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Published: October 7th 2007
La Metairie
Lapin farci du tapenade et mille feuille a le provencale La Metairie
Dordogne Food Reports
La Metairie - outside Les Eyzies near Font de Gaume
This was a revisit for us. Eighteen months ago this restaurant was nearly empty for lunch. This time they opened the second dining room to accommodate. I am sure it was unexpected as the hostess pitched in and she, the regular waitress and a server handled all the tables. Most of the tables were people from the UK and one even had a young girl about four who was amazingly well-behaved. We were all given individual attention. It is a wonder to see this happen and in France larger numbers than expected don’t seem to fluster anyone. Now at home....
We were given those puffy little appetizer things to start. Frankly I am getting tired of those things. They are usually tasteless, cold and flake all over the place when you eat them. Pleasantly it was followed up with a tiny bowl of blanché ail (garlic) soup. This had lost a little of its
La Metairie
Puffs with aperitif shock value as it is the same amuse bouche that we were served last time. Having said that, I am glad that they hadn’t changed as it is delicious.
My entreé was ris d’agneau braised in a red wine sauce with a little salad aux noix and a few marinated asparagus (interesting considering the time of year). The sweetbreads, the main attraction, were rich and sublime and I appreciated that it wasn’t a cream sauce. Good choice but a lot.
Sandra had an escargot entreé which were served around a compote of little onions, “gesiers” and a mousseaux of foie gras. Now the escargots were secondary to this layered concoction served in a cone-shaped glass. Each spoonful revealed a slightly different taste and we enjoyed every bit of it.
My plat was saddle of rabbit with a tapenade farci (stuffing) served with a mille feuille provençale and a carrot and a couple of those anachronistic asparagus. Le rable du lapin was tender and delicious and the presentation of the tomatoes provençale was neat. The sauce was an appropriate light broth.
Sandra’s magret de canard sauté aux morilles was her first choice of Dordogne duck for this year. The heavier meat
La Metairie
Amuse Bouche - Garlic Soup choice was paired appropriately with more robust vegetables - a potato hollowed and filled with cepes and tomato and a samosa package of vegetables and tomme fraiche. The vegetables were superb and Sandy always looks for different vegs on each of our plates as a sign of a competent chef. The duck was tougher than I would have expected, but tasty.
Sandra’s choice of crème brulé with pistachios on a bed of chocolate ganache was more spectacular than it was in taste. It was flambéed at the table and the young server really layed on the almond flaming alcohol. That didn’t spoil anything except it went on so long that she left to clear a few tables until it finished blazing. I do admit to having a bias against fiddling with anything as simplistically delicious as crème brulé. Just try to make it normally, perfectly. Oh well.
I had a meringue with vanilla frais, strawberry ice cream and a berry coulis. Now why would you serve a separate little container of whipped crème frais if you already put some on the dessert?
The meal was delicious and I am being overly critical. I like this restaurant but for whatever reason
it is a notch below wow. The portions are more than sufficient.
Dordogne Take Away or St Cyprien’s Answer to KFC
OK...not strictly a restaurant review but I couldn’t resist.
We don’t eat at restaurants all the time. One of the lovely things you can do is but “take away” at the markets.
St Cyprien market on Sundays has this wonderful fowl man who roasts all manner of birds. In the lower part of the huge roasting oven are the potatoes, being marinated by the juices of the birds cooking above them. Deux caille (quail), pdt pour deux personnes, some of those scrumptious, crunchy green beans, a small salad with bleu Auvergne and walnut oil dressing. Voila!
Le Meynardie
Salignac 24590
Tel. 05 53 28 85 98
This was a restaurant that we wanted to try last time, but missed it because of their Tuesday and Wednesday closings.
It is out in the country and combines well with a visit to the nearby gardens of Le Manoir d'Eyrignac. You felt as if you had made a wrong turn as you drive down narrow roads passing
La Meynardie
Buildings near The restaurant farms. Suddenly you enter a long tree-flanked lane which ends at a beautiful stone farmhouse.
The fire was lit and we chose a table quite close to the large open fireplace.
Our decisions were from the E37 menu.
The amuse bouche was a small bowl of vegetable soup with tiny croutons, a welcome addition on this cool September day and quite tasty.
Sandra began with a terrine terre et mer, which was a nice combination of foie gras canard and scallops accompanied by a small salad in a phylo basket. Remembering that you eat with your eyes first, it was quite impressive looking.
My entré was a slice of classic homemade foie gras (mi-cuit) with wonderful confitures, salt, and garnishes. As expected!
Sandra’s encroute of half a pigeon, stuffed with cepes was served with a deck of scalloped potatoes, a plop of squash and a spray of pea pods. It was carefully put together and tasted amazing.
I had opted for a Limousin beef filet and béarnaise sauce served with the same vegetables but presented altogether differently. It is interesting that many French restaurants are carefully describing the type of beef. I think that this is partly to reassure the
consumer that he is getting French beef and not some other offering from another EU country, particularly England. Of course it was done as ordered. They always seem to get it right.
Sandra loves chocolate and knew she couldn’t go wrong with this triple offering of chocolate ice cream, chocolate brownie and chocolate cookie. She always says that she will order the chocolate dessert and that I am to order something else and we will split it. The split never happens!
Last year I enjoyed the nougat ice cream which seems to be very popular in this area. I even saw it in the frozen food section of E.LeClerc. So I ordered it and wasn’t disappointed with this coulis and fruit surrounded dessert, topped with a butter-almond wafer.
The delices were special here and included chocolate macrons, a small jar serving of rhubarb-applesauce and a fruit bar.
We chose a bottle of 2000 Cahors called “The New Black Wine” that did not live up to expectation (or price). It should have been superb, but we have had better, younger and much cheaper Cahors.
If you said that this is the best restaurant in the area you probably wouldn’t get too
La Meynardie
Amuse Bouche - Vegetable Soup much of an argument. The food is inventive, uses local and fresh produce, and is artistically presented. The wait staff are young but seem to kept on a short leash by madam who supervises unobtrusively.
We are returning to this restaurant for Canadian Thanksgiving lunch with our gite owners so I will be able to give you a second opinion!
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