Frustrated by several recent restaurant closings in and around Hudson, we searched for some places within a half-hour drive or so. I checked out several in Rhinebeck and found that most were quite expensive and not necessarily particularly interesting. Gigi was a notable exception. The menu was not only interesting, with a good number of choices, it was also reasonably priced. The wine list turned out to be quite reasonable as well.

We’ve now been there twice. Standout dishes were:

Fried oysters (a special when I had them, now added to the regular menu)

Lobster ravioli

Lasagna Bolognese

Skizzas (pizzas with a very, very thin crust)

Cod piccata

Porchettini

Lemon cake

Service was also excellent both times.

https://www.gigihudsonvalley.com/

Friday, 9/29

We arrived from Amiens in the late afternoon and took an Uber to Ana and Bertrand’s in La Varenne.

After settling in, we drove into Paris to have dinner at Hectar in the 9th, (Bertrand refuses to take the train) and after much difficulty finding it, attempted to park in the garage that was nearest to the restaurant, but it was full. Bertrand was annoyed and didn’t know what else to do, so he dropped us and Ana off at the restaurant and went home.

Fortunately for him, he didn’t miss anything, as the food was terribly disappointing. Service was not great either, as the small staff seemed overwhelmed.

This was Stanley’s birthday dinner, and I had chosen the restaurant after much careful research. The atmosphere was nice, and it was filled with presumably happy customers. We couldn’t understand why it reminded me of last year’s experience at Le Mazenay (see last year’s Paris posts).

The quail starters that Stanley and Ana had were adequate, but not in any way special. We’ve had much better, including the ones Stanley prepares himself. I had soupe au pistou, which was just ordinary bland vegetable soup.

For main courses, Stanley had cassoulet, which was absolutely awful, a bowl of undercooked beans with tough meats. Cassoulet should be cooked for many hours, even days, for the beans and meat to soften and the flavors to meld. It’s not a difficult dish to make. This one was not at all what it should have been. Stanley makes a much better version himself. Ana and I had a special of colvert, which is a wild duck. I’ve had excellent versions of it in other restaurants, particularly Le Radis Beurre, but this one was poorly executed, with a skin so tough it had to be cut off and put aside. The meat wasn’t bad but just uninteresting.

For dessert, they had figs topped with whipped cream, which weren’t bad, but again nothing imaginative. I had “chocolate mousse”, which I put in quotes because it was not a mousse at all, more like a bowl of chocolate sauce.     

Only the wine was satisfying and well-priced.

For the 3 of us, the bill was 211 euros.

Saturday, 9/30

We took a day trip to Moret-sur-Loing and Fontainebleau, about an hour’s drive from La Varenne.

Moret-sur-Loing is a charming and well-preserved medieval village, famous for being the home of the impressionist painter Alfred Sisley.

After touring the village, we had lunch in Fontainebleau at Fuumi.

This is a Japanese restaurant owned by the chef of Axel, the neighboring restaurant, which has a Michelin star and is, according to Ana and Bertrand, wonderful. Fuumi was a mixed bag. Sashimi was excellent, as was the udon noodles with ground meat and the gyozas. A main course of pork belly with noodles was also very tasty, but the fried chicken was too heavy with batter, and the chicken was overcooked. They use white meat, and it really would be better if done with dark meat.

Overall, pretty good but not worth a detour.

We bought a cake for Sunday’s dinner at Dardonville, which is known for wonderful desserts.

After lunch we visited Alex and Marie, Ana and Bertrand’s son and his wife, who have a 16-month old baby, Amelia, who we were meeting for the first time, at their lovely house in Samois-sur-Seine, just a block from a back entrance to the chateau of Fontainebleau. We had coffee and a delicious cheesecake souffle that Ana had bought at the patisserie adjacent to the restaurant and under the same ownership.    

Back to La Varenne briefly, Stanley and I then took the train into Paris to have dinner at Le Servan, an Asian-influenced French restaurant in the 11^th. It is owned by 2 sisters who are French-Phillipine.

The cuisine is very imaginative. I started with a tartare of veal, and Stanley had a salad of pig’s ears. Main courses were echine de cochon (a very tender cut from the upper back of the pig, done to a perfect medium-rare) and a raviole (we can’t remember what it was stuffed with, but it was wonderful._For dessert, I had a coupe glacee with berries and he had clafouti. With wine, the total was 141 euros.

https://www.leservan.fr/

Sunday, 10/1

Sunday is the day we spend at home when we visit Ana and Bertrand, having a main meal in the afternoon and a lighter supper in the evening. We went to the farmers’ market in the morning and bought a chicken, which Stanley cooked. It’s a recipe we’ve been making recently that is simple and wonderful, roasted with butter, tarragon and cognac. We also picked up some rabbit terrine for an appetizer. Dessert was a cake we bought in Fontainebleau at Dardonville (famous for wonderful cakes), incorporating several layers of different mousses, including raspberry and pistachio, covered with a raspberry glaze. The weather was beautiful so we ate on the terrace facing the river.

Bertrand made the evening meal, salmon trout and potatoes. It was still warm enough to eat outside.

Monday, 10/2

Almost all museums are closed on Monday, but we did find one open, the Grand Palais Immersif, next door to the Bastille Opera, which had an Alphonse Mucha exhibit, so we planned to see it in the afternoon. We took it easy in the morning and set off for Paris to have lunch at Le Radis Beurre, a longtime favorite of ours.

I had the appetizer I always order there, the pigs feet, and Stanley had head cheese. His main course was sweetbreads, and mine was colvert, same as I had last year. It was way better than the one I had at Hectar the previous Friday. We shared a dessert of rice pudding, and a bottle of a really great Vacqueyras. The bill was 136 euros.

We loved the Mucha exhibit, but I didn’t take any photos as it is not the actual art but projections on walls. It was a very innovative concept. Trust me that it is very worth seeing.

https://grandpalais-immersif.fr/en

We had time to kill before dinner at Jeanne Aimee, so we had pina coladas at a nearby café, arriving at Jeanne Aimee for our 7:30 reservation.

The chef is French but uses many Japanese ingredients, making for some very interesting flavors and textures.

They now offer only a tasting menu, which we normally don’t care for, but this one was an exception. Unfortunately I didn’t get a printed menu and the descriptions of the dishes were complicated. There was a menu on the website, which only varied slightly from what we had, but it’s not showing up now. It only shows the lunch menu, but maybe they will correct that.

Beware of the sommelier pushing wine pairings, as they are expensive and what I saw him pouring at neighboring tables was nothing special. We ordered a bottle of a light red that went well with everything, for 49 euros.

The bill was about 230 euros.

https://www.restaurantjeanneaimee.com/en/

Tuesday, 10/3

Again we left in late morning to have lunch, this time at Brigade du Tigre, an Asian fusion small-plates restaurant.

We ordered 4 plates and 2 sides, starting with a raviole of chicken, crawfish and rice and duck tartare, then fried chicken and noodles with meat and seafood, with sides of rice and kimchi. The food was very interesting and tasty. With a bottle of rose, the bill was 91 euros.

https://www.brigadedutigre.fr/

Afterward we took a boat cruise on the Canal St. Martin and the Seine. It took two and a half hours, most of which was on the canal.

The guide was very informative and described everything in both French and English. Note that you must book this tour in advance and not all days are available. We managed to get a reservation only a day ahead but this is not always the case.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Seine-River-Cruise-and-Paris-Canals-Tour/d479-3001CRUISE

Again we had time before dinner, so we had cocktails at Le Mabillon on Boulevard St. Germain.

Dinner was at Le Sergent Recruteur, where we had lunch last year and were very impressed.

This time the menu was almost exactly the same. We both began with foie gras, which was excellent, and a generous portion. Stanley had chicken and I had grouper, both very good but not exceptional. We shared a chocolate dessert. With an excellent bottle of 2013 Cahors (62 euros) , the total was 247 euros.

https://www.lesergentrecruteur.fr/

Wednesday, 10/4

Left for home. We were notified the previous day that our United flight was being cancelled, and they were going to book us on the same flight the following day. We were not happy about this, so I was able to get them to put us on a Lufthansa flight, but it meant having to change in Frankfurt, and arrive in Newark 6 hours later than the original flight. At least we were able to get home the same day, and the flight was pleasant enough.

Thursday, 9/28

We drove to Dover and dropped off the car, boarding an afternoon ferry to Calais. We reserved the club lounge, which costs 25 GBP per person, a bargain as you get comfortable seating and all the food and drinks you want. We had a couple of glasses of champagne to start, then the buffet lunch which was quite good, with wine. Then desserts and coffee, and cognac, from a choice of liquors. The trip takes an hour and 40 minutes, and was very relaxing.

Arriving in Calais, we took the free shuttle to the station for the train to Amiens. I had bought tickets in advance but not realized there were 2 stations in Calais, the one in the center and Calais-Fretun, which is several miles away. That was the one I had inadvertently reserved. We would never have made it in time, and it would have meant a cab ride. It was too late to change the tickets or get a refund, so that was a loss, but at least there was a train leaving the central station that would get us to Amiens on time so we bought tickets for that.

Our hotel in Amiens, the Appart‘city was only a five minute walk from the station, and we were checked in with plenty of time to get to our 8:30 dinner reservation. This is a great bargain for 86 euros. I had booked a studio but they upgraded us. We had an apartment with a kitchenette, large living room, bedroom with a king-size bed, and a large bathroom. The décor is basic but it’s very comfortable and the location is unbeatable, halfway between the station and the cathedral. 

https://www.appartcity.com/fr/destinations/picardie/amiens/amiens-gare.html?search%5BstartDate%5D=19/10/2023&search%5BendDate%5D=20/10/2023&search%5BnbAdult%5D=2&search%5BnbChild%5D=0&search%5Bcode%5D=&gclid=CjwKCAjwyY6pBhA9EiwAMzmfwfqZu-NHMItisW5UnIBHNVjCIG98omiODgyjUUD8YQe2uZHw4NKKqxoCga8QAvD_BwE
https://www.appartcity.com/fr/destinations/picardie/amiens/amiens-gare.html?search%5BstartDate%5D=19/10/2023&search%5BendDate%5D=20/10/2023&search%5BnbAdult%5D=2&search%5BnbChild%5D=0&search%5Bcode%5D=&gclid=CjwKCAjwyY6pBhA9EiwAMzmfwfqZu-NHMItisW5UnIBHNVjCIG98omiODgyjUUD8YQe2uZHw4NKKqxoCga8QAvD_BwE

Dinner at Ail des Ours may have been the best choice in town, but fell short of expectations. I won’t bother to go into detail, but suffice to say it was nothing special.

Friday, 9/30

We spent the morning visiting the cathedral and strolling around the surrounding area. The cathedral is quite special, with much of the ancient polychrome decoration intact.

The river Somme runs through this part of the city, and there are colorful buildings and many restaurants lining the banks. As in most cities like this the restaurants along the water are forgettable.

For lunch we went to Brasserie Jules (named for Jules Verne, who lived in Amiens) which is adjacent to the station, so very convenient for departing in mid-afternoon.

Here we had a delicious lunch. I started with 6 Gillardeau oysters, which were huge and delicious. Stanley had a regional specialty, ficelle Picarde, a rolled crepe with ham and mushrooms, topped with cheese. For the main course we both had a mix of sweetbreads and kidneys, with mixed mushrooms. It was delicious but so rich we couldn’t finish. We did save room for dessert, though, and shared a Paris Brest, which was very good. With a nice bottle of 2010 St. Estephe, the total was about 130 euros. The wine isn’t even available at retail anymore, but at 39 euros it is probably just about what it would retail for, so it’s a great deal.

https://www.brasserie-jules.fr/

From the restaurant, we walked over to the station and caught the train to Paris. See the next instalment.

Saturday, 9/23

Driving from the Isle of Wight, we arrived in Crawley in the early evening, where we stayed at the Travelodge in the center of town. It was very nice that they had free parking in the adjacent garage.

Because we would be having an elaborate dinner Sunday night, we wanted to keep it simple and not have to do any more driving for the day, so we went to the Old Punch Bowl, a traditional pub just a block away, that had gotten good ratings. The food was simple but good. We had fried squid and Nidderdale sausages to start, then a flatiron steak and a steak and ale pie for mains. It was all good and we had good beers with it. Total was about 52 GBP.

Sunday, 9/24

Getting an early start, we visited 3 houses and gardens. The first was Chartwell, which was Winston Churchill’s country home.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/chartwell

For lunch we had originally planned on The Greyhound in nearby Charcott, but not knowing what time we would get there, I hadn’t reserved, which was a mistake as it’s very busy on Sundays. Nonetheless, we found that The Wheatsheaf, which is very close by in Bough Beech, had availability.

There we had a delicious appetizer of venison carpaccio, then both of us had burgers, which we requested to be medium rare and were informed they only do it one way, which unfortunately meant overcooked. They were tasty anyway, and came with cheese and bacon, but if they had been cooked as we wanted would have been much better. With beers and service the total was 73 GBP.    

Next up was Hever Castle, which was the home of the Boleyn family beginning in 1462. After passing through a number of owners over the succeeding centuries, it was bought and restored by William Astor in 1903.

https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/

The last stop of the day was Nymans, which is known for its gardens, the house being mostly in ruins and only open earlier in the day.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/nymans

From there we returned to Crawley and then went to dinner at the Pass, which is in a hotel and spa called South Lodge.

The chef, Ben Wilkinson, received a Michelin star after taking over the kitchen just a year ago. The menu is a 7-course tasting for 145 GBP. The menu is below:

The total with wine and service was 400 GBP, the equivalent of $500. We liked it very much but whether it was worth the steep tariff is hard to say.

Monday, 9/25

We left Crawley and drove to the next stop, Scotney Castle, about an hour’s drive. The main building, the “new castle” was built in the 19th century, so the owners could move there from the “old castle” which you will see pictured, in ruins. The ruins did not occur naturally, but were created by purposely demolishing parts of it. The reason for this was supposedly to make an interesting centerpiece for the gardens, but in fact the architect used parts of the old castle in the construction of the new one.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/scotney-castle

Near Scotney, we had lunch at the Bell in Ticehurst, another very traditional pub but with good food.

Stanley had bangers and mash, and I chose to have 2 appetizers instead of a main course, as they had softshell crab tacos. These turned out to be very good, and plenty to eat. With beer, coffees and service the total was 65 GBP.

https://www.thebellinticehurst.com/

From there we went to Godinton House, where only the gardens were open on Mondays.

We continued on to Canterbury, where we would be staying until Thursday, at the Chaucer Hotel, which is now a Travelodge.

Our room was more like a suite, very large and with a king size bed. The location right in the center was very convenient.

Canterbury doesn’t have much to offer in the way of serious restaurants so we had to do a bit of driving in the evenings. Monday’s dinner was at the Whitstable Oyster Company, a 20-minute drive away in Whitstable.

I started with local oysters and Stanley with fried squid, followed by a dressed crab for him and whole roasted bream for me. Everything was extremely fresh and perfectly done. With a bottle of rose, the total was 136 GBP.

http://whitstableoystercompany.com/

Tuesday, 9/26

The first stop was Leeds Castle, where we were shocked to find the admission was 35 GBP. With that you can return as many times as you want for a year, but that is useless to us.

The gardens are mostly lawn and ponds, but very attractive.

After Leeds, we had an excellent lunch at Fish on the Green in Bearsted.

I began with fish cakes, Stanley with crab and tomato soup. Then I had plaice and he had hake. We shared a coconut parfait for dessert. With a bottle of rose, coffees and service, the total was 105 GBP.

https://www.fishonthegreen.com/

After lunch we went to Great Dixter, where we opted to skip the house, the interior of which didn’t appear to be very interesting, and strolled through the gardens, which are very impressive.

https://www.greatdixter.co.uk/

Back in Canterbury, we drove a few miles to The Dog in Wingham for dinner.

The food was very good. I started with smoked burrata and tomatoes, and can’t recall Stanley’s starter. He then had roast lamb and I had pork belly. We shared a raspberry and frangiapane tart. With a bottle of wine, the total was 140 GBP.   

https://www.thedog.co.uk/

Wednesday, 9/27

First we headed to Goodnestone Park, just a few miles from the center of Canterbury. The house is closed to the public, so it’s all about the gardens.

It was very nice but couldn’t compare to Great Dixter.

We had lunch at Dunkerley’s in Deal. It’s a lovely restaurant facing the sea, and they have a bargain lunch deal at 19.95 GBP for 2 courses.

I had a whole grilled mackerel to start. Stanley had chicken liver pate. The mackerel could have been a main course, and was delicious. He then had fish and chips and I had slow-cooked lamb shoulder, which was a huge portion but I managed to finish it because it was so good. With a bottle of rose and coffees, the total was only 66 GBP.

https://www.dunkerleys.co.uk/

Our last house and garden was Walmer Castle.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/walmer-castle-and-gardens/

Dinner was at the Fordwich Arms, a very short drive from Canterbury, where the food was absolutely fabulous, every bit as good as what we had on Sunday at The Pass, but not nearly as expensive.

3 courses are 75 GBP and a 5-course tasting is 125 (better to just order the 3-course and share dishes, just as much food for much less moey and not limited to the choices on the tasting).

We started with the scallop and duck liver parfait, then had the lamb and the suckling pig. For dessert we had the plum tart and the raspberry parfait. With wine and service the total was 225 GBP and well worth it.   

https://www.fordwicharms.co.uk/

Thursday, 9/28

We set off for Dover where we dropped off the car and caught the ferry to Calais. See the next instalment for our overnight in Amiens before continuing to Paris.

by Robert Rems

We took the convenient 38 bus from the hotel to Victoria Station for our trip to Lancing, where we picked up the rental car and drove to Portsmouth, where we caught the ferry to Fishbourne. Arriving on the Isle of Wight, we first headed to the ASDA supermarket to pick up a bottle of sherry, then to the Travelodge in Newport. It was a typical Travelodge, basic but comfortable.

Then off to dinner at Thompson’s Restaurant, which was a real treat.

There are 3 dining rooms, one small one facing the kitchen and two on the floor above.

The menu is short, but the dishes are very creative and delicious. After two amuse-bouches, we had a rabbit croquette with some baby rabbit parts, and a mackerel ceviche with radishes and a pastry crust. For the main courses we chose the roast beef with a chicken and ricotta filled pasta and escargots, and sea bream with vegetables and samphire. Next came a pre-dessert of a take on lemon meringue, and then we shared a peach melba. With a bottle of Rosso Piceno and tip, the total was about 150 GBP.

Saturday, 9/23

Leaving Newport in the morning, we visited Osborne House, a home of Victoria and Albert, which they built themselves, and her constant retreat where she died in 1901.

After that, we had a lovely lunch at Murray’s Seafood in West Cowes. Despite the very unassuming facade and simple decor, the food is fabulous. It was recommended to us by our friends Carl and Jeffrey, who had been advised of it by the now late Lord Montagu, a well-known gourmet, and who despite having been married twice and fathered 3 children, was gay as all getout.

We ordered from the catch of the day menu. I started with 6 oysters, which were huge and delicious, very similar to the Pemaquids we have on our trips to Maine. Stanley had mussels in a garlic cream sauce, which were very plump and fresh. For the main courses, I had a whole plaice and he had bream with samphire. They were both extremely fresh and full of flavor. With a nice bottle of pinot grigio rose and 2 coffees, and tip, the total was 105 GBP. We were very surprised to be only one of two tables for lunch, while some other nearby restaurants were very busy. This is a gem, hidden in plain sight.

https://www.murrays.co/

Following lunch, we took the ferry back to Portsmouth and drove to Crawley, where we stayed at another Travelodge.