THE POTATO BABE

Domme: Steve and Laura's Favorite Restaurant In The World

Tonight we were treated to a lovely meal at L’Esplanade, a hotel in Domme that Steve and Laura say is their favorite restaurant in the world. The setting is stunning – it’s perched atop of Domme, which offers a spectacular view of the hillsides and the Dordogne River. Laura and Steve started coming here years ago when the patriarch was the chef, and it’s now being run by his daughter and her husband.

The restaurant’s décor is pretty unassuming – it’s decorated in traditional colors of yellow and blue, and the servers seem like have been there forever. But once the food starts coming we begin to understand why it’s earned its reputation.

The starter was a cold cucumber soup with lime and olive oil – three flavors that shouldn’t go together but made for a crisp and refreshing beginner. The amuse bouche consisted of a small plate with three separate offerings – a raspberry reduction with a consistency similar to jello (with way more flavor); a bite of pigeon pate on toast; and a cold trout and potato tartar. For my appetizer (which they call an entrée here – that keeps it interesting) I had a cold melon salad and followed with a seared goose breast with a delicate potato gratin (which didn’t contain Edouard Loubet’s grandmother, as far as I could tell). Dessert was just as perfect as the meal – I had what they called a raspberry macaroon but was actually a large meringue with raspberry puree and coconut ice cream. I didn’t care what you call it, because I finished it handily.