three was a picturesque display of two perfectly seared scallops resting on a delicate frothy sauce accompanied with a spear of roasted endive, a pumpkin truffle, and fresh Enoki mushrooms.
I’m not a big fan of chicken, but the main entree (and fourth course), was a succulent pan-seared chicken cutlet. I only ate half of it….Kelly was surprised that chicken was the main plate rather than duck or beef but the preparation and sauce with buttery and rich mashed parsnips was delightful.
And that left two final courses! The “Avant” dessert course was two mild cheeses served with a bit of fig jam finished with a sprinkle of “fleur de sel”. The the final serving (wait for it…) DESSERT! It was a chocolate creation of a gateaux with ganache center and a chocolate crisp that had a “pop rocks” experience. Very special. And speaking of special, I highly recommend the vin rouge Chateau Laroze. Perfectly balanced with a bold flavor and smooth finish. We took down two bottles. It’s a good thing we had a long walk home!
Bordeaux is like Portland 15 years ago. It’s fairly safe with a lot of locals walking around. We’ve noted how friendly everyone we met has been and how, while we have been eating a lot of different French food, we are fortunate to be able to have this time in Bordeaux together. After all, friends are treasure and #FoodIsLove.
Stephanie