in brief - Thursday June 5th

Let me give you a whirlwind summary of life here in France for the past few days...

I'll start backwards:

Yesterday we celebrated Guillaume's 29th birthday -- Happy Birthday Guillaume - at a 3 star (the highest honor) Restaurant: L'Arnsbour - check out the website here.

So let me just jot down the food intake...first you are presented with menu and we ordered an entree (which coincidently is the appetizer, not the main dish as it is the US, "entree" meaning entry), plat (main dish), and dessert. I ordered this truffle and potato dish -- sliced truffle, and a supped up mash potato - very creamy, then lamb which was served with a tomato and olive "thing," risotto, and an eggplant concoction (yes, ok I don't exactly have the culinary vernacular to describe the dishes, but anyway you'll begin to get the picture, just bear with me). The dessert ordered was chocolate torte with ice cream from Tahiti.

BUT, and this a big but, before you even are presented with your entree comes this wde array of delicacies. I can't quite remember the order, most will be listed in order, but some may not be:

mini macaroon flavored with spices and in the middle foie gras gel
mini squid ink flavored macaroon with eel gel
a taste of alsace (The region) - which included: a mini tarte flambate, this beer thing on a spoon, sticks of rhubard with salt, roasted pine nuts
mini english breakfast: bacon, egg, tomatoes, mushrooms
parmasean cheese sandwich -- the crackers were parmaesan cheese and inside was a chunk of p. cheese
oyster and then coke foam and lime foam - on a spoon (see pics)
a tribute to corn: three spoons with various toppings, can't actually remember what they were - one did include cavaier...(see pic)
then i think our entree came
after the entree - incidentally a truffle and potato cappacinco (forgive my spelling)
now my memory is shot, but somewhere in here we had a pina coloda on a spoon - rum gel, coconut cream, and whatever other ingredient i'm missing...
after our plat -- there was more: this array of mini desserts: brandy snaps -- sort of, one flavored rose and the other, not sure...then passion fruit gel thing, muffin type thing, pineapple and meringue
bitter almond cream with ice cream and a coffee flavored macaroon.
homemade marshmallow - think "flumps" - bon bons, chocolates, caramels...
rose champagne, red wine, cafe..

It was to put it mildly extravagant, overwhelming, and amazing... The flavors overtake you. The contrasts of the food, how they either compliment or contrast. It was an experience that is tantalizing to your senses, all your senses. Everything from the scenery, to the food, to the service. The restaurant is set in the middle of seemingly nowhere, surrounded by lush greenery, forests, a bubbling brook, and quaint French homes. The rain was pouring hard, a light mist hang around the building. The coloring was vivid. It was one of those times where I wish I was a photographer as to capture the scenes. For example, next to us on the veranda outside there was an old desk -- a large wooden desk with one large drawer in the center, it had a beam across it, and the rain was puddling around it, with a brook in the foreground, the trees shimmering with rain...picturesque is not an adequate word to describe it.

The service was impeccable. They met your needs before you even knew you had one.

The whole meal taking four hours, could have been longer but Bernard had to leave to get to a meeting. It was a lovely way to celebrate G's 29th birthday. A memory captured and treasured!!