Well, that was Sweet! - Resto Le Mazenay - Monday, 8 October

Well, that was sweet!  Restaurant Le Mazenay has been on my list for quite a while, and I finally got there tonight.  They specialize in wild game, which is just the thing for a fall evening!

I saw grouse on their online menu, and I was hoping to get some, but it wasn’t on the menu at the resto.  Grouse are wild things, so I guess if you can’t get ‘em you can’t get ‘em!  Oh, well. 

My dinner plus the aperitif, sparkling water, wine and coffee came to 84.50 euros (about $99).  Wild!  Sweet!

I just had to try the house aperitif of Gentiane des Peres Chartreux (an herbal liqueur from the Carthusian monks at Chartreuse), Crème de Cassis (black currant), sparkling water and a lemon slice. It was quite tasty, and the sweet strong anise flavor of the gentian complimented the snails in my first course nicely.  They served a few Gruyere icebox crackers with the aperitif while I was waiting for my first course to come.


The first course: wild snails in an herb salad with fromage fraiche (a very young cheese, almost like a blend of yogurt and sour cream), and black currant vinaigrette, all sitting on a large (about 3-inch diameter) savory sablé. The snails were prepared without all of the garlic and butter that usually disguises their flavor. They were very nice, earthy, deep, sweet, meaty yet tender, pure, reminiscent of wild game.  The herb salad included watercress, tarragon, arugula, mustard greens, and parsley.  Wonderful!  It’s hard to see the snails in my photo, but trust me, they were there, kind of hiding among all the greens, as snails are wont to do! 

Then came my main course for some more autumnal sweet, dark and tender (what more could you wish for in the fall?)  A whole perfectly roasted partridge was served with slender green beans, shallots, figs, violet mustard, and poultry stock reduction.  They all displayed that sweet/dark/tender quality in their own category - meat, vegetable, root, fruit, and floral were all represented.
With this course, an earthy and peppery Cotes du Rhone (Domaine Belle Crozes Heritage Roche Pierre 2015) complimented the dish nicely. Yummers.

For dessert, the waiter highly recommended their millefeuille.  It was actually a “cheater” version with three layers of crème diplomat (crème patissiere with whipped cream folded in) sandwiched between rectangles of phyllo pastry (normally it’s quite a few more layers of crème patissiere and puff pastry).  It was served with some very nice caramel. Again, sweet! (Although I would have loved a couple berries to counteract all that richness.)