A great place for a fantastic surf and turf served with a chilled bottle of great quality and reasonable priced Champagne.
Epernay is considered to be the heart of the Champagne district, and La Grillade Gourmande is one of the many good restaurants that you will find here. I am not a huge fan of their red interior, but the outside area is quite ok. Usually it isn´t the interior that plays the most important part of the atmosphere, and this place is a great example of that.
Wherever we are, we always try to drink local, and being in Champagne, that is not a difficult task. I know of a few producers, but mainly big ones, which makes it so interesting to come to places like this where the wine lists are thicker than guide books and contains several small producers. We told our waiter what we liked and he suggested a wonderful bottle. For the price of €25. Isn´t it wonderful? I know the Norwegian Monopoly gives us a great selection and good prices on older bottles, but sometimes it saddens me that we are unable to get good bottles of wine at a lower cost…
I started the meal with a Caesar Salad, and it was the best one I have had in all of France. It isn´t a fancy dish, but paired with Champagne, it is getting up there. Since we were at a BBQ restaurant, we had to order something from the grill. And with this menu, that was no problem. I ended up with a sirloin steak with foie gras, and my hubby with a surf and turf, which was a tender beef and lobster. Being at a place like this, eating and drinking these delicious components, you can do nothing but smile. I hope I grow very old (and get to enjoy several meals like this), but while eating I am thinking I could die happy right now! I love a great steak, I love Champagne (no mater how pompous that sounds), I love my companionship, and I love La Grillade Gourmande!