Le Fromager de Saint-Paul

Luck would have it that Mijune would be in Nice at the same time as us and she would have time to meet!  We ended up driving over to St. Paul de Vence to rendezvou at Le Fromager de Saint-Paul.  Similiar to Mougins, but bigger, St. Paul is a medieval town that sports beautiful views, artisans and of course, excellent places to eat!  Like the name suggests, the restaurant specializes in cheese with other accompanying dishes as well.  We didn't go for anything complex and shared a bunch of little bites.

This included their absolutely delicious rendition of Pissaladeriere.  For those who haven't had this, it is basically a flatbread with caramelized onion, olives, capers, thyme and nutmeg.  Well, this was truly excellent with a thin crust that was slightly crispy in places.  The intense sweetness from the onions was balanced off well by the saltiness of the olives and capers.  Of course the tanginess from both also helped keep things from being too heavy.

Even though we had left Italy several days ago, we couldn't resist ordering some Burrata with tomatoes and balsamic. Mind you, Nice and the surrounding area used to be part of Italy...  Anyways, the burrata was supremely fresh with a creamy and cheesy centre.  It was topped with an aromatic and nutty pesto.  This went really well with the supplied baguette.  We got more of it since there was so much burrata (and other things on the table).  The tomatoes were super fresh and juicy.  Loved the simple balsamic and EVOO drizzled on it.

We ended up also getting our meat fix with a Charcuterie plate consisting of coppa, saucisson and jambon cru.  This was a nice collection of familiar items including the nutty and firm saucisson and the coppa was salty with plenty of fat due to use of pork shoulder.  Essentially prosciutto, the jambon cru was nutty, salty and fairly lean.  It was soft with the classic chewiness.  We had a baguette on the side and we ate that with the meat and cheese.

Also on the table was the Terrine de Cochon Maison served with a green salad, conichons and pickled onions.  We found this terrine very rustic and almost a bit fluffy.  This was not a tightly packed terrine and it was not overly meaty.  The combination of whipped meat and fat, it was almost spreadable.  I say almost, since it still had some chunks, so it didn't really spread.  Flavourwise, it was meaty but mild-tasting.  It was nutty from the pistachios strewn throughout.

And finally we had a slice of Truffle Brie as per my daughter's request.  This brie was really good being creamy and buttery without completely melting upon contact.  It was lightly sweet and nutty while the thin layer of truffle add the usual woodsiness and aromatics.  We combined this with the baguette and some meats to create layers of flavour.  So as you can see, the things we had at Le Fromager de Saint-Paul was pretty simple.  But really, this was sufficient as a light meal especially on a hot day.  Was cool to sit outside and catch up with Mijune while thinking of other things to eat later!

The Good:
- Outstanding location with a nice view
- Quality products
- They have hot dishes too, but we didn't try them

The Bad:
- Limited parking in the area, but that is a given

Alpenrausch

Back in November, I did the dumbass thing of not checking as to which location of Olympia Provisions we were supposed to visit.  Hence, we showed up at the one on SE Division instead of the one on SE Washington.  Turns out that this time around, I would be going back to SE Division, but not to dine at Olympia Provisions.  Rather, it is their new concept, the Swiss-themed Alpenrausch.  They have changed up the decor to reflect that and the menu has followed suit.  Mind you, there are still some classic Olympia Provisions influences lurking around.

As such, the Venison Tartare looked suspiciously like the beef tartare we had at Olympia Provisions.  Yes, the protein was different, but it was just as delicious as previous dish.  It came with the same butter-soaked grilled bread which was the perfect vessel for the well-seasoned venison.  Usually venison can be rather tough due to its leanness.  However, this one ate quite buttery and was probably influenced by the mix of egg yolk, horseradish, capers and shallots.  Super tasty!

We also had another OP staple with the Charcuterie Platter featuring Summer sausage, fioncchiona, pâté cubes, mortadella and saucisson.  This also came with pickles, grain mustard and crackers.   Since I've already had their famed charcuterie at Olympia Provisions at SE Washington last year, I knew this would be solid.  We really enjoyed the pâté cubes as they were aromatic and meaty.  Went well with the crackers.  Mortadella was delicate while the saucisson was firm with the usual salty nuttiness.

Something specific to Alpenraush was the Smoked Trout with rösti, chèvre and trout roe.  This was not an overly complex small plate, but it was still very delicious.  The smoked trout itself was so buttery soft and lightly smoky.  Combined with the rich chèvre and a bit of trout roe, there was a bit of smoked salmon and cream cheese vibes going on.  However, this was much more elevated.  Loved the crispy rösti as it was potatoey and well-seasoned while not overly greasy.

For me, I just love fries and I'd rather have some excellent fries over a lobster tail.  No joke!  So I got the French Fries with aioli.  Um, for $8.00, this was a crapload of fries.  But they were excellent fries though!  So very uniformly crispy and served piping hot.  These remained crispy even until the very end.  To top it off, they were perfectly salted and yep, the side of aioli provided that creamy garlickiness.

Now for the thing we were really here for!  The Fondue!  We ended up with the smaller one at $39.00 that serves 2-3 people because we ordered a lot of other dishes!  This fondue consisted of melted emmentaller & gruyère cheeses served with OP kasekrainer, bratwurst, cured meats, fruit, new potatoes, pickles, seasonal veggies and bread.  This was such a treat!  The fondue was so creamy and rich with the unmistakable flavour of the cheeses and white wine.  It coated each piece of meat, veggie, potato or bread beautifully.  We had lots of fun with this!

For some bigger dishes, we had the Schnitzel a la Holstein with pasture-raised pork, soft-boiled egg, anchovy, capers and lemon.  This was a large flattened piece of pork that was a touch dry.  The breading on the outside was crispy and nutty.  With a squeeze of the lemon wedge combined with the anchovy, we had some salty tangy and briny flavors going on.  Add in the silkiness of the runny egg yolk, this was full of textures as well.

The kids just love duck and we couldn't get out of there without ordering the Duck Breast with rösti and dried cherry jus.  The duck breast was prepared to medium where it was still juicy and moist.  It was seasoned enough that it could stand on its own but the sweet and tangy cherry jus was a perfect compliment.  As for the skin, it was fairly rendered and crispy.  Once, again, we found the same crispy rösti on the plate.

Our last main was the most surprising in the Chicory Wrapped Grilled Trout with späetzle, foraged mushrooms, brown butter and herbs.  Nothing could describe how flaky and moist the fish was after we cut into it.   So natural tasting and fresh.  I would say that this might be a bit mild for some people, but we enjoyed the simplicity of the fish.  The späetzle was nicely browned in butter being nutty and chewy.

For dessert, we shared the Pannacotta with tart cherries.  Texturally, this was more akin to a cheesecake rather than a pannacotta.  With that in mind, it was good in that manner.  It was thick and creamy while being lightly sweet.  The tart cherries made this sweet and tangy.  Overall, the meal at Alpenrausch was fantastic.  Food was prepared properly and the fondue was super fun.  Loved how this was a bit different than most other meals I've had.

*Partial food credit paid for this meal*

The Good:

- Something different

- Loved the fondue

- Has some OP classics

The Bad:

- Tables can be a bit small

Olympia Provisions

Originally back in 2020, I was slated to do another road trip down through the Western US that would take me into Portland.  Well, you know what happened that year...  That plan was quickly scrapped in favor of infrequent road trips to the grocery store as our only outing during that time.  I did have designs on visiting Olympia Provisions while we were down there, but instead, in 2022, we had Life of Pi and Kim Jong Grillin' instead.  This time around on our foodie road trip, I wasn't going to be denied as we had a tasting at Olympia Provisions!

We ended up visiting their SE Washington location and started with some of their popular charcuterie boards including the Spanish Board.  This consisted of 3 salamis, sweetheart ham, fresh chorizo, miticaña, fried almonds, cranberry relish & piquillo pepper salad.  This was served with a baguette and fulfilled out charcturie cravings.  Loved the spiciness of the salami while beautifully complimented by the sweet cranberries and smooth cheese.

We also had the French Board consisting of two french saucissons, paté, pork rillettes, garlic sausage, brie fermier, pickled vegetables & grain mustard.  This was much milder and subtle in flavour with the pate being meaty and well-seasoned.  Loved the firm texture of the saucisson that were aromatic and nutty.  This had the same sweet and tangy cranberry relish that went well with the creamy brie.

One of the more simple items we had was the Cantabrian Brown Anchovies with beurre de baratte on sliced baguette.  Naturally, the saltiness and brininess of the anchovies really came through.  The flavours were very impactful and the bread was absolutely needed to balance this.  Furthermore, the creaminess and natural flavour of the butter created another layer of deliciousness.

From the robust nature of the anchovies and bread, we went to something more refreshing in a dozen of the Pickering Pass Oysters.  These little gems were properly shucked and featured fairly small oysters.  That worked for us as we prefer the kushis of the world more than the larger oysters.  These were lightly briny and sweet while being delicate and easy to eat.  They came with lemon, mignonette and hot sauce.

We continued on the anchovy train with the Catalogna Chichories with radicchio, croutons grana padano, anchovy vinaigrette and boquerones.  Unlike the saltiness of the Cantabrian Brown Anchovies, the boquerones were tangy due to the use of vinegar.  This brought an extra jolt of flavour to the already anchovy vinaigrette-dressed veggies.  Lots of crunch and freshness in this salad along with the meaty anchovies.

Possibly my favourite dishe of the meal was the Steak Tartare with olives, parsley, shallot, egg yolk and butter toasted baguette.  Look at the  beautiful color of the hand-diced steak!  It was fresh and buttery tender.  The aromatics from the shallots and the salty tanginess of the olives complimented the beef along with the proper amount of seasoning.  Now to top it all off, the crunchy baguette soaked in copious amounts of butter meant this was going to be super delicious and sinful.

Our final small plate, before we got to the larger items, was the Octopus a la Plancha with potatoes, chorizo, garlic bread crumbs and salsa verde.  Oh this was just as delicious as everything else so far with a tender tentacle that also retained a bite.  The salsa verde was so bright and flavorful.  It complimented the already seasoned octopus by keeping things light.  Crunch was added by the bread crumbs and so as was the crispy chorizo.

Finally getting to the bigger items, we dug into the Parisian Gnocchi avec Champignons first.  This featured a fairly rich cream sauce that was obviously influenced by the roasted mushrooms.  There was depth and woodsiness as well as a beautiful aroma.  We found the gnocchi to be light and soft (as Parsian gnocchi can be).  They were nicely seared to add a nuttiness to the dish.

Topped with a considerable amount of toasted almonds with brown butter, parsley and capers, the Pan-Roasted Trout Almondine was perfectly prepared.  Beyond the crispy skin underneath, the fish was flaky and moist.  It was properly seasoned, yet the crunchy almonds on top not only added a textural contrast, there was a buttery nuttiness as well as a salty tang.

Although the Salmis de Canard was a good dish overall, I felt the roasted duck breast could've been cooked a touch less.  By no means was it not tender, I just personally enjoy a medium-rare cook on it.  The skin was properly rendered though.  As for the confit leg, it was fall-apart succulent and featured rendered skin as well.  I really enjoyed the rich foie gras beurre blanc as it provided a luxurious and velvety coating to all of the components on the plate.  

When it hit the table, the Braised Bone-In Short Rib elicited quite the response as it was huge!  The meat literally fell off the bone and was nicely complimented by the apple cider & pork belly gastrique.  The acidity helped cut through the richness of both the lardons and the fatty short rib.  It also had an appealing sweetness that was an excellent compliment to the tender beef.  The aggressively roasted gold potatoes were nutty and crispy.

We ended off the meal with a pair of desserts including the Mountain Apple Tart and the Flourless Chocolate Cake.  The tart was very good with tender slices of sweet apples.  I found the tart crust itself to be on the lighter side, but still had a pleasing firmness.  As for the chocolate cake, it was rich and purposefully sweet.  The texture was dense, in a good way.  In the end, I was very happy with my meal at Olympia Provisions.  It was well worth the wait of 3 years since I had planned to eat there.  This won't be my last!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this post*

The Good:

- Excellent charcuterie

- Overall delicious food

- Cozy atmosphere

The Bad:

- This particular location is a bit hard to find in the dark, mainly an industrial area