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When we paid a visit to La Côte Saint Jacques in 2000, we were very much impressed. The food superb, the suite the height of good taste and comfort. The dining rooms calm and gracious. But the trek through the tunnel from our room on one side of the road to the public rooms on the other, just a little irritating after a while but not too bad. With the major addition underway even when we were there, the Lorain family have finally created a properly integrated hotel and restaurant complex with the public rooms, suites and dining facilities all on the same side of the road and right on the river for the view and the calm.
Most of our favorite dishes from a few years ago were available like the lamb that melted in our mouths, the Bress chicken baked in Champagne and so on. But to them have been added some most interesting and very creative inventions helped indeed by the new kitchen complex with separate kitchens for meat, for fish, for vegetables, for pastry, for chocolate and more. This gives the chef a measure of control not seen in most kitchens of even high end chefs.
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No, Griselda, the dog has not hicked up! This glorious dish is Skate wing with tomato confit, cucumber and tapioca pearls in a sauce of whipped coconut milk and lemon thyme.
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One of the most sinful chocolate desserts we have ever had! Definitely for the choco holic! Even with the unusually hot weather, they managed to get the dessert to us without too much melting.
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For those watching their calorie intake, the plate of various sorbets is delectable.
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Our meal started in the usual way with a palate teaser of barely cooked tuna with caramelized onions just to get the taste buds warmed up. Then came a truly marvelous oyster dish with a small tray of 4 small pots of the various ingredients of the dish starting with the oyster sauce, then added in was the garlic and sweet basil, then an oyster on the sauce, then all of that with a slightly spicy taco chip. The final big dish had all the above with various other condiments as a grand finale.
Next was an interesting dish contrasting the crispiness of a slowly cooked fin of Skate with the soft, delicacy of the bed on which it sat of tomato confit, cucumber and tapioca pearls and covered with a frothy sauce of coconut milk and sprinkled lightly with the fresh leaves of lemon thyme.
On to a lacy "sandwich" of sliced breast of farm raised pigeon with alternating slices of new potatoes on a bed of fondue of onions with the juice of foie gras and garlic from the garlic foie gras served on the side. Top and bottom, holding this concoction together, were two delicate wafers of chick pea in a lacy presentation. It was as good as it sounds.
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Breakfast served in the garden room with the view over the river Yonne or in good weather, on the outside terrace or even in your room if you prefer.
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Jean-MIchel doing some last minute larder enhancement at the central covered market in Joigny.
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Finally while Linda was a saint and enjoyed the light sorbet dish, I was a sinner and dug into the Assiette "Tout Chocolat". Composed of 6 different mini chocolate desserts, this is a must for the chocoholic. Dark, rich, bitter chocolate (see photo above) rendered from a sorbet sitting in a shell of black chocolate to two columns of chocolate fudge and so on.
Coffee is served, naturally, with another helping of chocolate goodies. The dessert had, of course, been preceded with several plates of other sweet confections.
There are many more dishes on the menu that we have any room for here. But visit their web site (link below) to see their current menu and start planning your trip! Don't forget that Jean-Michel also runs cooking classes in a specially built "stadium" school room. It is only a short walk down the street to the Joigny farmer's market where Jean-Michel shops several times a week for the kitchens.
The family winery is the pet project of Papa who is letting his talented son Jean-Michel run the kitchens. It is producing a lovely Chardonnay from the slopes above the hotel where Papa played as a child. This wine region has historically produced a vin gris, a rosé, which for many years has been of little interest. But Michel Lorain tested the soil and discovered that it was perfect for Chardonnay. Modestly priced at 165 Francs ($25 US) per 3 pack, this is an extremely affordable wine and one we drank at almost every meal.
While the town of Joigny is not much of a destination, La Côte Saint Jacques most definitely is. If you plan to spend any time in Burgundy, La Côte Saint Jacques is a must. Not far from Auxerre and Chablis, it is within easy drive from Paris even just for lunch.
La Côte Saint Jacques Hôtel/Restaurant/Winery
B.P. 197
89304 Joigny Cedex
France
tel: 33-(0)3.86.62.09.70
fax: 33-(0)3.86.91.49.70
e-mail: lorain@relaischateaux.fr
web site URL: http://www.relaischateaux.fr/lorain
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For a link to the Relais & Châteaux Group of hotels and restaurants own site, click on the button left.
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To Get There:
From Paris, exit Joigny (A6) or Sens (A5) ; from Lyons, exit Auxerre Nord (A6).
Annual closing:
From January 3rd to 27th
Menus :
Menu 380 s. i. (2 glasses of wine included) week
lunch
Menu 580 s. i. lunch
Menu 780 s. i.
lunch-dinner
Carte 690 s. i.
Rooms:
16 rooms
season 790-1,550 FF s. i.
off-season 660-1,290 FF s. i.
9 suites season starting at 1 890 s. c.
off-season starting at 1 690 s. c.
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