A Loire Valley Find: Auberge de l’Ecole in Pontlevoy

Sara: The lodging for our first night in the Loire: The hostess was lovely, the bathroom was a shambles AND we were sharing it with her parents, and there was a clown hanging from the ceiling above our bed. We ate the cost of the second night.

But one really nice thing happened in the tiny town of Pontlevoy; We ate at l’Ecole, the restaurant in a hotel just around the corner. For 24 euros each(!!!), we had three courses and our first run-in with purely traditional French sauces, which nearly sent us off our chairs with delight.

My monkfish came with fresh julienned vegetables, and was served with what I now think, having read Julia Child’s My Life in Paris, was buerre blanc. It was creamy with a little vinegary bite. Perfectly smooth and delectable.

Drew, meanwhile, had a game hen (as we recall) with a brown sauce—which makes it sound like yucky gravy. But it was buttery, winey, salty, and incredible. And I am kicking myself for not asking precisely what it was, and writing it down.

Oh, and notice the plates—the motifs matched the food, with hunting for the game bird, and marine life for the fish.

Drew.  As we had just left Paris for the countryside, I went full-on countryside with my ordering.  I had the pain a la campagne, a fois gras salad, and the entre that Sara refers to (some kind of gamehen wrapped in bacon served over wild morels).  Amazing.  Worth the trip to the small village and one night in the room with the clown hanging from the ceiling.