The Grillade Gourmande, Epernay

I had an absolutely splendid meal last night at the Grillade Gourmande in Epernay - the town which is the home to the great champagne houses of France.

After a very long day (up at 5.30am and an awful lot of travelling) I was very ready for a bit of a treat. Armed with my Michelin Guide to hotels and restaurants in France, I decided to try this restaurant as it is listed as a "Bib Gourmand" which means "good food at reasonable prices".

I had the Menu du Terroir Champenois so the only champagne I had was in the sauces!

Menu du Terroir Champenois, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

Apologies for the colour - I`ll redo them when I get home

I also tried a new strategy. I managed to get all four courses onto a double page spread of my large folio Moleskine (size A4) - and, if I say so myself, the sketch is a wonderful memory of an absolutely delicious meal. (the image is to follow when I work out how to upload pics while on the move).The courses were as follows:

• Foie Gras de Canard au Ratafia de Champagne chit en terrine et configure d'oignon au vin rouge Terrine of duck fois gras cooked in Ratafia Champagne with red wine onion marmelade
• Filet de Bar Grille aux Asperges Verts Grilled Sea Bass with green asparagus Champagne sauce
• Pigeonnea de Champagne dessose cuit en feuillete, jus redoit au Chardonnay Local boned young pigeon with foie gras cooked in flaky pastry case
• Fraises au Poivre Noir au Champagne Rose Strawberries with black pepper and frozen rose champagne

I'll do the translation when I post the images of the two sketches I did. (now posted)


[Note:  See an updated and longer post about my stay in Epernay in Épernay and The Grillade Gourmande on my sketchblog Travels with a Sketchbook.  The sketch has been further developed to eliminate "dead cow" - see the comments - and it also includes another sketch and photos]