I like to go back to some menus and re-order, sometimes by scanning through to remember what I picked, and how it was, or, more often, to try again on a fantasy trip to the restaurant, and maybe this time I will get something even better. This is one of the reasons why menus make for great souvenirs- even better than a photo, you get to relive a great meal AND all the possible alternate outcomes if you had been in the mood for this or that or another following of your gut in any general menu direction.
And while it's fresh in my mind, right now I'm reliving La Boule d'Or- the local restaurant in our randomly chosen appelation (Moulis) in Bordeaux, France. We passed by the place several times while lost, looking for the farmhouse where we'd spend the week surrounding the Medoc Marathon- and then we ate here twice, both times incredibly impressive and equally indulgent. And while I could discuss here the merits of the Formule, or the talents of the French cuisine, I kind of just want to marvel in full at this menu, only 1/3 of which I can adequately understand.
If I could, I would eat the 3 course chef's menu every day, but as it was (after all the baguettes and canele I was eating by day), I couldn't even get the whole menu two times. The Salad Norvegienne (with smoked salmon and shrimp) was pronounced "the best salad ever" by D, and the duck confit made it so I will be way critical of this dish every other time I taste it, forever.
But some dishes, I read and I wonder: Tartare de st jacques au gingembre et citron vert, Parillada de poissons au pistou? The first night I had a fabulous seafood plate, arranged by the chef and viewed by my table with envy, and the second time I ordered a duck appetizer as my main (not entree, mind you)- just because I loved the name: Nems de Canard au jus de truffe et foie gras. I would eat anything if they threw foie gras in the description.
Even the desserts! Normally I don't bother to brood over lost desserts- they're usually good but I'm usually too full to properly appreciate them. But these are made so much better by virtue of the fact that I have no IDEA what they are. And even now, with the internet at my disposal, I don't really want to know, I am just sure that I missed out on some amazing Ile flottante that I'm sure looks nothing like the Google image search if I were to go that route. Damn you, Internet!
And looking back, did I make the right choices? It's making me anxious now, wondering what I missed and wishing there had been tiny pictures on the menu to help my poor, indecisive, improperly translating, misguided-by-impressive-descriptions ordering self choose better. Once again, I ask: can't I just try one of everything? Then again, that's probably a bad idea.
And while it's fresh in my mind, right now I'm reliving La Boule d'Or- the local restaurant in our randomly chosen appelation (Moulis) in Bordeaux, France. We passed by the place several times while lost, looking for the farmhouse where we'd spend the week surrounding the Medoc Marathon- and then we ate here twice, both times incredibly impressive and equally indulgent. And while I could discuss here the merits of the Formule, or the talents of the French cuisine, I kind of just want to marvel in full at this menu, only 1/3 of which I can adequately understand.
If I could, I would eat the 3 course chef's menu every day, but as it was (after all the baguettes and canele I was eating by day), I couldn't even get the whole menu two times. The Salad Norvegienne (with smoked salmon and shrimp) was pronounced "the best salad ever" by D, and the duck confit made it so I will be way critical of this dish every other time I taste it, forever.
But some dishes, I read and I wonder: Tartare de st jacques au gingembre et citron vert, Parillada de poissons au pistou? The first night I had a fabulous seafood plate, arranged by the chef and viewed by my table with envy, and the second time I ordered a duck appetizer as my main (not entree, mind you)- just because I loved the name: Nems de Canard au jus de truffe et foie gras. I would eat anything if they threw foie gras in the description.
Even the desserts! Normally I don't bother to brood over lost desserts- they're usually good but I'm usually too full to properly appreciate them. But these are made so much better by virtue of the fact that I have no IDEA what they are. And even now, with the internet at my disposal, I don't really want to know, I am just sure that I missed out on some amazing Ile flottante that I'm sure looks nothing like the Google image search if I were to go that route. Damn you, Internet!
And looking back, did I make the right choices? It's making me anxious now, wondering what I missed and wishing there had been tiny pictures on the menu to help my poor, indecisive, improperly translating, misguided-by-impressive-descriptions ordering self choose better. Once again, I ask: can't I just try one of everything? Then again, that's probably a bad idea.
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