Weekend in Limoges : what to eat ?
16/04/2018
Travelling is discovering. And there is nothing better than eat locally when we go to a city. In Limoges, I became a local just for a meal.
Restaurants :
Le Vanteaux : the restaurant full of surprises
Located a little fr from the center in a calm part of the city, behind the discrete front lies a creative cuisine with a ton of surprises.
Reservation for two, I have been informed that the 33€ menu is not available. But I do not regret it because it allowed me to take the excellent "Les produits ont du talent..." menu.
First surprises. Le coussin de concombre : cucumber cream covered with jelly. Very fresh, we feel lightly the vegetable. Oreo : salty biscuit with goat cheese, the visual is very original and creative, the taste reminds me of the cheesy snacks. Guimauve de cacahuète : peanut marshmallow (tofu), taste is what you would expect from the title, soft.
Second surprise. Crémeux d'asperge avec sauce parmesan : cream asparagus soup with parmesan cheese, a egg yolk is hidden, very creamy. The asparagus taste disappears with the parmesan, lacks freshness but very pleasant.
The entrées arrive !
Cannelloni, escargot en croquette et escargot Brocciu avec sauce menthe épinard : (canelloni, snail croquette and snail with Brocciu cheese and mint and spinach sauce, it is a surprise to see this entrée in two plates, with the snail cooked in two ways. The croquette is crunchy and has a nice herby scent, the snail is there for the texture more than for the taste. The Cannelloni is good, filled with white cheese and herbs.
The second snail has a gret texture, the sauce is not too strong and the Brocciu cheese ressemble ricotta, it's creamy.
Risotto champignon brun, cacahuète, truffe noire et parmesan : brown mushroom, peanut, black truffleand and parmesan cheese, so creamy and soft, various textures, a diversity in tastes that go well together. I personally thought the parmesan taste was a bit too strong. It's vegetarian friendly but so filling !
I am already full at 75% but here come the main courses !
Cabillaud, bouillon de champignon, chou fleur au parmesan : cod, mushroom broth, parmesan cauliflower. The fish was cooked perfectly, not too cooked it keeps its very nice texture that doesn't crumble. I love the taste and the texture of cauliflowers. But here it was swimming in parmesan. In the begining it is quite nice but in the end quite sickening... Especially that that gave me another bowl full of it in case I didn't have enough.
Agneau, croquettes d’agneau en trompe l’oeil (citron noir), oignon frit et velouté d’aubergine et mangue : lamb, lamb croquette in trompe l'oeil (black lemon), fried onion, eggplant and mango cream sauce, the lamb and its sauce are quite classic, the croquette is visually very nice and original. But I would have prefered to see more diversity in taste between the two. The cream sauce is very surprising, the mango gives to the eggplant acidity.
Dessert : as usual I chose the varied cheese, I am always keen to discover new tastes and I have ! With pepper, creamy, dry, .. we have the choice !
Surprise dessert, crème de litchi et gelée d'ananas mangue en trompe l'oeil (oeuf) : litchi cream, trompe l'oeil (egg shape) pineapple and mango jelly. Visually very fun, but in the tastes lack coherence. The litchi is barely present, the jelly is too strong and the whole dessert is quite heavy and too mushy.
For the real dessert they bring us a plate full of little desserts, we have to choose only three of them, very hard !
Apple : white chocolate, vanilla cream and caramelised apples. The visuel is great, the taste is good and classical
Pear : white chocolate, pear and litchi. Same as before for the visual, couldn't feel the litchi.
Tarte au citron caramel beurre salé : lemon cake, salty butter caramel, the best of the three, visually interesting. The lemon is not too strong, it crunches, the biscuit is good.
Last surprises ! Sucette sorbet sésame mousse de rhum : sesame sorbet and rhum mousse lollipop. very surprising. We feel all the tastes. Never tried this combination before. très étonnant, on sent tous les goûts. Guimauve citron : lemon marshmallow, good, nice powerful taste. Truffe pistache : pistacchio truffle, the queen of combination, perfect to finish the meal.
I can say that it was a great value for money ! The surprise were very effective, we get out of the restaurant crawling. Very pleasing experience, very rich. It is a quality restaurant that lacks so little to become excellent. The cuisine is creative but I believe it lacks finesse. The service is perfect, special mention to their beautiful plates from the city.
I recommend absolutely. Booking advised.
My bill :
Menu : 48€
Glass of wine : 8€
Le Bistrot Gourmand : the full house 'Maître Restaurateur'
Big light restaurant with a simple and minimalist decoration. With the 'Maître Restaurateur' mention we are sure that the cuisine is homemade and that the products are fresh !
The timing is tight, we have to eat in on hour to give the table to the next customers. The service is efficient, timed, the menu is given fast, the dishes come fast, the bill is paid at the counter.
Knowing that the whole restaurant was booked I had big expectations. First disappointment, the menu is huge, on one hand it gives us a large choice but on the other hand it doesn't reassure me on the quality. The dishes are very french, it's what I wanted.
Ris de veau à la forestière, frites : calf sweetbread with creamy mushroom sauce and french fries. It is very french, very rich, very creamy. Eveything is here : the sweebread, the ham and the cream. For those who don't know the texture of the meat, it is a bit like a soaked mushroom, very mushy and full of sauce but a little more mealy. The fact that I don't French very often may have influenced my opinion but I was sickened by the texture and the quantity. It was way too heavy for me.
Cassolette géante du pêcheur et riz safrané : huge fisherman cassolette with saffron rice. It is indeed huge ! Two gambas, two pieces of white fish, scallops and salmon. Eveything is very lightly seasoned at the limit of bland. From the texture, I deduce it is frozen food and not fresh. It crumbles, it's dry, the taste of the products almost absent. The riz is ok but dry. Thank god that they give a green salad to each table otherwise I would have chocked ! The worst is that even the mayonnaise was not good, greasy without any taste.
In the end, I get out with mixed feelings, I would even say disappointed. Objectively, on dish out of two was a miss, the other one not my taste. The fish is not the best idea for the region but it doesn't justify the poor quality. I recommend this restaurant only to people that eat a lot and for those who want to try very french dishes. The rib steak of my nighbour looked very nice. If you come, take the meat !
My bill :
Calf sweetbread : 22,60€
Supermarket/ market :
It has been a few years that I ditched the hotel services for the comfort of Airbnb flats. It enables me to save on meals and to cook regional product. A big advantage for a full immersion.
The Limousin region is known for it's good meat, so don't hesitate to take nice piece and to cook it if you can. I wasn't able to go the butcher's but the rib steak from the local Carrefour supermarket was largely sufficient. It was maybe the magic of the trip but the meat has nothing to do with the ones we buy in Parisian supermarkets. It was tender and juicy, a real surprise !