We arrived as La Potinière opened for dinner, and for a solid hour were the only customers. I…read morewondered if people had been turned away by the previous Yelp review. For us, it was a choice between this restaurant and a ridiculously pricy one 20 minutes away, which had so-so reviews. Both had come recommended by our château host.
This place will forever be known as the place I first tried livarot, which has made the list of my top ten cheeses.
We both ordered the Menu Normand which, at 20€, consists of a starter, main course, cheese plate, and dessert. Once we ordered, the waitress brought us a foie gras crème brûlée that was out of this world. It was served in a too-small cup with a tiny spoon, an unexpected and wonderful treat. There was a hint of sweetness, the perfect crunch on top, and a creamy foie gras flavor throughout. I would come back just for this (in a larger portion) and a glass of red.
I ordered the Potage Dubarry to start, a fancy name for cream of cauliflower soup. That, too, was delicious--served piping hot in an earthenware bowl that I might have drank from had it not been so warm. My partner ordered the quiche lorraine, a four-bite quichette, if you will, that was spongy and creamy and came with a side salad. The beef bourguignon main dish was copious, served with an odd combination of puréed potatoes and white rice (along with tiny caramelized onions and a couple of carrot slices). It wasn't the best bourguignon I've had, and was somewhat disappointing after the foie gras and soup, but it was hearty and had an okay flavor. I somehow managed to leave room for the cheese course, where I met the local livarot.
Though I was far beyond full (and because it came with the menu), I had to try the dessert. I ordered the rice pudding, my partner the seasonal fruit gratin. I wish I hadn't even tried. The rice wasn't properly cooked, too hard for my taste, and the whole thing came in a gaudy dessert glass that forced you to dig through the whipped cream and fluorescent pink popcorn to get to anything of substance. Yes, that's right: heavily-dyed popcorn topped with sugar, on both desserts. It was too much.
By the time we left the restaurant, three other tables were occupied--including another couple staying at the château de Bonnemare for the weekend, and a large family who was having the waitress cut blocks of cheese off the cheeseboard. If I were in the area again, I'd do that instead of dessert (and maybe instead of a main?): ask for the full cheeseboard.
