I think I am still in a food coma.
We didn’t do much at all yesterday, but we did finally make it in to the restaurant across the street from us in Feniers. And OMG. It was one of the best French meals I have ever eaten.
At 11:30 we parked in front of our house and went over to say goodbye to Madame Regaudie. She was sweet, as always, and it made me a little sad to leave. Then we walked next door to the restaurant and got the THREE HOUR show on the road.
We were the first people in the restaurant, and felt a little awkward, until Beatrice brought over the menu and I lit up like a Christmas tree. What a menu! To start I had the cassoulette of ris de veau– basically stewed thyroid glands and chanterelle mushrooms in a thick delicious sauce. It was heavenly and I mopped every last bit of it up with a hunk of bread. Beth had a thick tranche of foie gras mi cuit and grilled brioche with a melange of beautiful salt, candied prunes and figs. She was in love. They both went perfectly with the bottle of Correze red wine Beatrice had recommended.
For the plat I had the special, Bavette Rossini– an “a point” (almost rare) Limousin flank steak served with a slab of foie gras on top. It was so over the top and obscenely delicious. Straight up food porn for meat eaters. Beth had a duck breast with an orange sauce. We both agreed the sauce was lacking something, but it was still very good.
Next came the cheese board and we got after that. All local cheeses and all but one were excellent. I particularly liked a farmer’s cheese called St. Nectaire, a semisoft raw milk cheese that is made from local cow milk and is aged on rye straw mats. It was very different and you could almost taste the hay. Mushroomy, too. Delicious.
Next was dessert. I had a stewed peach, meringue, sherbet concoction that was a true symphony of color, flavor and texture. It was perfect. Beth had an elevated apple turnover in a salted caramel sauce that she loved but insists it was not better than the creme caramel from the other day. Wow!
A couple of espressos and we were done. Finally. And we could barely move. Absolutely stuffed. But we somehow managed to roll up to the bar to pay the bill. 75 euro, tip included, for an amazing four course lunch and a bottle of wine.
We walked out of the restaurant and as we passed by the kitchen window the chef, Yvon, shouted out a “Bonne Journee” and we thanked him for a great meal. Then he left the window and came outside to talk to us. What a nice man. AND he speaks pretty good English from his brief spell at a French restaurant in LA. That’s great news for Beth and I have to admit I’m looking forward to speaking English once in a while. French all of the time right now is tough.
Anyhow, he knew who we were and started talking about how much he liked our new house– especially the bar and the wine cave! And he encouraged us to bring back the old hotel. That made us happy.
After lunch we had no choice but to take a nap. We couldn’t move. In fact, we could barely speak, so we laid down for an hour. When we woke up Beth took a lawn chair into the sun and I went into Felletin to gas up the car and buy some groceries. While I was out I explored the lower section of the city, where the river runs through it, and I was surprised at how beautiful it was. And there were lots of kids splashing around and having a blast with their parents. That was great.
Didn’t do much the rest of the night. And neither one of us wanted to eat a thing so we played cards, watched some House of Cards and went to bed early. Another great day in La Creuse.
Today we leave for Perigueux to get some city action. And we will probably do something along the way. Not sure what that it is yet, but I’m sure it will be fun.
A demain!
Hotel Féniers 
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