Vin Pays de Perigord in Limeuil

Limeuil


VITROLLE
On then to the Vitrolle, site of the vineyard of Vin de Pays de Perigord near Limeuil. Unfortunately, it won’t be open ‘til the afternoon. Fortunately, our host at the gite has already introduced us to this red wine made from a blend of several grapes, as is usual here, including merlot. Our host, by the way, has strong opinions on wine labelling and is not at all impressed with those who buy by the grape variety alone.
“Some wines here are made with up to nine grapes. How are you going to get all those onto the label? If you are to put anything like that on the label then it should be the maker as he has the most influence.”

Check out my review of Vin Pays de Perigord - I am cork - on Qype

SARLAT MARKET

SARLAT MARKET

Got our first taste of the twice weekly Sarlat Market this morning. It was busy, tourists mixing with the locals in the medieval quarter.

We enjoyed our own tour, buying some fish (Julienne) and also a Salmon Pizza from the same stall. Also bought some vegetables and fruit and sampled a few bits and pieces before walking over to the “main” street to call to a mini-market where we got some olive oil for cooking. Of course, we couldn’t resist passing a patisserie where we helped ourselves to a couple of strawberry tartlets.

Lunch at the Gite consisted mainly of cheese and beautiful tomatoes before we made the short trip to the “hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac” overlooking the Dordogne and La Roque Gageac.

Info: Jardins de Marqueyssac, 24220 Vezac. Tel: 05 53 31 36 36; www.marqueyssac.com.

After extensive restoration work, Marqueyssac was opened to the public in 1997 and is now the most visited garden in Perigord. A “folly of clipped boxwoods” is the main feature of the place along with excellent views over the Dordogne. There is an easy (high heels and buggies) and a more difficult path around the “overhanging gardens”.

The main viewing point is the Belvedere, some 800 metres from the chateau. It affords an exceptional panoramic view of the river and surroundings.  The amazing topiary, along with the stunning views, which include nearby castles, make it well worth the €7.30 entrance fee. The visit will take you about ninety minutes, maybe more if you want to linger for a snack and a visit the shop.

Stayed in for dinner this evening. Starter: Melon. Main Course: Julienne (a white fish like hake) served with a salad. Dessert: Strawberry tartlets with fresh strawberries. Wine: Gaillac, from some of the oldest vineyards (quite close to Sarlat) in France. Our dry white, ideal for fish, is made from unusual grapes:  Mauzac and Loin de l’Oeil and has 11.5 per cent alcohol. The region also produces reds, roses and sparkling whites. We were very happy indeed with our white.

For things to see and do in the Dordogne seehttp://swissroll07.blogspot.com/

L'Orangerie in Sarlat la Canéda

Sarlat la Caneda


Restaurant L’Orangerie
3 rue Alberic Cahuet
24200 Sarlat
05 53 31 88 03 orangie2009@hotmail.fr

After the previous evening’s stuffing at Mirandol, we didn’t want Foie Gras again. But both it and confit de canard are hard to avoid in this town. L’Orangerie promised something of a change so we took a table in the open air.
Starters were six Escargots (with garlic) pour moi and Chicken Gizzards and Liver with a salad for the Advisor. Both of us were very pleased as this €14.00 four course menu kicked off.
Both of us choose the Breast of Duck with Sarlat potatoes and small herbie mash and with a honey and orange sauce. Really classy meal served in the open air of this medieval quarter.
The cheese was once again the Rocamadour goats cheese and a little green salad with some little pieces of walnuts. Quite enjoyable but this too seems to pop up on all the menus. Desserts were a lemon tart for herself and walnut tart for me with custard. Both were quiet enjoyable.
They had a decent wine list and we picked a 50 cl carafe f local Bergerac rouge which cost €8.50. Total bill therefore came to €36.50!

Check out my review of L'Orangerie - I am cork - on Qype

Marche Eglise Sainte Marie in Sarlat la Canéda

MARKET EGLISE SAINT MARIE
Started with a walk down town to the historic heart of Sarlat. Checked out the many restaurants on our way before stopping at the market in the Church of Sainte Marie, mainly artisan stuff. Helped ourselves to a chunk of white cow’s milk cheese and a punnet of strawberries which went a long way towards lunch at the gite. The high building of the old church is certainly the most unusual site fro a market that I’ve come across though I know they use an old church as a restaurant in Skibbereen.

Check out my review of Marche Eglise Sainte Marie - I am cork - on Qype

AUBERGE DE MIRANDOL

AUBERGE DE MIRANDOL

Started with a walk down town to the historic heart of Sarlat. Checked out the many restaurants on our way before stopping at the market in the Church of Sainte Marie, mainly artisan stuff. Helped ourselves to a chunk of white cow’s milk cheese and a punnet of strawberries which went a long way towards lunch at the gite.

In the afternoon, we visited the famous Lascaux 11 cave, a replica of much of Lascaux 1, which has long been closed to the public. The facsimile reproduces most of the pre-historic art which was made some 70000 years ago. The visit is most impressive, leaves you speechless. You could also be lost for words if you arrive at the site, expecting to buy entrance tickets. For some reason, these (€8.80 each) are on sale in the nearby town of Montignac.

After a glass or two with our friendly hosts, we headed into the centre of Sarlat for dinner. Thanks to a recommendation from Milos we made for the Auberge de Mirandol. The recent €25.00 four course offer in Cork was quite a success but we got four courses (not including tea/coffee) for €13.50. Incredible value and, afterwards, we got to visit the restaurant’s own natural cave at the back of the premises, which itself is a historic monument.

Starter – there was a choice of two – was Foie Gras demi-cuit with three different sweet spoonfuls including Monbazillac marmalade. Milos had recommended this and also the main course: a cassoulet with confit de canard. Both courses were excellent.

Then came the cheese course, the local Rocamadour goats cheese accompanied by a nice salad. Very tasty indeed and we finished off with dessert, one a slice of tarte au citron, the other a slice of apple tart, both gorgeous.

Wine was also from the locality, a Percharmant by Chateau de Tiregand Comtesse de St Expury 2007. We got a 50cl carafe and it cost us €15.00.Tiergard is one of the top producers of this “subtle and supple” wine made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Medium to full bodied, Robert Joseph rates it “an ideal accompaniment to the traditional Perigord cuisine” and we agree!

Picture shows Sarlat late evening

LE FLORA

Le Flora: 

Le Flora is the restaurant on board the Brittany Ferries ship Pont Aven. It is an excellent restaurant as we found out on the trip from Cork to Roscoff last (Saturday) night.

The top meal was a £28.50 four course offer, too tempting to turn down. Started with a shredded crab on bed of avocado with a green salad that included mange tout and broad beans. Slightly spicy and thoroughly deliciousness. On of the best starters so far this year.

My main course was something different though not quite in the same class as the starter. The Bouillabaisse, Brittany Ferries style, wasn’t at all bad, mixing red and white fish with fennel seeds ad some warm potato in the fish soup. The Advisor’s chicken supreme with squid and artichoke was different and quite delicious.

My cheese plate, deliciously baked Rocamadour served with Spanish lettuce hearts, was melt in the mouth delicious while the general cheese plate, which included favourites such as Livarot and Camembert, was also excellent.

Desserts were substantial and sweet, as promised. One was called a Vacherin Contemporain, basically three different types of ice-cream and loads of exotic fruits while the other was called a seasonal Coupe Fruit. Both went down well.

They have an excellent wine list on board, more or less offering everything that they offer in the on-board shop. They had a few special offers on and we went for the lovely dry Chateau Magneau Cuve Julien Graves 2008 at a cost of €24.90 euro (generally, and annoyingly, the prices are in sterling). It just grew on you.

The sterling pricing, by the way, led to an error. The first we know of it was when we were leaving our cabin in the morning and found note pinned to our door asking us to call to the restaurant. We did just that to find that while we had been charged the correct figures, we had been charged in sterling instead of euro. In fairness to the staff, they sorted it out there and then. We probably wouldn’t have had realised it until the bill came from the credit card company at the end of the month. So well done to Brittany Ferries on that one!

CHANGE OF SCENE

For the next few weeks, the food and eating out reviews will be coming from France, from the Dordogne area. Things to see and do will be covered at Corkman on Tour

Gubbeen Farmhouse Products in Schull

GUBBEEN SMOKEHOUSE
Most of you will be familiar with the Gubbeen cheeses but their reputation for producing tempting products from the smokehouse is growing rapidly.

Just last week, at the Midleton Farmers Market, I bought a piece of their lightly smoked Chorizo. This product has really brightened up a Spanish Rice with Chorizo and Sage recipe we’ve been using for years, courtesy of the Reader’s Digest 30 Minute Cookbook.

We had been using the normal chorizo sausage and sometimes locally produced spicy sausages. But this Gubbeen product is the bees knees and enhances this hearty richly flavoured Spanish-style dish where all the ingredients (red onion, garlic, red pepper, long-grain rice, turmeric, canned tomatoes, chorizo, sage and frozen peas) are all cooked in the one pan.

The Gubbeen chorizo re-vitalised this one for us and sent it up the ranks of our favourites.

Check out my review of Gubbeen Farmhouse Products - I am cork - on Qype

IRISH PORK

BORD BIA PORK

Nearly got put off pork for good a few years back during an otherwise excellent coach tour of Austria. Many of the hotels in the early part of the tour insisted on serving it, mostly in very unattractive ways, and quite a few of the passengers were fed up and hungry at the same time!

Fortunately, we Irish know Pork need not be that way at all. Like other food bloggers, I this week received a pork pack from Bord Bia. With holidays imminent, time was short so we roasted the top quality piece in more or less the traditional manner, though with rosemary and garlic. It was served with roast vegetables, mainly parsnip. The cooking juices, thickened, were used to make up the sauce. A gorgeous meal indeed.

And now we are looking forward to trying out all of the mouth-watering recipes that Bord Bia put in the accompanying leaflet and indeed checking out the many recipes on their  site. Pork, which is widely available, need never be dull again.

KARWIG WINES

KARWIG WINES

Off to the Dordogne at the weekend and got in a little wine practice last evening with a bottle of Chateau Belingard’s silver medal Bergerac rouge. According to the  the producer, this wine, “known for its Cabernet Sauvignon nose, can happily accompany most dishes”. “It is ideal with all types of meat..or with fish or cheese.”

Tested it with a Spaghetti Bolognaise and later with the Europa League final! It was served ambient, as suggested, and very enjoyable: fresh, blackberry, medium bodied. Must admit, I didn’t get too much of the “cabernet sauvignon nose” but otherwise, it was all there.

The hilly clay/chalky vineyard is in the county of Bosredon in the south of the Dordogne and the grapes used are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet France and Malbec. The vineyard, which also produces an excellent Monbazillac is open to the public and isn’t a million kilometres from my base at Sarlat. Indeed, there is a 90 minute tasting session scheduled for Saturday June 5^th for a tenner and I may well call over.

But you don't have to go to France to get your hands on the Belingard wines as Karwig Wines have a selection and the rouge costs €11.15. Met Maurice there this week and he gave me some great tips for the Dordogne area, not to mention a loan of a very informative book on French wine.

Current shopping list:

Cotes de Bergerac, Moelleux, Saussignac

Monbazillac AOC – one of the great vin liquoreux

Pecharmant AOC – finest red of Perigord

Cotes de Marmandais VDQS – little known but good value

Cahor AOC – classic, inexpensive

Cotes de Buzet AOC – excellent, well regarded,

Vin de Pays de Agenaix – substantial red.

Fronsac 2005

St Croix du Mont (sweet)

Madiran

 Bandol

Banyul (fortified)

LIBERTY GRILL

LIBERTY GRILL 

Liberty Grill, in a bid to make sure all its regulars get a taste of the Dine-in-Cork action, have extended the €25.00 offer until the end of the current month.

I took my chance last evening and wasn't disappointed. Started off with the Spicy Crab Toast: Atlantic crab on spicy sourdough toast and we also enjoyed the Marinated Yellow Fin Tuna – Louisiana Style: Rare tuna served with slow roasted tomatoes and bbq sauce. Very enjoyable, though I think the Tuna would get the nod the next time.

No disagreement on the main course: Cork reared Spring lamb – noisette of lamb from O’Mahony’s in the English Market with flageolet bean cassoulet with a tomato and bean chutney. Didn't look all that attractive but was a terrific combination.

Think I won the battle of desserts with my Panna Cotta with berries and shortbread soldiers. Our other dessert, there were loads of choices,  was a Sorbet (Lemon, Blackcurrant and Mango).

Wine: CyT Sauvignon Blanc, medium body, light and fruity, a bargain at €17.25. As usual, the service was friendly and efficient. Coffee was included in the 25 euro and, as we sipped, we reflected on a very enjoyable meal indeed.

If you do get a chance to call in before the end of May, this is my tip for a fine meal: Tuna, Lamb and Panna Cotta. But try it out for yourself!

Idaho Cafe in Cork

IDAHO CAFE
Called to the Idaho Cafe in Maylor Street mid-morning for a coffee and scone (€4.60). The smallish cafe is well known: it does breakfast and lunches and has a string of Bridgestone awards to its credit.
Studied the menus while drinking the coffee and must say they look promising. Looked up to see the proprietor, Richard, going around topping up the coffee and mine was not neglected. Nice touch and one that could be copied, with profit, by restaurants in the evening.
021 4276376, 19 Caroline Street (City Centre); Check out my review of Idaho Cafe - I am cork - on Qype

It turned out to be nice day all round, even the sun shone down. Started with my French teacher Cristelle bringing forward the class breaking-up ”fete” to suit me as I was leaving a week early to go to France. Enjoyed the organic orange juice and croissants.

That was before the Idaho. Afterwards, I took the bus home and was struck by the courtesy and helpfulness of the driver towards mothers with buggies and especially by the help he gave to a wheelchair bound person.

The good mood factor continued in the afternoon in Carrigaline when I called to Karwig Wines. Proprietors Joe and Betty were in fine fettle and Marketing Manager Maurice O’Mahony was most helpful in providing me with a bunch of tips, even a loan of one of his wine-books, for my trip to the Dordogne.

Small touches here and there help us on our way. 

Brew Cafe in Cork

BREW CAFE

The Brew Cafe Sandwich Bar is at the western end of Paul Street and is open all day. Go in for a cup of coffee like I did and you can study the breakfast and lunch menus and they also do take-out.

It was mid afternoon when I called and the lady was tidying up after the lunch. I enjoyed my cup of coffee (and wrapped biscuit) for €2.25. Actually quite a few people enjoy their visits here and their good food and service sees them take a slot in the current Bridgestone Good Food Guide.

Check out my review of Brew Cafe - I am cork - on Qype