Friday, August 11, 2006
Lunch at the Barbara
Just to make a change we decided to go out for lunch today in Deauville- there is a very nice restaurant just opposite the Hotel Normandy- my most favourite hotel to have stayed in. The square in front of the hotel is beautifully adorned with hanging baskets, flower beds and manicured lawns- at night the trees are subtly lit and graced by couples taking romantic walks after their dinner. During the day the place is buzzing with people too'ing and fro'ing as everyone migrates between the town and the sandy beaches. The Barbara is under-rated as restaurants go; they do fantastic crepes and even more splendid desserts- perhaps the main reason for visiting. For many years we've popped in there for a quick meal; in and out between races.
Today we went straight in on the main courses, I had a calzone while Dad was unoriginal with the pizza du chef. These were impressive efforts as the egg cracked into their centres provides an excellent excuse for devouring the crusts- just like a good old English boiled egg and soldiers. Its genious and I've never seen it done in England- no doubt on grounds of health and safety.
I'm not so keen on the chilli oils, though my Dad swears I must have been adopted for my dislike of spicy food considering a bit of heat is applied to the best of meals given the chance. Hector was involved in a deep starring competition with one of the chillies to the back left of the bottle and was extremely miffed to have missed out on half of my calzone already by the time he conceded defeat the the chilli, which by this time had psyched him out by talking Parisean- its a bit like cockney but with longer syllables and more swearing.
We made up for it by sharing a Barbara Cup- banana, vanille and Creme Ice cream with a rich chocolate sauce, wafer biscuit and topped with Chantilly. Absolutely calorific and certainly made the trip into town worth it. Hector couldn't help himself and quite literally dived straight in, burying his nose in the chantilly and licking his lips with great content.
The mess he made required a serious clean up operation, my serviette was ruined. Dad had his favourite 'surtout'- Cafe Liegois, apparently found nowhere else beyond the Normandy towns.
Its not cheap, but the quality and quantity put London restaurants to shame.
Today we went straight in on the main courses, I had a calzone while Dad was unoriginal with the pizza du chef. These were impressive efforts as the egg cracked into their centres provides an excellent excuse for devouring the crusts- just like a good old English boiled egg and soldiers. Its genious and I've never seen it done in England- no doubt on grounds of health and safety.
I'm not so keen on the chilli oils, though my Dad swears I must have been adopted for my dislike of spicy food considering a bit of heat is applied to the best of meals given the chance. Hector was involved in a deep starring competition with one of the chillies to the back left of the bottle and was extremely miffed to have missed out on half of my calzone already by the time he conceded defeat the the chilli, which by this time had psyched him out by talking Parisean- its a bit like cockney but with longer syllables and more swearing.
We made up for it by sharing a Barbara Cup- banana, vanille and Creme Ice cream with a rich chocolate sauce, wafer biscuit and topped with Chantilly. Absolutely calorific and certainly made the trip into town worth it. Hector couldn't help himself and quite literally dived straight in, burying his nose in the chantilly and licking his lips with great content.
The mess he made required a serious clean up operation, my serviette was ruined. Dad had his favourite 'surtout'- Cafe Liegois, apparently found nowhere else beyond the Normandy towns.
Its not cheap, but the quality and quantity put London restaurants to shame.
# posted by MChem Wannabe @ 1:14 PM 
