Sorry I've been MIA on this report....it's been a month since my last update, and I go back to Disney in a week, so I had better get a move on!
Still full from the HBD dinner the night before, I headed to Epcot in time for the French Regional Lunch at Bistro de Paris. That week's region was Alsace, the area in the north bordering Germany.
I knew several of my DIS foodie friends were scheduled for the same event, so most of us were able to sit at a table together. I'm sure we were the most annoying bunch there.
Table Setting, complete with lots of wine glasses!
When I first sat down and took a look at the little menus they had out, I got a bit nervous. I don't know much about Alsacienne food, just the little bit I learned while living in France for a year. I knew there was a heavy Germanic influence, and the region is know for their white wines....but when I read the menu, I got nervous I wasn't going to like any of the food. You'll see why in a bit...
First the restaurant manager talked to us a bit, and then the representative from the winery, Pierre Sparr, spoke to us about the history of the company and got in to our first selection, the
Pierre Sparr Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rosé, a sparkling wine:
This was served with the amuse bouche, an
Asparagus Mousse:
I am a sucker for sparkling rosés, and this was a good one! It tasted a lot of berries, but had a dry citrus profile, with tiny, plentiful bubbles. It went nicely with the asparagus mousse, a light, delicate confection of savory asparagus flavor.
Throughout the meal, servers offered us an unlimited supply of
Petite Baguettes:
I have extremely high standards for French Bread, having lived on the real thing for a year. I've accepted the fact that nothing in the states is ever going to be quite the same, but these were pretty good. They tasted fresh, with a nice thick crust, and soft fluffy inside.
Our next course was served with
Pierre Sparr 'Alsace One' 2008, a blend of Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Muscatel, and Gewurztraminer.
This was my favorite non-sparkling wine of the lunch. It was a complex wine, with floral, citrus, peach, and mineral flavors. I think it could pair well with quite a lot of things.
It was paired with our first course,
Pied de Porc à l'Alsacienne (Alsacienne style Pig's foot Trotter):
Yes, you read that right....PIG'S FEET!!!! I had never had them before and when I read the title on the menu I was expecting the actual whole pig's foot on the plate. A bit scary, but I am usually up for a gastronomic challenge!
I was pleasantly surprised first by the appearance of the dish. OK, good, no whole pig's foot...that takes away a lot of the 'scariness'. As the manager ended up describing, the chefs took pig foot meat, and mixed it with a little veal to form a sort of croquette, served with a sauce that I can't remember exactly what it was made from. There was also a warm potato slice with little chunks of bacon.
So the verdict....this was actually REALLY GOOD! I know not everyone in the place was a fan, but my entire table of eight all gave it a thumbs up! The meat had an intense pork flavor, with a light, crispy outer shell. The warm potato with bacon was a good, plain accompaniment. One of my dining companions remarked that it reminded her of a German potato salad.
So....Bistro de Paris had an unexpected hit on their hands....could they do it again with the next course?
For the second course, the paired wine was
Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris 2009:
This was a mellow, creamy, wine with a lot of grapefruit flavor. I liked it a lot, and enjoyed the pairing with the...
Choucroute au Trois Poissons (Salmon, Monkfish, and Smoked Haddock over Sauerkraut)
I wasn't excited about this dish, because I has tasted choucroute while living in France. It's basically any meat over sauerkraut and I didn't care for the one I had tasted before.
But I tried to keep an open mind, and was again pleasantly surprised by how good this was! The sauerkraut was much lighter and not as sour as the one I had previously. The fish was all cooked to perfection, with the smoked haddock being my particular favorite. And it wouldn't be an Alsacienne dish without some pork....so there was a lovely slice of delcious, salty bacon on top! Everything was in a light, butter based sauce and the dish was harmonious and interesting. It got a thumbs up from the whole table again!
It's not a proper French meal without a cheese course, so the severs came around to pour more wine, this time the
Pierre Sparr 2008 Riesling, which I seem to have forgotten to get a photo of!
This wine had lemon and green apple flavors and was fairly acidic. It was just ok, but I'm not generally a Riesling fan. I also thought it seemed too sweet to pair well with the cheese.
Our cheese selection was
Comté, a semihard Swiss-type cheese from the Jura region, which is the beginning of the Alps.
This is one of, if not my favorite French cheese. It's similar to Gruyère, with a very nutty taste and a hard rind.
For our fifth (!) wine, to pair with dessert, we were served
Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer Réserve 2008:
I didn't really care for this at all. It was an interesting pairing for a dessert, but it didn't work for me. It was rich, full bodied, very flowery and had some spice notes.
I went back to drinking the Cremant d'Alsace sparkling wine for the majority of dessert.
Ahh yes, as for dessert, we had
Flan aux Myrtilles (Blueberry Flan):
I wouldn't call this a flan...it wasn't like the Mexican/Spanish flan people think of when they hear that word. It had a thick shortbread like base, topped with a creamy vanilla bean flecked custard, much like the inside of a crème brulée, with some blueberries in the middle. It was topped with whipped cream, assorted berries, and simple syrup, served with blueberry gelato and sliced, toasted and candied almonds.
This was a fantastic dessert, and there was certainly plenty of it! The berries were all sweet and ripe, and I loved the real vanilla flavor in the custard. The gelato was not too sweet, and tasted wonderful with the little almond pieces.
I had a wonderful time at the Frunch, partly due to great company.
The food was unexpectedly amazing and the wines mostly great. Service was excellently provided by the Bistro de Paris staff, and the presentations and explanations given by the manager and winery rep were interesting and informative.
Most of the patrons enjoyed the meal so much, the chefs came out for a 'victory lap' and then people had the head chef (who probably isn't over age 30!) sign autographs on our menus!
A lovely shot of the entire meal:
Grade: A+ and a good value for $100! (Unlimited wine pours, bread, and five courses)
I highly recommend trying a French Regional Lunch if you want to try a special event during the Food and Wine Festival!
All of the food was excellent, the service was fabulous, and Kate was a very personable host who is truly passionate about the wine she makes. The kitchen team at BD earned my utmost respect, as did the management, for pulling this event off with a completely packed main dining room! 
I think everyone was simultaneously amused and horrified because it was funny, but not at all Disney appropriate humor!
