Weekend in Annecy

A visit to a beautiful town in France on the border of Switzerland just below the Alp which boasts some excellent French restaurants

I remember spending a lovely springtime in Annecy perhaps 22 years ago. It is such a charming village that I couldn't wait to return. The last time was a gastronomic pilgrimage as I dined in the "temple" of Marc Veyrat (then a 2-star chef) and went to nearby Switzerland to dine in what was called at the time the greatest restaurant in the world: Fredy Girardet. Girardet is long gone, and now Marc Veyrat is considered to be one of the greatest. I hoped to mirror my last trip by doing some serious dining while I was there.

I stayed in the Hotel du Pré Carré which is among the city's best and within walking distance of the train. It was a basic modern hotel with a very friendly staff and a health club with jacuzzi and hot tub. I didn't forget my bathing suit this time.

Au Fidèle Berger is a name I remember from the old days--a lovely salon de thé with wonderful coffees and desserts. For lunch there are tartes salées and individual portions of French pizza (pâte feuilletée for the crust). I went to a different place as I wanted a light salad but had a lovely coffee at the Berger afterwards. I had to control myself and not order one of the gorgeous and tasty desserts as I wanted to save calories for my evening repast. Coffee is only 2 euros and cheap compared to Paris prices.

There is not much sightseeing to be done in Annecy other than to take a boat ride on the beautiful lake that is at the foot of the Alps. Geneva is not far if you are game, but I wanted to stay put and relax. I simply wandered around and worked up an appetite for dinner.

I went to Le Clos des Sens--two stars--in Annecy Le Vieux, which is a part of town about 2 kilometers from Le Vieux Annecy. I taxied over there and was shown to a table which had a stunning view of the main part of the town below. What a shame not to be there during the day as all we could see were the lights of the city--very beautiful but a daylight view would have been more spectacular.

Tartiflette is the dish to have when you are in the Savoie. It is a sinfully rich casserole made of lardons, potatoes, onions and reblochon--the wonderful regional cheese. I will tell you now that I could not bring myself to order that dish in a local brasserie with all the rich dishes I was consuming in the restaurants, but I was lucky to have a tartiflette déstructurée as one of my amuse-bouches. There was onion ice cream, a tiny cone of reblochon flavored with smoked lard (bacon), and a potato chip--heavenly and light. I had this with a glass of Krug which I could not resist. This is the Rolls Royce of champagnes and I was very pleased that it is what the restaurant serves for its coupes de champagne.

Other amuse-bouches were very light: a carpaccio of mushrooms, and a cool tomato bouillon.

This was my menu: Foie gras de canard layered with smoked fish and an apple. This was different and lovely. With it I had a glass of local Chignin 2006 La Maréchale Jacquert (a white wine from the region). The pistou d'oeuf au plat inversé--basically a poached egg with pesto. With this and the next dish, I had one of my favorite wines: a Condrieu De Poncins, Francois Villard 2004. This is a very flavorful, complex and flowery white wine from the center of France. Next was Truite du Lac cooked at a low temperature--simply seasoned with olive oil and just lovely. My main course was Pigeon wrapped in kale (it looked like maki-sushi) with a sauté of assorted wild mushrooms. With this, I had a red Arbin Genoux Cuvée de L'an II 2002. I could not resist the cheese plate. I usually pass this up but with all the wonderful cheeses that come from this area, it was hard to say no. For a pre dessert I had fresh vegetables swimming in a sugar syrup with a thyme ice cream and lemongrass consommé--very refreshing. The dessert I chose was a chocolate dessert of course--flavored with passion fruit. This is a combination I love. There were other mignardises and douceurs. I truly enjoyed my meal but must say that it was a lot to eat. The cost of a complete dinner would be 120 euros without wine and coffee.

At the end of the meal, there were no taxis free to take me back home so the chef de cuisine, M. Laurent Petit, drove me back. We talked Paris restaurants and he knew all the good modern bistrots.

I read that at Marc Veyrat's restaurant which is open but six months per year and for most of the time for only four days per week. The two menus is are 295 and 385 euros per person respectively NOT including wine, coffee and water. So it would be at least 500 euros per person easily. I think that to spend so much on a meal is obscene and was proud to cancel my reservation there. Better to donate to a charitable cause. Of all the 3-star chefs, he is the only one to charge this much--and by at least 200 euros above the others. Is he so great? His menu does not include designer ingredients at all: no truffles or foie gras or langoustines. He is known for the fresh herbs that he cultivates in the fields. No thank you.

I had a fantastic meal at the newly one-starred Le Ciboulette in Annecy instead. The restaurant was two minutes from my hotel. For the amuse-bouches, I was delighted with a large skewer of snail with a potato, another skewer with a chunk of smoked salmon and a delicious tomato cake. Pure heaven. For my appetizer I had large langoustines with tiny pillows filled with pork. The pillows are called and I remember discovering these delights at Marc Meneau's restaurant, L'Esperance. Basically, they are deep fried dumplings filled with something delicious.

For my main course I had the best veal of my life. Côte de veau de Simmenthal grillé, with squid tagliatelles (not pasta but squid ribbons) and a thin sauce of capers garnished with capucines (nasturtium flowers). With this came a martini glass filled with wild mushrooms.

I had a favorite Burgundy wine with my meal: a white Volnay Premier Cru En Caillerets, Domaine de la Pousse d'Or Patriuck Landanger 2004. Heaven.

I opted to skip dessert because I knew there would be delicious mignardises, chocolates and cookies with my coffee. This was was my favorite meal of my stay and came to about 80 euros without wine and dessert.

The next day, I took a bus to Talloires to dine at the Auberge du Père Bise. Many years ago, this restaurant had 3 stars but after Père Bise died, the rating went down. I believe that his daughter oversees the restaurant now and it still has a wonderful reputation. I had heard about it for years from my cooking teachers in Boston. I was excited to go because I knew it would be classic cuisine (delicious food) and a beautiful setting.

The restaurant was wonderful. I had a table that looked out at the lake and the Alps and was very pleased. The amuse-bouche was small and lovely: a custard of tomato with a basil sauce and a caramel of tomato--tomato reduced so that it gets sugary and caramel-y. I had this with a glass of Deutz champagne. A wonderful beginning.

Often, I opt for two 1/2 portions for my appetizers so that I can taste more of the restaurant's offerings. Here, I had a small portion of sautéed foie gras with white beans, chanterelles and a smokey jus flavored with bacon. With this I had a sweet wine: Jurançon Moelleux Clos Gassiol 2006--wonderful wine-food marriage and delicious. Then I had a 1/2 portion of the signature Ecrevisse en Gratin (in an Armorican sauce with tomato and cream). I was served a tiny casserole dish chock full of the succulent écrevisses--crawfish. This was terrrific and went well with the wine I chose for my next courses: a red Madiran Tonus of Alain Brumont 2003. My main course was Venison with a turnip mousse, carrots, chestnuts, cèpes, and Brussels sprouts: a perfect fall dish.

I usually pass on the cheese course but not in this region. And I had some of my red wine to consume, so I did spring for the cheeses and chose those from the area: Beaufort d'Alpage (along with camembert my favorite cheese), Tomme des Vosges, and Reblochon of course. This came with an assortment of home made breads from which I chose a pain de campagne.

For a lovely close to the meal, there were lots of mignardises with coffee as well as two dessert chariots. The first had choices of sorbets, ice creams and their sauces. And the second cart was devoted to cakes and tarts. I had the restaurant's specialty: the Marjolaine--a cake layered with different butter creams in between crunchy nougats and cakes. It is very difficult to make but easy to eat!! It is superb. There were also other chocolate cakes and fruit tarts and everything looked and tasted lovely.

This was the most expensive meal of my stay and came to about 150 euros without the wines. It was a truly memorable experience.

My favorite inexpensive restaurant was La Coupole where I had a delicious salad of jumbo shrimps and scallops. The seafood had been grilled and the salad was flavorfully seasoned. The bread was excellent. All this for 15 euros. It is one of the restaurants at the end of the canal and on Sundays part of the extensive market is parked out in front.

I promised myself that I would go to Annecy again next summer for a few days of sun and swimming. There are many low-cost restaurants to try and I must save room for that tartiflette!!