Daytripping in the Brionnais

So the economy has gone to hell, and with it much of our travel budget.  We can hardly complain, when so many are suffering.  

It’s tantilizing though, when all of Europe is close by, but still pretty pricey.  So, it seems like a good time to explore France, and our neighborhood in particular.

We cheerfully set off for the Brionnais a couple of weeks ago, for a 2-day, overnight trip. This is a quiet part of Burgundy that is close by but so far off the tourist map that no one we know had explored it.  Now that we have, I can’t stop talking about it.  

What we found:  impossibly charming medieval villages, spilling over with flowers; ancient Romanesque churches every few miles; rolling pastural hills.   There were almost no vineyards, just worked land, so it was all picture-book pretty.  There are a couple of impressive public chateaux to visit, and private chateaux were a dime a dozen, we saw their round pointy turrets popping up out of the landscape everywhere.  I have a thing for chateaux, as you may have noticed.   Photo: the village of Oyé.

We stayed in a pleasant B&B in Anzy le Duc, which turned out to be one of our favorite villages.  For those who prefer a hotel, the posh little village of Poisson is a great home base.  The Hotel La Reconce looked ever so interesting and we ate at their Restaurant de la Poste next door, which was the best and prettiest restaurant I’ve eaten at in a long time.  Reasonable, too, for the fine quality.  Now I must tell you that there 

is no water anywhere near Poisson (which means fish in French); and I walked down a street called rue de la Fontaine, which had no fountain.  Now that I think about it I didn’t see a post office near the restaurant either, so this town has a serious naming problem. 

By far the most fascinating thing we did involved (quelle surprise) another new restaurant.   Here is the story:  There is a chef in nearby Roanne, Michel Troisgros, who has a fancy joint with three Michelin stars.  So obviously he is himself quite a star, in France and beyond.  But he has another, more casual restaurant, where one might eat without actually taking out a loan, called La Colline du Columbier.  This flagship-restaurant/approachable-bistro combo is not uncommon in France.  What IS uncommon is that the bistro/auberge is in an old barn on top of a hill in the Brionnais, absolutely in the middle of freaking nowhere.  You drive over hill and dale to find it.  In the gravel parking lot by the barn, we encountered their donkeys grazing under apple trees.

More surprises inside:  the barn is huge and old and fabulous, with crumbly rustic stone walls and a massive beam structure overhead.  The architect has wisely left it virtually untouched.  They've added small, low windows all around, and tables are low too, to capture the astounding views.  The furnishings are sparse and ultra-contemporary, and hung from the beamed ceiling are a dozen enormous industrial-chic chandeliers.  The whole effect leaves you quite breathless–and so does the food, by the way.  Best food take-away ideas:  a simple, puréed lentil soup with hazelnut oil; and a slice of homemade foccacia topped with chopped summer tomatoes, pickled eggplant, and little triangles of very fresh goat cheese. We can't go back soon enough.

Maybe local travel is not such a bad idea after all!

Favorite Reads:  I'm only a chapter into Ellen Sussman's deliciously Parisian novel French Lessons, and I'm already totally hooked.  Francophiles, don't miss it.

In the Comments this week:  Martin, I'm happy to know that harissa is similar to  purée de piment (saw a recipe this week for chocolate cake with purée de piment! Hmm…).  Caterina, yes there are many courses, but small, un-American sized portions!  Craig is looking for Benedicta cocktail sauce with Armagnac (and now so am I!) in the states, can anyone help? Good friend Mariella is a fabulous Italian cook, we're hoping to steal some recipes from her.  Virginia, honey, you know another southern girl is always welcome!  Do visit Virginia's photo blog at Paris Through My Lens.  And Dee, with apologies to my British friends, London Broil is grilled flank steak, usually marinated. Mark, funny you mentioned those Mediterranean grains, I'm trying to learn to cook with more of them.  Michaela, LOVE your description–'out of airspeed, altitude and ideas' for dinner.  Been there!

Our Reader's Blogs:  We are ever so proud of  Patricia Glee Smith, who will have a solo exhibition of her oil paintings at the  The Polittico Gallery in Rome, beginning Oct. 21.  And speaking of artists, Barbara Redmond illustrates her charming blog, A Woman's Paris with her own paintings. Her latest post:  "Paris Macarons, Love in the Afternoon".   Lee blogs about the small, happy moments in life in Traveling Sardine Class.  For another great travel blog, go to Anita's FunderfulWorld.