Dear friends, we are in Northern California and enjoying fall weather in contrast to the crazy hot weather we experienced this summer, both here in California, and in Provence. We certainly appreciate that we now have a/c in our house in Sablet.
You will recall that I told you about our visit to
Chateau La Coste in
Le Puy-Sainte-Reparade in early January to see the unusual art installed around this 600-acre organic winery and art center which includes a luxury hotel and 4 restaurants.
This past August, we were invited by new friends Cesar and Danielle to eat at
Francis Mallmann's restaurant at Chateau La Coste. Francis Mallman is an Argentine celebrity chef, author and restauranteur who specializes in Argentine cuisine, especially Patagonian cuisine with a focus on Patagonian methods for barbecuing food.
He currently operates 9 restaurants worldwide including Francis Mallmann at Chateau La Coste.
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Francis Mallman at Chateau La Coste
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One of the first things you see when you walk into the restaurant are the cooks in the open kitchen with its wood burning oven. The dining room is very comfy with wood ceilings and beams.
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| Wood burning oven at Francis Mallmann restaurant |
The menu is large, offering 9 entrees (starters) and 10 plats (main courses), and they all sounded delicious. I will be truthful; Cesar and Danielle and Shirley and I, we all love food. Cesar comes from a restaurant family in Nice, France, and you know my love of food; we went crazy ordering dishes to try.
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| Melon Salad, Goat Cheese, Radicchio, Cucumber and Fresh Mint. |
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| Grilled Artichokes, cream of Gorgonzola, Raisins, Olives and Chicory |
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| Fresh Nectarine, Iceberg Lettuce, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Hazelnut Powder |
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| Grilled Octopus, Potatoes, "Anchoiade" and Spring Onions |
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| Wood Oven Beef Empanadas from Mendoza |
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Butterfly Sea Bass
We don't eat pork, but I can vouch that the look and smell was awfully tantalizing. |
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| Slow Roasted Suckling Pig with Fennel, Rocket Salad and Grilled Potatoes |
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| Vegetarian Tower |
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| Sirloin Steak on the Bone accompanied by Mustard Potatoes and Grilled Onions |
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Mustard Potatoes with Grilled Onions that accompanied the Grilled Steak
We chose a lovely bottle of red wine from Hermitage. |
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| 2017 Delas Ligne De Crete Hermitage |
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Shirley and I with our friends Danielle and Cesar
The menu offered 8 choices for dessert. We really didn't have room for dessert, but we chose a couple to share to finish our wonderful meal. |
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| Dessert #1 |
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| Dessert #2 |
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| View towards the Chateau La Coste vineyards |
We loved our meal and time spent with our friends driving to and from Chateau La Coste. If you are in Provence, we definitely recommend you visit Chateau La Coste and walk through the art installations that are spread around the grounds. It will take about 3 hours. Plan ahead and make reservations to dine at Francis Mallmann.
If you want to try Chef Mallmann's food, but can't get to one of his restaurants, consider purchasing one of his cookbooks. I have tried a number of dishes from his latest book "Green Fire" and they turned out great.
