Sunday 29 March 2015

More Food Changes in Town

The butcher is open for trade
The new butcher in Cormatin has finally opened its doors and so off we went to try it out earlier this week. We bought two different types of pâté, some celeriac salad for lunch and some steak for dinner. The pâtés and salad were very nice indeed, but the steak was absolutely divine. Cees said he could not remember having such good meat ever in his life before - I am tempted to agree with him and it was at a price comparable to, or cheaper than, the local supermarkets which do not deliver anywhere near the same quality. I am sure that we will be making many return visits to this shop.

Change of ower and style for the grocer
The new grocer has opened too, pretty much the same as the old one, but much brighter and more room to move around inside, letting you see the merchandise without knocking jars off shelves. We didn’t meet the new owner, but all stories point to a younger more vibrant approach to running the establishment whilst still stocking the products that everyone loved so much – fresh-ground coffee, ham to die for and hot rotisserie chickens. The only complaint I have heard so far is that she cuts the ham too thin, funnily enough my only complaint about the previous owner’s ham was that it was cut too thick – each to their own.

La Terrasse doubles in size
Another change on the food front is that La Terrasse, the restaurant opposite the chateau in the middle of town, has been extended into the building next-door, doubling its internal seating capacity as well a consolidating its extended terrace in time for the good weather.

Talking of restaurants, we went out to lunch on Thursday, with a group of people from the Office de Tourisme, to the Auberge de Malo in Etrigny, a village nearby. They were going to show off their culinary skills to our group of gîte and B&B owners, so that we could recommend their restaurant to our guests and I was hoping to dedicate a blog to them. I won’t bore you with the whole sorry story, I will just sum up my experience in a few words: too expensive; tasteless; cold and amateur; some people find this charming – I don’t. We will be recommending that our guests go to La Terrasse which is quite excellent or Les Blés d’Or which comes in at a close second, right here in Cormatin - few people are disappointed in either of these places.

New chique look for the baker
There is yet another change on the culinary front in our village. The baker Delice de Cormatin has upgraded its shop and it is looking very swish and professional, to match his superb patisseries.

All in all, with the new deli, the organic food market and the pizza parlour, not to mention the second baker (Roi), a wine merchant come semi-deli and the food section at the Filaterie (a place that sells handicrafts) Cormatin is creating a reputation for itself as being a foodie heaven in these parts. Long may it last.

For holiday accommodation, a short walk or bike ride from all of these gastronomic delights, click here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...