Auberge du Bon Laboureur (Chenonceau)

Sara: After we scrammed from our first lodging in the Loire Valley (Drew, in towel, dripping: “Uh, I wouldn’t recommend that you take a shower.”), I booked us into an incredible, charming hotel in Chenonceau called the Auberge du Bon Laboureur. Not only was the place covered in flowers, and our room big, comfortable, and decorated with cool vintage furniture, but there was an excellent restaurant on the property.

Whoa, I just understated. Bon Laboureur served up one of our favorite France meals. In the photos you can see a dish of sauce I called “liquid gold.” The most incredible dish may have been the cuisse de canard confite au foie gras with sauce aux épices, with a blanket of sweet potatoes. But my beef millefeuille also combined crisp with succulent, the quinoa with the monkfish was delectable (!), and the foie gras appetizer so silky we just wanted to die.