Food itinerary for (east) France

I might be going to France in November (free roundrip ticket...) and would love some suggestions for our itinerary. The rough plan is to go from Paris to Alsace, then down through Burgundy, and then to Lyon. Our goal is to eat, eat, eat, preferably at places that are "local". We'd like to taste the specialties of the regions/towns that we're in, and avoid the high-end, high-falutin' places. (Although a splurge or two is not out of the question). We plan to travel by train, with an occasional rental car thrown in as necessary, in addition to many long walks to work off the massive calories we hope to intake.

Any ideas about restaurants/bars/vineyards/markets/places to stay would be greatly appreciated. I speak fluent french and read maps well, so I'm game to go anywhere.

Also, is le Puy worth a side trip? (Is it a side trip or too far off our path?) I've been there before, but it was long before I learned of those magical Puy lentils...

This was seven years ago, so take that as a caveat, but two recommendations:

1) L'Esperance, in Vezelay (which is also the site of one of the most important/coolest medieval bas-reliefs). I know you didn't necessarily want high end restaurants but this was a magical meal for us, a many-course lunch in the bucolic restaurant overlooking the garden. I gotta recommend it.

2) Nothing to do with food, but: go to Hauterives for the Palais Ideal, a massive folk art assemblage created by a postman in the 19th century.

Oooh, Vezelay. Now THAT'S a beautiful town. And now there's even more reason to go there! My travelling companion is not as enthusiastic about history as I am so it's good that there's a worthy restaurant to lure him to the neighborhood of that bas-relief.

And the Palais Ideal might be very cool for both of us--he loves the House on the Rock, so this might be the french equivalent, no?

Actually, it's France's answer to this.

Now I want to go to Kansas...

France, Kansas... how to decide...

Probably my all-time favorite culinary day took place in Alsace. A friend and I
drove through the beautiful villages along the route du vin, making numerous stops for several tastes of the local poire williams (eau de vie). I think we drove 7K in 4 1/2 hours with all the stops!

The highlight of the day, though, was dinner at the Auberge D'ill in Illhausern near Colmar. If you're ever going to spend the big bucks for gastronomic ectasy, this is it. This is truly a holistic experience from top to bottom; what is envisioned when one uses the term haut cuisine.

Having never been to France, I have no personal opinions on the subject, but the current issue of Bon Appetit, which just arrived in my mailbox yesterday, has a piece on the bistros etc. in Burgundy (the whole issue is about wine areas generally.) While we're on the subject of French travel, does anyone have any good information on the Languedoc region of France (also featured in Bon Appetit), and more specifically the very small town of Lagrasse in that area? We have an opportunity to rent a house there next summer and are endeavoring to gather opinions on the area, which is one of the lesser-traveled parts of France.

I am pleased to see that Kansas is FINALLY getting its due. There are more bizzare and wonderful places 'round here than you can shake any available stick at--Garden of Eden is just one. Plus, you can go down to Wilson, south of there, and go to the Czech IGA and get some awfully good sausages.

Now, back to France. I have spent months and months in Alsace, counted over the last 30 yrs. My favorite place of all is Dambach la Ville, a still-walled wine village on the rte du vin, about midway between Strasbourg and Colmar. There's no great cuisine in the village, but there's good food in a couple of cafes, and if you stay at the hotel La Courounne, in the market square, you can eat there. There's great cuisine in many of the surrounding villages, and there's no place bad.

Dambach is absolutely charming, without being twee. They don't work at it, they just ARE that way, those people and their village. It's a wine village so there's grapes everywhere. There are a couple of wineguts, so you can taste all you want. Just walk around everywhere, stroll in the hills, just drink it in. It's real, it's exactly the way you'd want it to be. You'll feel like you're a million miles and years away from anywhere you'd not like to be.

It's on the train line from Strasbourg.

Oh, be absolutely sure you taste some of the fruit eau des vies in Alsace: they are justifiably well-known for them.

Jeez, have a GREAT time!

Geo


http://www.dambach-la-ville.fr/

Oddly enough, I spent several of my formative years in Wichita and Winfield Kansas, so I have a soft spot for that great state. It always used to make me mad when my friends in St. Louis would call Kansas flat and boring. The Flint Hills are beautiful and I've heard KC is pretty darned cool.

Thanks so much everyone for the France recs so far--they all sound and look great. I wish I could go for a month, there are so many great places to go, so many great meals to eat!

Keep 'em coming, folks! One of my favorite parts of a trip is the planning/anticipation!

If you're in Strasbourg get to Restaurant Pont du Corbeau: http://www.linternaute.com/restaurant/restaurant/1290/pont-du-corbeau.html

It's easy to get to, right by the quartier Petite France. Little hole in the wall place that's been there forever. Was recommended by a local when we got there, and this place was so good it destroyed our eating plans - we ended up going there three days in a row to tear through the entire menu. Everything was delicious and moderately priced, really basic Alsatian cooking like grand mere would make it. I envy you, it doesn't get much better than Alsatian food on a chilly autumn day.

I am pleased to see that Kansas is FINALLY getting its due. There are more bizzare and wonderful places 'round here than you can shake any available stick at

Mike's Top 10 Things To See in Kansas And France

10. World's Largest Hand-Dug Well, Greensburg
9. Picasso Museum, Paris
8. Dyche Museum natural history diorama, originally created for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, University of Kansas, Lawrence
7. Ile St. Louis and Berthillon ice cream, Paris
6. City of Lindsborg and Birger Sandzen museum
5. Musee d'Orsay, Paris
4. Garden of Eden, Lucas
3. Palais Ideal, Hauterives
2. Big Brutus (strip-mining shovel), West Mineral
1. Cathedral at Chartres

Ah, but you wanted eastern France. In Beaune, visit the Hotel-Dieu, a very cool tile roof building which has Rogier van der Weyden's Last Judgment altarpiece and, if I remember correctly, a very strikingly austere crucifixion scene.

Mike, Well Done! I'm amazed and gratified to see how well you have us under control here in The Wheat State.

One that's new, maybe, since you last breezed through, is the Columbian Theatre + Museum in Wamego--they've got these astounding panel-paintings from the Chicago Fair, in a fully- (and beautifully) restored late 19C opera house. Really really worth a stop. (There's also Oz and Judy Garland exhibits there now...)

Back to eastern France. Geli if you're interested in art things to see, you'll need to stop at the city's Unterlinden museum in Colmar. They have a huge number of Bonnards, which is cool, plus the Grünewald "Issenheim Alterpiece" which is breathtaking.

Oh, and I've remembered the name of a delightful place to eat and look out over the vineyards, and the Rhine plain: Le Clos-Vincent, in Ribbeauvillé. Beautiful balcony (if it isn't too cold!) plus exquisite traditional food (frog legs, rabbit, eel, etc.) but done with panache and subtlety. I've eaten there a number of times, and always just loved it.

Geo


http://www.wamego.org/

http://www.travelswithfriends.com/Desti ... Colmar.htm

http://www.france.com/hotels/hotel.cfm?hotel_id=1999

Have to second the recommendation of L'Esperance. My mother says it is where she would eat her last meal on earth. The restaurant, the inn and the town are all very special indeed.

I have it on good authority ( my college roommate who actually gets paid to eat at multi-starred establishments) that L'Auberge de l'Ill is perfectly sublime. Top tier (perhaps even the tip-top) of her all-time greats. So, so worth it. The rooms are apparently inspired as well. So if you're going to splurge. . .

If you're considering the Auberge d'Ill, also think about the Restaurant Troisgros in Roanne, a tiny town about an hour from Lyon. I've eaten in many restaurants in France, including several of the Michelin 3-stars (Troisgros is one), but have never had a better meal in my life--anywhere--than at Troisgros. It lasted five hours and wound up with my girlfriend passing out from overeating on the train back to Lyon. The cheese tray is so large that is has to be carried over the shoulders of two men in tandem, and there are three dessert carts. It's a gourmand's paradise. And, unlike many high-end restaurants in France, the wonderful food is served in copious portions.

The menu is online. Don't be scared at the prices--order the prix fixe menu.

Just want to jump in again and say thanks to everyone who has posted.

Also to add a quick question: we're planning to go in mid-November, but if that isn't possible due to airline restrictions (we're using earned mileage to pay for the tickets), is it alright to go in early spring, say February or March? Or is that part of France just not a good idea at that time of year?

Well, it'll be cold and rainy (and maybe even a bit of snow) in Feb., Mar. will be o.k., but bring an umbrella. But EVERY month is great in France, and the off-season is best: hearty foods and fewer tourists!