Tag: bistro

La Conner, Mukilteo, and Ballard – Our Christmas journey continues

On By Terry ChristophersonIn Trips and travel3 Comments

On Tuesday of last week we picked up a rental car and headed north to La Conner, WA. It is a picturesque town at the mouth of the Swinomish River. A perfect place to spend our 36th anniversary.

We have been to La Conner many times over the years so it holds a lot of good memories. Some of the best memories are of when we took my mother there almost every year for her birthday, she loved it there.

We ate lunch at Nell Thorn Waterfont Bistro & Bar since our favorite place, The Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive was closed that day. It was a good time for sure. We stayed at the Channel Lodge in a room with overstuffed chairs, a gas fireplace and a view of the channel.

Wednesday we headed south toward Mukilteo, stopping first in Mount Vernon for a nice lunch with my sister and brother-in-law. It was good to get caught up.

Two of our best friends live in Mukilteo, if you follow my blog you have met them already since we joined them in October in Provence. Shirley goes all out on Christmas decorations. We were greeted with this amazing tree, which Tricia, of course, took a photo of. (Her last blog was all about trees, including this one.) They think it has 1200 lights, I can’t even imagine doing that, but it sure is beautiful.

If I had a patron of my art it would be Jim and Shirley, they have so many framed pieces of my art, even postcards that I have sent. Their home has hundreds of wonderful pieces of artwork, some quite interesting. I am not sure I want to know the story behind this one, but am honored to have my art shown in such a creative space.

They invited friends over for a couple of holiday get-togethers, Shirley put out quite a spread. Since they love France there was of course croissant.

Saturday we drove back up north for our postponed anniversary lunch at The Oyster Bar, and it did not disappoint, bien sûr. After a few oysters we shared an entree of smoked sablefish (black cod) on marinated beet with pumpkin seeds. It reminded me that the reason I detested beets for most of my life was not the fault of God creating them, nor of the poor beet itself, it was just poor preparation. This was so good.

I had the plat du jour, petrel sole roasted on a cedar plank.

After our leisurely repast we drove south to Ballard where we are staying with Tricia’s sister. Yesterday we helped out with our nephew’s birthday party at the Lynnwood Swimming pool. Oh my! A room full of eight year old boys sure do have a lot of energy.

Thanks Tricia for the photos

We have had a great time so far. We are so grateful for the folks that have taken us in and put us up. But most of all we have relished the conversations. Tomorrow we are off to San Diego for a couple of days, we have a new, well new to us, grandnephew to meet, should be fun.

A Bistro, an Auberge, or Both – You Choose

On By Terry ChristophersonIn France, Trips and travel7 Comments

Should you ever get near enough to meet-up with us in our rural part of Normandie for lunch we would recommend a choice between two places: Le Bistrot Saint Julien or Auberge de la Source. Both are about 15 minutes away.

The first restaurant we went to after moving into La Thebauderie was Le Bistrot Saint Julien. In another blog soon I will address the different terms for eating establishments here in France: Bistro, brasserie, auberge, café, bar, restaurant. We chose Saint Julien for the same reason we would take a visitor there, it is next door to the ruins of Château de Domfront, a place we were anxious to see. We have also discovered that in the Michelin Travel Guide for Normandie it is one of only two restaurants listed for Domfront.

A bistrot (bistro in English) is usually a smaller more casual place with a local feel about it. Most will have a menu du jour, which is always the best value. Bistrots usually follow the traditional opening hours of 12h00 to 14h00, though keep in mind that does not mean they accept seating until 14h00, we have been to many places that stopped seating at 12h30 – 13h00. Many reopen later for dinner, Saint Juliens re-opens at 19h00.

This is where we go most often for lunch, we rarely, well I guess never, go out for dinner in Normandie. You know when you have become a regular when instead of au revoir (good bye) when you leave, the owner says à bientôt (see you soon). We have been on à bientôt terms for some time now.

In addition to a changing menu du jour, which at any restaurant in France will have fish on Fridays, Julien’s has a menu of local specialities. One of our favorites are the many tartins. Here is one Tricia had, as always thanks for the photo.

Look at that wonderful chèvre! One of my favorite tartins is chorizo. When our friend Tim visited he was daring enough to try the andouillette, an acquired regional taste; as I remember he quite enjoyed it.

Here is another dish that Tricia had, cod on black rice, and one of my plates.

Auberge de la Source is located in the tiny village of Saint-Cyr-du-Bailleul.

Auberge translates into English as “inn” or “hostel.” Some do have rooms as well as a restaurant. Most tend to be a bit upscale from a bistro but not always – traditional and local products are the norm.

During the week Auberge de la Source only has a menu du jour, while on Friday and Saturday they have quite an extensive menu and no menu du jour, though they do have prix fix options. Like Saint Juliens it is operated by a husband and wife team, something that is quite common here in rural France. The chef at la Source is classically trained and it is evident as soon as you see the first dish, even if it is the apero.

We have had many great meals there, and will have more. Here are a few more photos, thanks again to Tricia for almost all of these in the blog, check other photos out on her blog.

There are plenty of places we go to eat, but these tend to be our most frequent stops. It is a pleasant characteristic of rural France that in some of the most out-of-the-way villages you discover a bistro or auberge, that may be quite plain in its exterior appearance, yet the food and experience is truly memorable. For Tricia and me that is one of the joys of travel, whether it is around where we live or in another country, we do love food – and of course we love it when friends join us.