19 March 2016

« Burger local »

Un pain de boulanger brioché et une viande hachée au moment de la commande. Le sandwich rond de Lionel Furcy n'est pas que beau, il est bon ! Son secret ? Il utilise du fromage de Pontlevoy, des tomates d'Indre-et-Loire et surtout de la viande locale, originaire de Vallières-les-Grandes...*
That's what we had read in the February issue of Loir-et-Cher Info, a magazine published by our local authorities up in Blois. It was describing a new restaurant over in Montrichard. Four of us decided to drive over from Saint-Aignan and try it out.


Montrichard seems to be caught up in some kind of hamburger craze right now. Looking around the square where the new restaurant is located, we saw that two of the other restaurants over there, ones where we have enjoyed a few meals over the past fifteen years, are also prominently featuring burgers among their offerings.


We were surprised to see that the new restaurant, called Montburger, is not so much a full-service restaurant as a take-out joint. We didn't try it — it wasn't what we had in mind. We wanted to sit down and be waited on in a real restaurant with tablecloths and a selection of local wines. So we got a table at a place called La Villa. Its burger menu is the second, more elaborate one in the photo just above, and includes a salmon burger along with two beef burgers.
* A bun made with butter and eggs by a local baker and meat that is freshly ground when an order comes in. Lionel Furcy's round sandwich isn't just beautiful, it's delicious! The secret? He uses cheese from nearby Pontlevoy, tomatoes from the neighboring Indre-et-Loire, and, especially, beef produced locally in the village of Vallières-les-Grandes...

20 comments:

  1. I read recently that burgers are the most popular, or one of the most popular, in France, now. And we all know that a good hamburger is really good and once you've had a nice thick juicy one, you really can't go back to the cardboard they serve in some well-know fast-food places. I think it's popular in restaurants because it's so inexpensive to do. I just love watching the French eat a burger with a fork and knife.

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    1. Yes, the waiter at La Villa made a big production out of bringing steak knives to the table before he brought out the burgers.

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  2. MacDonald va faire faillite!

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    1. Maybe Montrichard's problem is that it doesn't have a McDo. People there have to make the drve to Amboise or to St-Aignan/Noyer for the "real" thing.

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  3. I would not say no to a Salmon Burger and Fries .. in France :)

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  4. Montburger is a strange name. The salmon burger sounds good to me also.

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  5. At Cafe de la Promenade in Bourgueil, which recently changed owners, they serve "le hambourgueil." A burger topped with foie gras.

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    1. I like that name, and I bet it was good with the local Bourgueil red.

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  6. Burgers have been around a long time in France, no? Le Drugstore in Paris had them way way back. Last September McDonald's in France was touting its Double Shiny Bacon.

    Meanwhile, back in the US, this past week we went through Farmville and Dudley NC to eat BBQ at Jack Cobb's and Grady's. Both of them were a long way off I-95, but the detour was worth it. To us, eastern NC-style BBQ is the best!

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    1. Ooh, I made some pulled pork last week in the slow cooker. Shoulder, cooked for 12 hours on low, with the appropriate seasonings. I know you will be skeptical, but it was fittin'. A day or two ago I cooked a lamb shoulder the same way, but with lemon zest and juice, rosemary, garlic, and shallots. Good served with cooked artichoke hearts.

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    2. Ken, I never doubt you. You have the knack!

      E has been planning to try this for a while so maybe this week we'll get to a grocery store for pork shoulder. Your lamb and flavorings sound excellent also.

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  7. Well, I'm just waiting for Montrichard to offer a shrimp po-boy ... then, we're talkin' ;)

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  8. LOL. Or an oysterburger El's style.

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  9. I love eating fast food but I rarely eat them

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    1. You couldn't really call these burgers "fast food." They are gourmet burgers.

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    1. Exactly -- three restaurants duking it out on the same place with burgers.

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  11. So funny to see "cheesburger" and "bacon burger" on a French menu.

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    1. Cheeseburgers appear on a lot of café and brasserie menus in Paris nowadays. I remember years ago when my sister visited we ordered cheeseburgers in a big café near the Eiffel Tower. The burgers and cheese were good, but there was no bun! Just a hamburger steak, some fries, and a basket of sliced French baguette.

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    2. No bun! That is funny,

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