Dijon and environs

Christoph, I and Lexi arrived in Dijon on July 24, sticky due to the heat but safely. The humans were hungry so had a quick dinner together at a place around the corner from my apartment, convenient but forgettable.

Next day we went to the market area which has many, many choices for restaurants where we chose lunch at Gina, Italian, formula midi, meaning mid day menu, very large salads and dessert which was good.

Tuesday and the market is open so I wander for about an hour, most of the vendors are still there but the Thai place I get Bo Ban (Thai salad) from is on vacation until August 6. Had beef bourguignon at El 314 beside the market and it was excellent, I’ve been there many times and feel comfortable going on my own too.

Christoph got us an appointment to Clos St-Louis the family run winery in Fixin where we were met by the daughter Martine, father Philippe joined about half way through. Martine went to take care of three nieces who were visiting. The wine is as good as ever but in short supply due to drought. Philippe said for the first time in his life he has had to not take large orders. They are also having picker shortages along with everyone else including Germany. This is our fourth visit to the winery and, like Landerer, I enjoy it every time. Talking to the farmers of the product. So I bought quite a lot and prices have certainly gone up.

https://closstlouis.com/nos-vins-boutique/

Went into Nuits Saint Georges for lunch at I Bravo Ragazzi, Italian which is excellent. With the wine tasting I didn’t want any for lunch.

So far we’ve been going back to old favourites which is fine with me but I did find a new place on a resort south of Beaune. And Christoph’s talk with the tourism office unearthed three castles to go see. It turned out one was temporarily closed for renovation, another we'd seen before and the third we did go see, you'll read about it later.

We visited the botanical gardens and both the plants and us were hot. There is irrigation in some of the beds but you can see the difference where it isn’t. Lovely place with many vegetables and fruits laid out in planters. It’s a treat for me to see veggies growing after so many years off the farm.

Quick lunch at an Italian called Circo in Place des Cordeliers, with take home was good and it’s a good plaza to watch people from, mostly locals.

Saturday July 30 and we drove to Chalon-sur-Saone which is a beautiful city on the river Saone. We had lunch at a favourite family run restaurant called Les Canailles (the scoundrels? Must be an inside joke). We walked for a while enjoying the town and then had a coffee in the church square before heading back to Dijon.

We drove to Beaune on Sunday and ate at a traditional Chinese restaurant, inside with air conditioning called La Paillote. It was really excellent and I’m picky being from Vancouver. My initial thought was get take-away and eat at a nearby park never seen before, but the air-conditioning won out and the tables were well spaced. We walked into the Basilique Notre-Dame, an imposing church and I noticed professionals putting up staging along with camera mounts. Christoph asked what was happening and was told it was the last night for the 40th Festival International d’Opera Baroque & Romantique 2022. Looking at the program and that night’s performance was with Andreas Scholl, a countertenor (singing closest to a female contralto). He started singing at the Festival in 1994 and friends were singing with him, well known artists. Christoph decided this was a chance not to miss so we bought a ticket for him and he returned to enjoy the concert immensely.

Lunch the next day was in Place de la Liberation which is the largest plaza in Dijon where the Dukes of Burgundy ruled from. We ate at Le Chanoine which is a bit less touristy and expensive than many others in the square. We sat next to a gentleman who was talkative and knowledgeable about all areas of France as a person who travelled a lot for work. There are water features in the plaza that are two lines of low fountains spurting up which the kids and dogs enjoy playing in, especially on a hot day like it was. The kids were getting soaked and loving every minute of it.

Wednesday we went south to Beaune to a small village called Levernois which we missed at first try and then I finally made my phone give us proper directions. We were headed to Bistro du Nord de l’Eau restaurant on hotel grounds that looked beautiful. https://www.levernois.com/fr/le-bistrot-du-bord-de-l-eau.html It was a pricey lunch and neither of us thought it worth the money, food was rather bland and mine had a lot of fat on it, I could go on but won’t bore you. Just let’s say for the “grandiose” there were important details missing that a restaurant shouldn’t miss when charging their customers what they do. The service was excellent although I felt rushed.

Lovely statue in the garden of the complex.

So we booked and went back to Chez Jeanette in Fixin, our first time it was recommended to us from St. Clos winery and it was wonderful! It became our standard for a French lunch of quality. The whole meal deal with the amuse bouche etc, in a garden patio under magnificent trees. We’ve been back at least once per trip, four years now. Today it disappointed, both of us. Same owner, same chef, newbie waitress who did well under the tutelage of Madam Jeanette, senior waitress who had that haughty stuck up style of what Paris is known for. Not welcome in a small establishment like this. Christoph did make her laugh though and she lightened up some. The meal was okay, pork tough, ratatouille excellent but it lacked… Les Canailles in Chalone sur Saone was much better. There are restaurants you go back to because everything works there, they are a "look forward" to meal or experience. I asked Christoph if we are getting too picky and we aren’t, we were on point. These are not standard, every day meals, they are treats in French cuisine in a city that boasts about it’s cuisine.

Lunch at Place Emile Zola L’Epicerie & Cie very much a tourist spot my fork was dirty, not a great start. Different waiters for everything another sign, not great, upshot wouldn’t go again.

Monday was back to Sushi King in Place Emile Zola and it was as good as before. This is a family run restaurant and when I went inside to pay, a young fellow, 12 or so, was working efficiently to put soy sauce in small containers for take-away.

As you've read if you've reached the end, we've had some winners and losers for restaurants on this visit. We'll keep trying! 

Cheers!

In a shop window in Beaune