This is not an ironically titled posting. It's our last night in la Dordogne, and our dinner tonight at Le Clos Saint-Front in Périgueux is so extraordinary -- specifically because of the best children's menu in the history of the world -- that it deserves the title "ultimate". As usual, we failed to make reservations in advance, but we luck into a table at Le Clos, the second restaurant we try. And it makes me glad the first one turned us away.
To get there, you must first wind your way through the cobblestone medieval labyrinth of the old town, till you find this charming 16th century stone building with a magical garden. The highlights of our adult meals are my dessert -- a caramelized apple millefuille with speculos (like graham cracker) ice cream -- and the appetizers -- scallops and aspargus in a morel cream sauce for me and, for Anthony, foies gras three ways (in case you're wondering, that's 1) confit with a mango jam 2) sautéed with a mango sauce, and 3) in a warm soufflé with green apple).
But the pièce de résistence is the children's menu which is carefully crafted during a thoughtful, sincere conversation between our server and each of the girls. What they come up with is this:
For her courses, Pippa selects beef with caramelized potatoes, and one scoop of surprise ice cream -- the surprise being that it is three scoops, of cassis (black currant), salted caramel, and mint chocolate chip. She gets to help slice the meat, in a purely ceremonial way of course, when it arrives at the table. Gigi chooses canneloni stuffed with smoked seafood in a cream sauce, and lychee panna cotta with raspberry sauce. To top it off, the desserts come on huge, showy platters elaborately decorated with their names in raspberry coulis, melted chocolate geometric designs, and battery-powered, changing-color glow sticks.
The adult three course meal is 40€, which is a perfectly fair price for what it is (and, from a Paris perspective, actually seems like quite a bargain). But the kids menu is an amazing 12€. Honestly, I myself would be thrilled with the kids' menu, which comes with the same 2 amuse bouche we receive, one of which is a tomato-coconut soup with blue cheese. Pippa loves it, despite the fact that she officially does not like tomatoes, coconut, or blue cheese. Go figure. It is so filling, the girls can't even finish their meals. But desserts, naturally, get finished down to the last drop.
And finally, the ultimate photo on the ultimate night of our time in la Dordogne, and it's a picture of the ultimately bizarre house, spotted in Périgueux. It looks like the ultimate interior design nightmare: Whatever you do, don't put the furniture against the walls.
To get there, you must first wind your way through the cobblestone medieval labyrinth of the old town, till you find this charming 16th century stone building with a magical garden. The highlights of our adult meals are my dessert -- a caramelized apple millefuille with speculos (like graham cracker) ice cream -- and the appetizers -- scallops and aspargus in a morel cream sauce for me and, for Anthony, foies gras three ways (in case you're wondering, that's 1) confit with a mango jam 2) sautéed with a mango sauce, and 3) in a warm soufflé with green apple).
But the pièce de résistence is the children's menu which is carefully crafted during a thoughtful, sincere conversation between our server and each of the girls. What they come up with is this:
For her courses, Pippa selects beef with caramelized potatoes, and one scoop of surprise ice cream -- the surprise being that it is three scoops, of cassis (black currant), salted caramel, and mint chocolate chip. She gets to help slice the meat, in a purely ceremonial way of course, when it arrives at the table. Gigi chooses canneloni stuffed with smoked seafood in a cream sauce, and lychee panna cotta with raspberry sauce. To top it off, the desserts come on huge, showy platters elaborately decorated with their names in raspberry coulis, melted chocolate geometric designs, and battery-powered, changing-color glow sticks.
The adult three course meal is 40€, which is a perfectly fair price for what it is (and, from a Paris perspective, actually seems like quite a bargain). But the kids menu is an amazing 12€. Honestly, I myself would be thrilled with the kids' menu, which comes with the same 2 amuse bouche we receive, one of which is a tomato-coconut soup with blue cheese. Pippa loves it, despite the fact that she officially does not like tomatoes, coconut, or blue cheese. Go figure. It is so filling, the girls can't even finish their meals. But desserts, naturally, get finished down to the last drop.
And while we're talking about the best, the most, the ultimate: Here's La Cathédrale Saint Front de Périgueux, alternatively referred to as Saint Etienne de la Cité. She's from the 12th century roughly -- having been built and destroyed several times since the 6th century -- is protected by UNESCO, and I feel confident calling her one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. I think the only other ones that might compete for sheer loveliness are Sacré Coeur in Paris and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Of course I'm partial to Notre Dame as well, given that it's now in my backyard, and it's impressive. It's grand. It's elegant. It's iconic. But I don't think it has that soft and lovely quality the other three have. In case you're wondering, yes, I called this church a "she". In my mind, Sacré Coeur is also a "she" (whereas St. Basil's would be a "he"). Perhaps it's because of all the boob-shaped cupolas.
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