Chez Leon
Where? Chez Leon (Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France) Map
When? Friday May 12, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? French
I'm famished after a day of kayaking 32km down the Ardeche River. Lunch consisted of a banana and several chocolate chip cookies. I want good food and lots of it.
Entree
Assortment of Ardeche charcuterie
A decent sized plate of charcuterie arrives. It bears much similarity to the platters I got when I was in Italy, sans cheese. I don't care, I dive in. The terrine and meat are great with the baguette, but I'm not sold on the salad dressing. I think it's too strong and doesn't go with the other items on the plate; something light like a vinaigrette would be perfect. I'm feeling far less hangry now, thankfully.
Mains
Joue de Boeuf
A thick, meaty smell is the first thing I notice about the beef cheek. It's from the sauce, and it's absolutely delicious. The meat is a bit tough, but it's so appetising that I'm willing to let that slide. I love the chestnuts on the plate, they've soaked up that amazing sauce. The boiled vegetables are the unfortunate disappointment, I think they're purposefully bland to counterbalance the richness of the sauce.
There is quite a lot of food and I have definitely over ordered, but I have already committed to dessert. Time to get that second stomach into action.
Dessert
Le Coucouru
I can't see the dessert underneath the massive mound of cream. I remove the top half and see the meringue base, a slathering of chestnut jam, and some ice cream. I drizzle a bit of the raspberry coulis on the top and dig in. Wow, that chestnut is amazing. Why haven't more people caught onto this? The dessert is tending towards the sickly sweet side though, the meringue just being that little bit over the top.
I am well and truly stuffed. I think I need to lie down.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:52pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 
Le Coconuts
Where? Le Coconuts (Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France) Map
When? Thursday May 11, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Touristy Pub
Vallon Pont d'Arc is a super small town, mainly here to cater for the tourists wanting to explore the Ardeche Gorges. As a result, I expect a lot of these restaurants to be quite touristy, and with a name like "The Coconuts", I'm not expecting much at all. But I'm here because I feel like a burger, and a burger I shall be ordering.
Burger
Hamburger Coconuts - potatoes, steak, green salad, goat's cheese
I have eaten many burgers in my lifetime but even I was surprised when this came out. I know the French word for potato so I knew it would be present, I was not expecting the buns to be hash browns. I don't think I've ever had that before. I had a breakfast burger from Burgerfuel with a hash brown in it, but this is ridiculous. It is also quite delicious and juicy, with the beef patty cooked medium rare and the cheese coming through nicely. It's completely lacking greens but I suppose the salad and salsa on the side makes up for that. I think given all the physical activity I'm doing tomorrow, it's perfectly acceptable to be carb loading like this.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:05pm on Friday June 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::