Informal BordeauxBy Emmanuel TresmontantThe improvement of Bordeaux has gone hand in hand, in recent years, with the emergence of a trio of great regional chefs: Michel Portos in Bouliac, Thierry Marx in Pauillac and Philippe Etchebest in Saint-Emilion. In the city itself, Bordeaux plays the hand of conviviality and is noted above all for its traditional "bistro" cuisine. THREE BORDEAUX INSTITUTIONS Despite an extraordinary gourmet heritage combining produce from the ocean (oysters and line-caught bass from Arcachon, tuna and baby squid from the Basque Country) with produce from the Gironde estuary and the nearby Landes (lamprey, eels, Pauillac lamb, asparagus from Le Blayais, cepe mushrooms, foie gras, wood pigeon, Chalosse beef...) Bordeaux, strangely, has never been the gastronomic capital of the southwest! This anomaly can be partly explained by the aristocratic behaviour of the owners of the great châteaux of the Médoc and Libournais who, for a long time, preferred to dine at home, accompanying their vintage wines by an entrecôte (rib steak) grilled over vine shoots... Today, however, things are beginning to change and Aquitaine is on the way to becoming the great breeding ground for chefs that it always should have been! Although you have to leave the city centre to find truly exceptional restaurants, such as that of Michel Portos in the heights of Bouliac, Bordeaux nonetheless has lots of good bistros such as the recent Café du Théâtre created by the former star of the Saint James, Jean-Marie Amat, or Gravelier, near the Quais des Chartrons, which serves an inventive and carefully prepared cuisine. Following the example of Paris, which still has a handful of typical bistros, the inhabitants of Bordeaux cultivate the tradition and would not forgo "their" institutions, La Tupina, Le Café Gourmand and Le Bistrot de l'huître, for anything in the world! La Tupina La Tupina, founded in 1968 by Jean-Pierre Xiradakis, needs no introduction! This Bordeaux inhabitant of Greek origin, who is in love with his city and wine and goes to Mount Athos for a week each year, has done a lot for the renovation of the popular districts of Saint-Michel and Sainte-Croix, where his restaurant is located. The latter is visited like a sort of living eco-museum, with poultry roasting in the fireplace, hams suspended from the ceiling, old photos hanging on the walls and, above all, the human presence of "Xira". At the bidding of this "Godfather"-like character, we sit down at the table, order a rib of beef with coarse salt and homemade chips and, while we wait, tuck into a block of medium-cooked Landes duck foie gras spread on slices of toast! Simple but effective. A delicatessen opposite sells the very best produce of the southwest. Menus between 30 and 50 euros*.  © E. Tresmontant / ViaMichelin Le Bistrot de l'Huître With his rugby-player physique and deep voice, Joël Dupuch not only produces excellent oysters at the village of Le Jacquet on the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula; he is also one of the most famous faces of gourmet Bordeaux. Indeed since 1982, his establishment in the heart of the Saint-Pierre district, a stone's throw from the Grand Théâtre, has attracted those with a taste for oysters from Arcachon, Quiberon, Normandy and Marennes-Oléron, not forgetting the rare flat oysters from Belon with their very iodine-rich taste. Each region is represented here, thereby making it possible to distinguish the differences in taste from one oyster to the next. Every morning at 6am, Joël Dupuch takes his oysters out of the water before transporting them to Bordeaux for the evening sitting. We recommend trying his slightly sweet "spéciales grasses" which have to be chewed rather than swallowed whole: an explosion of freshness on the palate! The ideal season for sampling oysters is from October to the end of April. A pleasant set menu at 17.50 euros including 12"numéro4" (medium sized) oysters from Quiberon, duck pâté and a choice of dessert.  © E. Tresmontant / ViaMichelin Le Café Gourmand How do you "exist" in the microcosm of French cuisine when you are the son of Michel Oliver and grandson of Raymond Oliver? Bruno has never stopped asking himself this question! And it is probably to escape the pressure of such a huge legacy that he travelled around the world before spending four years in New York, where no one knows the name Oliver... For those of you who may not be familiar with it either, Raymond Oliver was one of the most renowned French chefs of the 1950s, along with René Lasserre and Fernand Point: chef at Le Grand Véfour in Paris, he was also the first to popularise great cuisine on television, alongside a certain Catherine Langeais ("Voyez-vous ma chère Catherine..." - "You see, my dear Catherine..." - the famous bearded chef would say, with his grating south-western accent)... Michel Oliver, for his part, influenced a whole generation of viewers in the 1970s-1980s with his famous Sunday morning programme. In his Café Gourmand, Bruno has decided to keep it simple by serving a market cuisine with a Spanish flavour with, for example, his gazpacho of tomato with mango, his grilled tuna with Serrano ham and his pavé of cod with chorizo emulsion. His desserts are of great delicacy, for example his white peaches with lemon verbena, cardamom sorbet and strawberry coulis. On the dining-room walls, you can read juicy quotes from his grandfather: "A badly prepared chicken is a chicken who died for nothing!" Set lunch menu at 28 euros. An up-and-coming restaurant In the evening the rue du Parlement, in the heart of the Saint-Pierre district, is one of the liveliest and most picturesque streets in the city. With its flamenco ambiance and little working-class bar decor, Le Petit Commerce is worth a visit for the remarkable quality of its fish, shellfish and crustaceans. Grilled sardines and large prawns, crayfish salad, farmed mussels, line-caught bass, whole roast monkfish with preserved shallots, turbot, swordfish... The exceptionally fresh products are from that morning's catch. We advise you to reserve your fish by telephone. Sampler menu at 40 euros. FOR WINE CONNOISSEURS  © L'Intendant L'Intendant Opposite the Grand Théâtre, L'Intendant was designed as a 12-metre tall tower containing over 15,000 bottles of Bordeaux from 200 different classified châteaux, classed by vintage. Jean-Luc Freret, the director of this "Tower of Babel", will welcome you with courtesy and humour. You take a lift to the top of the tower (where the oldest vintages are kept) and walk down a spiral staircase designed by Jean-François Moueix (owner of Château Pétrus), with each level corresponding to a particular wine. With prices from 4.50 euros to 3,000 euros, you are sure to find something to your taste! Le Bô Bar This new address in Place Saint-Pierre is causing a stir in the dominant and self-assured world of oenology in Bordeaux! Indeed - huge scandal - this pleasant wine bar is not content with just selling Bordeaux wines! It offers wines from all over France (and even from Spain, Italy and Portugal), without giving pride of place to wines of the Médoc! So here you will find only "vins de plaisir" and "vins de terroir", vinified in the most natural way possible, such as Côte du Py by Foillard, Yvon Métras' Fleury, the Puzelat brothers' wines of Touraine, and Thierry Allemand's Cornas. Delicious wines that you can sample on the premises with a few fine local products that have been carefully selected, such as the traditional andouillette de Guéméné smoked with beech shavings, and Jean-Yves Bordier's seaweed butter. Les Caves d'Ausone A renowned young sommelier and cellarman who writes for the RVF**, Laurent Vialette specialises in old Bordeaux vintages. Looking for a 1961 Pauillac? A 1982 Pomerol? A 1990 Sauternes? Laurent will unearth a real gem for you in 24 hours! Just off Quai Richelieu and Place de la Bourse, Les Caves d'Ausone also serves as a bookshop and restaurant. * One euro is worth approximately GBP0.67. ** La Revue du Vin de France Address bookLa Tupina 6, rue Porte-de-la-Monnaie Tel: 05 56 91 56 37 Le Bistrot de l'Huître - Chez Joël D. 13, rue des Pilliers-de-Tutelle Tel: 05 56 52 68 31 Le Café Gourmand 3, rue Buffon Tel: 05 56 79 23 85 Le Petit Commerce 22, rue du Parlement Saint-Pierre Tel: 05 56 79 76 58 L'Intendant 2, Allée de Tourny Tel: 05 56 48 01 29 Le Bô Bar - wine cellar, bistro 8, place Saint-Pierre Tel: 05 56 79 38 20 Les Caves d'Ausone 14, rue Ausone Tel: 05 56 48 53 08 |
Tourism and Gastronomy
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