La Côte qui Descend

La Côte qui Descend
St Sornin
Phone: 0545 24 08 37

Tuesday, 24-January-17

Lunch here with Cath and Doug. We all had lamb meatballs for our mail. Nice desserts. Think the four courses must be €12 or €12.50 now since each couple was €27.60 including tea and coffee. Not great dining, but good value for money.

(We've eating here at least once in 2016, but don't know the date.)


Tuesday, 31-July-12

After a visit to the cave, including a calèche trip to the vineyards, four of us sat on the terrace and lunched here again. Still €11 for a meal including the salad bar, choice of main, cheese, dessert, and a liter of wine between us. Not great, but not bad. A pretty good value for the money.

Tuesday, 26-April-11

A group of eight lunched here after visiting the cave at St Sornin. The daily menu (menus ouvriers, for workers) includes a well-stocked salad bar, a large choice of main courses, dessert, and coffee, all for €11. The salad bar was great, the mains were so-so (although the steak-frites looked pretty good). Two of us had slices of ham topped with a sauce provençale, which tasted too much like Chef Boyardee for my taste.

Nothing special, but we'd consider going back if we needed to eat in the area.

La Bellone

La Bellone
St. Adjutory
Phone: 05 45 62 33 88

This is our closest French restaurant, not too fancy and a very good value for money (review).

Tuesday, 26-April-16

Lunch with Bill today. We all the the menu du jour, with a delicious parmentier of pig's cheeks. Yummy and good value as always.

Tuesday, 29-September-15

La Bellone was closed for a bit during the summer for a bit of remodelling. The interior has been repainted (and it still smells of fresh paint).

We had a lovely lunch with Terry and Shirley. We all had the menu du jour for €13.50. Starter was melon and ham with strips of pâté de canard. For the main, three bits of fish (cod, salmon, and something else) on a stick, topped with bit of chorizo, and some veggies including a slice of zucchini topped with the flower buds from a broccoli (it looked like moss growing on the slices). Then some cheese and salad. Then a delicious fig tart with vanilla ice cream. Still good value for money.

Monday, 18-May-15

Dinner here with Bill after his arrival in the afternoon. Ed and I had the cheapest menu; Bill had the next one up in price. Good value.

Thursday, 23-October-14

Lunch here with Bill and Yvonne. Bill had a fancy menu, while the rest of us had the menu du jour. Price unchanged. Very nice.

Wednesday 31-July-14

Lunch with Barbara, Shirley, and Terry before the walking tour of La Rochefoucauld. A starter of seafood, beef chunks around rice for a main, followed by salad and cheese, then fresh strawberries and ice cream. Still a good value.

Monday, 12-May-14

Lunch with Barbara Douma today. Traditional seasonal starter of melon and dried ham. The main was a breaded, fried chicken breast, with gruyèred potato slices, and some other veggies. Then cheese with salad. Then crème brulée. Not too bad at all.

Thursday, 6-February-14

Lunch out with line dancing friends before class; Ed stayed home in bed. Very good meal. The plat du jour is  now €13.50 for four courses. We had a nice starter of red cabbage in vinaigrette with mousse de canard and radishes. Then a leg of chicken with sauce suprême, a reduced cream sauce, and veggies. Then two bits of cheese with salad. Then apple compote in crèpes.

Wednesday, 1-January-14

A start-of-the-year meal with just the two of us. Very good, again, very like last year's meal. The portions tend to be just a bit big, the ball of sorbet for the amuse bouche too big, too much (very tasty) beef for the main course. It is nice to patronize our local restaurant, but maybe we should try another of our favorites next year.

Friday, 4-October-13

Lunch out seemed like a good thing today, so we ate here. Friday is fish day. We had moules marinées for a starter, some merlu (hake) with veggies (a trifle overcooked) for the main, two cheeses and a bit of salad, and finally some fromage blanc with strawberries. Still a good value for money.

Friday, 22-March-13

Took ourselves to dinner after wearing ourselves out gardening. Two menus for €23 each. Cream of mushroom soup and a tartine gésiers for starters, both with beef cheeks for main, cheese, crème brulée and clafoutis de poire for dessert. Yum.

Tuesday, 1-January-13

Another start-the-year meal, this time with just the two of us, since unpleasant in-fighting has broken up last year's fun group. The meal was a bit too much like last year's perhaps, so maybe we'll skip a year before going again.

Thursday, 18-October-12

Bill took us to dinner tonight. I had the lovely mousse ("cake" on the menu) of chicken livers for a started. And pig cheeks. And crême brulée for dessert.

Thursday, 20-September-12

Took ourselves to dinner to celebrate 30 years in Europe and the installation of the new kitchen water heater. We were the only people there. :-( Ed had a delicious starter, a very light mousse of chicken livers, with strips of dried duck breast. Kaye has mouclade, mussels in a creamy curry sauce. We both had pig cheeks for the main and crême brulée for dessert.

Thursday, 12-July-12

Dinner with Bill and Panos. Very nice dinners. Three of us had the €27 menu; one had the €23 one.

Monday, 14-May-12

Lunch before flying off to US on Tuesday. Very nice idea to have a good meal while packing and not need to prepare something in the evening.

Tuesday, 14-February-12

Because it looked like the roads would still be in bad condition, we had our Valentine's lunch here. The plat du jour was a lovely lunch: nice salad with shrimp and avocado for a starter; parmentier with duck and zucchini "flan" for a main; some plain salad with the cheese; and crème brulée for dessert.

The plat du jour is now €12 per person for the four courses.

Sunday, 1-January-12

Another big new year's day meal with friends, Barbara and David, Shirley and Terry, Lesley and Toby. Didn't take notes, but it was a lovely big meal.

Friday, 29-July-11

Lunch with Lesley and Toby, prior to playing some petanque. Nice weather for sitting outside. We all had the plat du jour, which was a nice chunk of fish for the main.

Monday, 25-July-11

Dinner with Patrice and Wim. Same menu, I think. Three of us had the rabbit terrine entrée and the fish with lemon confit for main. Good as always. Glad to see it was quite full when we arrived.

Saturday, 18-Jun-11

We picked up Sam and Pat in Bordeaux today and went here for dinner. Sam had a very nice fishy thing that I will try next time if it's still on the menu. Everything was good, as it always is.

Friday, 29-April-11

Dinner with Bill. Very nice as always.

Friday, 8-April-11

A group from Ed's choir frequently eats here after the choir sings at a Friday night service. This was our second dinner with the group. (The first time was shortly after the 1st of the year.) We both had the cheaper menu, and very good it was.

Saturday, 1-January-11

We had a super multi-course new year's lunch with Barbara and David. The restaurant was very full and they had brought in another woman to help with the service. We started with an apertif, peach-flavored wine, maybe home made, the glass rimmed with pink sugar. Then a plate of fresh veggies with some real mayo. Then some foie gras with salad. Then a little soup of crevettes (some kind of shrimp or crawfish). Then a piece of dorade coated with sesame seeds. Then a bit of grilled beef. Then a cheese plate. Then dessert. Seems like a lot, but the portions were small enough that you could eat it all and feel full but not overstuff. Very pleasant indeed.

Saturday, 23-October-10

Ate here with Jack and Jeannie.

Friday, 29-January-10

We had lunch here, but not further notes.

Parquei Pai

Parquei Pai
Les Ajaux, Rochechouart
Phone: 05 55 71 48 55

Sunday, 14-February-16

Lovely Valentine' Day meal today. We'd studied the menu, but it turns out they had a special menu for the holiday. We started with a very nice (and expensive) aperitif, rose syrup, lime, and champagne with a long, thin slice of ginger to use as a swizzle stick. Then a tiny soup of carrot with cumin an chorizo. Then pigeon breast medallions on smashed potatoes, with a half brussels sprout, a mousse of mushrooms, a chestnut, and some other veggies. We had all this with a half bottle of Bandol. The dessert was a sample of four, a macaroon with raspberries, a fruit salad, a crème brulée with saffron (from the garden), and a creamy chocolate thing. Very nice.

We had a nice meal here last fall with Cath and Doug, but I neglected to record it.

Wednesday, 28-May-14

Excellent lunch today with Bill and Barbara. For starters two of us had coudenou, a kind of sausage (boudin blanc perhaps) and the other two had a salad with scallops. For the main, there was veal saltimbocca, a lovely lamb pot pie sort of thing, and féra, a fresh water salmon, very tasty. Three of us succumbed to the temptation of dessert. All very good and lovely presentation. And very nice service.

Thursday, 8-Aug-13

Lunch today in celebration of leaving Houston 31 years ago today. Maybe not as good as last time, but still good. We each had a non-alocoholic starter, mine was a bit too sweet, Ed's tasted too much of coconut. I had carpaccio of (salmon) trout for a starter and very good it was. Ed had a salad with some goat cheese. Ed had quail for his main, while I had a stuffed filet mignon de porc. Feeling quite full, we skipped dessert.

Wednesday, 8-May-13

Bill treated us to lunch here. Now it's €30 per 3-course menu, but really nice. It's really hard to choose between five or six starters and five or six mains. For a wine we had St Chinian, new to all, and very nice. Excellent.

Friday, 30-Mar-12

I've had my eye on this place for a while. It opened a couple of years ago in a building that looked like a garage where you might have your car repaired. They've been slowly renovating and landscaping so that it looks much better now. All dishes are made with fresh products, many grown themselves and otherwise produced locally.

We took Lesley and Toby here to thank them from their help with Sophie and Oscar, and a very nice meal it was. A bit pricey at €29 per menu, but the selection was good and the food was excellent. Definitely a place to come back to for a special occasion.

Café de la Mairie

Café de la Mairie
Montemboeuf
Phone: 05 45 39 63 60

Monday, 6-Oct-14

Lunch today with Yvonne and Aimée. A nice starter (a bit of quiche and some salad). Rabbit with a mushroom sauce and a side of rice for the main. Two bits of cheese. So far so good. The dessert was a let-down, canned fruit cocktail, yuk. Still, all in all, a good value at €13 per head now, including wine and coffee.

Thursday, 16-Jan-14

Lunch with Barbara, Shirley, and Terry today, since we went to a concert in Limoges in the evening and dinner would be difficult.  First time we've been here since Sami, the owner, died. Still good, plain food, cheap. Friendly atmosphere.

Monday, 10-Dec-12

Lunch before an "event" (that was a bit of a fizzle). Good plain food, cheap. They're not pushing the wine on you like they used to do.

Thursday, 27-Sep-12

We lunched here with Victor and John. Four courses plus wine for €12 a head. Good plain food. A salad for starters, beef and potatoes for main, cheese, and dessert. The dessert was a bit weird, a cup of Nestlé pudding and a tiny slice of appeltaart. Supposedly a new chef, but can't say I noticed a difference.

Friday, 7-Oct-11

A big group for a pre-boules lunch today with Shirley, Barbara&David and friends, Lesley&Toby and parents. Only four courses on the €12 menu today, but still good value for money. Started with ham and cheese rolled up in a croissant, accompanied by a bit of salad. Then a lasagna filled with fish and fresh veggies. Then a cheese plate with two chunks. Then a cream puffy thing, with applesauce (?) on the side. Wine is included and they are very generous with this.

Monday, 14-Feb-11

Valentine's Day lunch. We've been in the neighborhood two years now and only just eaten here. A simple restaurant in the back of the bar/tabac. Five-course menu €12—quite good value for money. Nothing adventurous, but good solid, well presented food. Started with a cream of mushroom soup. Then a salade composée, a sort of kitchen-sink affair, including witlof and slices of poached chicken breast. The main was a chunk of grilled beef, smashed potatoes, and some sautéed veg, zucchini, bell pepper, etc. Then a cheese plate, two chunks each. Then a too-big slice of chocolate cake, the kind with pudding in the middle. Including wine and coffee.

Auberge du Cheval Blanc

Auberge du Cheval Blanc
Luxé
Phone: 05 45 22 23 62

Friday, 15-Nov-13

Here we are again for Ed's birthday. Again the menu du jour, five courses and a substantial amuse bouche for less than €20. We started with a hearty potage. The starter was leaves of endive filled with noodles (Asian?) and little scallop all with a vaguely Asian dressing. The main was a fish, lieu noir (pollock?), with a mushroom sauce, some mashed celeriac, a small boiled potato, a broiled tomato slice, and some zucchini sticks. The wonderful chariot du fromage came around. And then profiteroles again. A bottle of wine was included for the two of us. Unfortunately we couldn't finish it. Way too much food. Service is very nice, friendly, a bit too efficient actually with almost no pause between courses. Enjoyable.

Wednesday, 24-Oct-12

Fantastic meal today, part of a large group for Albie's birthday. The food was lovely, the service great, the room for the large group was lovely. We had the menu du jour, which was five courses, wine included, for less than €20, a super bargain. There was yummy soup (sorrel, we think), a pâté maison for a starter, what might have been pig cheeks for the main (with dried mushrooms and little shrimp in the sauce), the most fantastic cheese selection I've ever seen, and profiteroles for dessert. All the other food on the table looked excellent also. Definitely someplace to go back to for a special occasion.

Chez Steph

Chez Steph
La Rochefoucauld
Phone: 05 45 62 09 11

Have not recorded several recent meals here.

Thursday, 15-Jul-13

Stopped here for lunch after slipper shopping with Jody and Steve. Big salads for three and a tartine for one. Although it sounded yummy, there was too much cheese on the salmon tartine. The salads were great.

Sunday, 14-Apr-13

Stopped here for lunch while visiting a bric-à-brac. We both had very nice entrée salads. Can't think of eating more after this.

Tuesday, 23-Oct-12

Lunched will Bill before taking him to the train station in Angoulême. He had a bavette with shallots. Ed and I, having eaten too much protein in the last days, had tartines with a green salad. These made a nice lunch.

Sunday, 29-Jul-12

Wim and Patrice took us to dinner. Lots of meat, good, but lots. With frites. Starters were nice, but big. Ditto desserts. A pleasant experience, even if we were stuffed afterwards.

Aside: The "new" blogger/blogspot stinks. Just in case you didn't know. WYSIWYG it's not.

Tuesday, 15-Nov-11

Ed's birthday lunch. A very nice meal. Lots of meat on the menu and what we had was quite good quality, a beef filet for Ed and a faux filet for me. Both with frites. The house wine was a Côte de Duras, which we didn't know, but was quite good. One crème brulée and profiteroles for dessert. Good stuff.

L'Antilope

L'Antilope
Angoulême
Phone: 05 45 92 70 64

Thursday, 15-Nov-12

A Groupon dinner for Ed's birthday, thus there was no real choice for the meal. It was a 3-course meal (€23pp), with a salade composée (with tuna, corn, etc.), poulet mafe (with a peanut sauce, but not overwhelming), and fresh fruit salad. Would try this again when we're in the area.

Chez Paul

Chez Paul
Angoulême
Phone: 05.45.90.04.61

Monday, 15-Oct-12

We used a Groupon coupon for our anniversary lunch. This is a trendy place in Angoulême. The food was nice enough, but not extra special. The service was a bit abrupt, and they were clearly anxious for us to go away when it got to be 14.00. This is a lovely terrace in back, so it could be a nice place to sit in terrace weather.

L'Etoile de l'Inde

L'Etoile de l'Inde 
Limoges
Phone: 05 55 32 46 95

Saturday, 15-Sep-12

Very forgettable Indian. Onion bhaji weren't bad. A fish main dish wasn't bad. Saag/palak paneer was weird. Lassi was disgusting. Out of Kingfisher beer.

Le Coq d'Or

Le Coq d'Or
La Rochefoucauld
Phone: 08 99 23 59 85

Friday, 24-Aug-12

Nice bar atmosphere. Decent food, nothing special. You will eat today's menu, with a choice only for dessert. €14pp for soup, starter, main, cheese, dessert, wine, and coffee. (We suspect they might have charged us for aperitifs which we didn't have.)

Ferme Auberge des Forges de Lavallade

Ferme Auberge des Forges de Lavallade
Busseroles
Phone: 05 53 56 57 63

Sunday, 22-Jul-12

Barbara and David again hosted us here for a thank-you meal. And another nice treat it was. The meal was essentially the same, with roast guinea hen as the main course.

Sunday, 25-Sep-11

Barbara and David hosted us here for a thank-you meal. What a treat! Lovely location (in the house of the master of a 15C forge on the Tardoire), warm hospitality, and wonderful food. For €22 each, we had soup, salad with gésiers and goat cheese on toast, vegetable tart, magret de canard with potatoes dauphinois and haricots verts, cheese (cow and goat), and dessert.

La Toscane

La Toscane
3 Rue Limoges
Montbron
Phone: 05 45 70 83 31

We've eaten here quite a few time, unrecorded. Pizzas have been better of late.

Tuesday, 2-Apr-12

Pizzas for dinner. Disappointing. Tomato sauce was tasteless; crust is thinner than crackers.

Wednesday, 21-Sep-11

Pizzas for dinner. Not bad.

Wednesday, 8-Jun-11

Pizzas for dinner. We ordered two pizzas, half of each without tomatoes. They came with a string of dough down the center to separate the parts. Nice touch.

Friday, 20-Aug-10

Italian in Montbron, had been recommended. We had two different pastas for dinner. Ho-hum. Pizzas looked good though.

Tan Saigon

Tan Saigon
St. Junien
Phone: 05 55 02 76 10

Monday, 27-Feb-12

Nothing special. Chinese-Vietnamese. Food served from a buffet. Suppose you could order from the menu, but people weren't especially doing that. Some food wasn't bad. Would go again if the Chinese-ish itch needs to be scratched