Bordeaux Welcomes Careful Diners - SFNers in town

Me too! It looks like you were a good-sized crowd having lots of fun. The only thing putting me off is the distance from Limoges...

John

Looks fabulous!

And jumping the gun a bit, here is an idea for the next meal (hint, hint!). Just outside BOrdeaux, also rive droite (cross pont Mitterand, not Aquitaine or Pierre or St Jean; 10mins from the rocade), huge free car park, also on the river but totally different and excellent 17€ lunch menu. One of the favourite haunts during vinexpo week.

Great for a late summer lunch. Very french and not suburban at all (sic) - not a lotissement in site - just carrelets and the odd boat. Too far off the beaten track for your average tourist - have never overheard English spoken here. Sophisticated food in a superb setting.

http://www.maison-du-fleuve.com/index.html

The pay for parking is a sneaky new measure - years ago there was a car park, then there was free parking, now you pay....

Am going to make the pasta for lunch!

it was a concasse...basically melted seasoned butter with dried tomato's stired through the macaroni... heavenly! though would love to try the crab you describe above...! we drove to Bordeaux on the motorway and took the pont du Pierre bridge across the river...then basically you aim left...which is a challenge (over tramlines...one way systems etc!) but once over the bridge...about 2 miles along by the river....pay for parking outside...but plenty of it as its mainly a suburban area... and if you drive another half mile..parking is free. We also spent an hour in the botanical gardens nearby the restaurant...which was also a delight.

Yes Carol a starter of frizee and confit of ducks heats is very SW AS a starter and with the right

dressing and good bread it is good.

We served it in London on our menu...WAS not as popular as gateau of fresh crab and

languistine...but there we are.

In what capacity was it a dried tomato sauce...NOT a runny liquid...JUST an intensity of the tomato

concase coating the pasta?

We think that we were there at the restaurant in its really early days when we stayed at a small chateau

near Fargues st Hilaire.

How did you get there? Which route did you take.

well the menu was pretty French...havent been offered frisee salad with duck hearts as a starter in many UK restaurants....nor Perch on a bed of macaroni with butter and dried tomatoe sauce...followed by delish tart with peaches...or praline fingers....that was my choice and it was superb...in fact so impressed Ive nicked the recipe's and serving it to friends this weekend!

Couldnt we aspire to a Buffa

Celeste you are on the posh side of the mountain this is Clampett country a Carcassonne bash sounds good to me must be a Mc donalds there ;0)

My yacht is bigger and my helicopter. As for my fleet of limos and chauffeurs. My imagination also runs wilder than yours.

We had to 'Limo' in that day actually Neil, get with the programme. My pilots were servicing the fleet.

Nick, sorry you weren't there as you could have told us how 'orrible it was and we could have saved ourselves a bunch of Euros and walked out en masse. As it was, we had to endure excellent, friendly service, very tasty food, fabulous location, good conversation and jolly banter, damn!

Lauren, they keep the yacht in Biarritz, and fly to it by helicopter, stupid!

yes...advertising on all the lamposts and bill boards..

Not suburban - it's in the Bastide, and it is as French as they get.

like!

It ate my post!

In my humble opinion, http://www.qype.fr/place/117657-La-Cave-de-Bigoudy-Bordeaux is on a par, if not better than La Tupina.

I hid behind Catherine! has been at least 10 years since I welcomed the camera!

Not fair at all, to far for us hillbillies in the mountains of the Tarn

ah well...guess you didnt miss anything then Nick....only our superb company...!

La Tupina is one of the great restaurants, I make a point of going whenever I am in Bordeaux. They even park my car for me, despite it being a 1984 R4 rust box.