Dinner at Les Hospitaliers

The hotel's restaurant is the best in town. They offered a 7-course "chef's surprise" based on what is fresh, in season, and the whim of the chef. I trust him and also asked the sommelier to choose my 3 glasses of wine.

First was an amuse-bouche which I would translate as "make your mouth happy." Maybe "taste teaser" would be better. It was a ceviche topped with roe.

Second was Sea scallops with pureed vegetables on the side.

Third was tuna rolled in spinach and, I think, a leek. It was lightly grilled and rare.

Fourth was the beef course, a perfectly cooked and thick filet of beef, red and a little cool in the middle. Yes, beef should be eaten rare for flavor and tenderness.

The cheese board was fifth. It had more types of cheese than I knew of. I chose a blue, a creamy goat, a creamy cow, a hard cow, and a goat wrapped in leaves. Because why not leaves? By the way, you eat the rind but not the leaves.

For the sixth course, I asked the server to repeat what he said and I swear he said "sorbet à bergamote." Neither Google nor Bing translated "bergamote" but my daughter realized that he said "bergamote" like the bergamot orange in Earl Grey tea. Wikipedia said that experts believe the "bergamot orange to be a probable hybrid of lemon and bitter orange." The flavor was a little like citrus zest and not sweet. Trust me, it was good.

The seventh and final course was more dessert. A tart of thick chocolate mousse topped with light raspberry mousse. Plus a strawberry sorbet.Read more