Well, not much is open. At least not until after the 15th or 21st. All the bakeries in the neighborhood are closed. As well as the butcher shops, magazine shops, and even some cafés.
However, my favorite salon de thé/café, La Maison Renaise, is open. All summer long. Which is so nice. And the owner, Laurent, a most charming man, even makes iced coffee drinks.
And, my good luck doesn't stop there. Remember Ze World? That new place opening up that I made fun of because of that ridiculous name? (And I still stand by that.) Anyway, it opened while we were away. And today, while on our penny walk, the kids and I stopped in to have a look. And we were all very pleased with what we saw. Café and wine bar. One stop consuming for me. It's big and very chic for Laval and a 3 minute walk from my house. On the way to my favorite bakery. How cool is that?
And in case you're wondering, a penny walk is when you let the penny decide where you go. It's vacation, we amuse ourselves however we can.
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Monday, August 06, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Bad
Le Bistro de Paris, Laval, France.
It pains me to write this post. Really.
The Bistro de Paris is the only restaurant in Laval to be rated in the famous French food guides, Michelin and Gault & Millau. It's been given the equivalent of one star by each, which is a lot considering that most restaurants never make it into a gastronomy guide in the first place.
The chef is a maître saucier, a master sauce maker. Uh-huh.
I've had, in the past, excellent meals at the Bistro. But not lately. Not even in a long time.
And the last one was particularly disappointing.
The service was too fast. Seriously, the server took the champagne flute out of V's hand. And took the crostini and anchovy butter away long before I was finished with it.
The first course was good. But nothing amazing. Shrimp with garlic and julienned vegetables.
The second course was fair. Duck breast with orange and avocado slices. Should've been reliable but wasn't. The sauce, of all things, was the worst part. Tasted a bit like that turkey gravy at the Dixie Truck Stop somewhere in Illinois between Joliet and Astoria, which was appropriate, good even, on the open-faced turkey sandwich. Not so much on duck and orange and avocado.
The dessert, a sablé covered with chocolate sauce (yum) and vanilla ice cream, was good. But I've made the same at home.
The little dessert bites they brought out with coffee were beyond disappointing. A funky cherry thing that was just too strange to be good, texture-wise. And I won't even go into the macaroons or the meringues.
Sigh.
It pains me to write this post. Really.
The Bistro de Paris is the only restaurant in Laval to be rated in the famous French food guides, Michelin and Gault & Millau. It's been given the equivalent of one star by each, which is a lot considering that most restaurants never make it into a gastronomy guide in the first place.
The chef is a maître saucier, a master sauce maker. Uh-huh.
I've had, in the past, excellent meals at the Bistro. But not lately. Not even in a long time.
And the last one was particularly disappointing.
The service was too fast. Seriously, the server took the champagne flute out of V's hand. And took the crostini and anchovy butter away long before I was finished with it.
The first course was good. But nothing amazing. Shrimp with garlic and julienned vegetables.
The second course was fair. Duck breast with orange and avocado slices. Should've been reliable but wasn't. The sauce, of all things, was the worst part. Tasted a bit like that turkey gravy at the Dixie Truck Stop somewhere in Illinois between Joliet and Astoria, which was appropriate, good even, on the open-faced turkey sandwich. Not so much on duck and orange and avocado.
The dessert, a sablé covered with chocolate sauce (yum) and vanilla ice cream, was good. But I've made the same at home.
The little dessert bites they brought out with coffee were beyond disappointing. A funky cherry thing that was just too strange to be good, texture-wise. And I won't even go into the macaroons or the meringues.
Sigh.
Monday, April 09, 2007
La Maison Renaise - The Good
Today's is the first in a series of three posts, The Good, The Bad, and The Ridiculous.
So. The Good.
La Maison Renaise is my new favorite place. It's a house. Really. That now houses a perfect café. The owner, Laurent, is charming. The coffee, 5 or 6 roasts, is excellent. The pastries (flan, brownies, chocolate tart, lemon tart, crème brûlée...) are home-made. There are 25-or 30 kinds of tea. There are swanky coffee table books all over the place.
There are tables and chairs (handy) for sitting and couches and cushy chairs for lounging.
It's exactly 8 minutes from my house on foot.
When you're in the neighborhood - La Maison Renaise, 23 rue Renaise, Laval.
If I'm not at home, I'm probably there.
So. The Good.
La Maison Renaise is my new favorite place. It's a house. Really. That now houses a perfect café. The owner, Laurent, is charming. The coffee, 5 or 6 roasts, is excellent. The pastries (flan, brownies, chocolate tart, lemon tart, crème brûlée...) are home-made. There are 25-or 30 kinds of tea. There are swanky coffee table books all over the place.
There are tables and chairs (handy) for sitting and couches and cushy chairs for lounging.
It's exactly 8 minutes from my house on foot.
When you're in the neighborhood - La Maison Renaise, 23 rue Renaise, Laval.
If I'm not at home, I'm probably there.
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