Bistro de l’Hotel

Get the Poulet de Bresse. Trust me, it is amazing!
At the advice of winemaker Alex Gambal, we found our way to Bistro de l’Hotel for dinner. And we went with his recommendation, the roasted whole Bresse chicken. At 85 euros, it’s definitely not cheap, but this bird is thing of beauty. It came to the table, golden brown and delicious, and our very skillful server carved that thing faster than car thieves can take apart a Camry. The chicken was succulent and incredibly flavorful, the kind of food that instills silence at the table as everyone just revels in their food.
We also ordered a really nice white Burgundy, a 2012 Hubert Lamy Saint Aubin 1er Cru «Les Frionnes» (75 €), which was bright and citrusy and went very well with the chicken.
If you visit Burgundy without trying poulet de Bresse at least once, then you really haven’t visited Burgundy. And I can think of no better place in Beaune to try it than at Bistro de l’Hotel.

Hmmmmm… how do I put this? I had an interesting experience here I guess is the nicest way to say it. After hearing from countless locals that this was the spot to eat at in Beaune we gave it a whirl (or in my case hurl) on our last night in town.
You walk in from the cold city streets to a nicely decorated and a tad bit upscale dining room. White table cloths and proper servers will promptly greet and seat you and offer up wine. When in France you have no choice, order the wine. Complimentary olive oil and cheese was brought to the table and it was at about that point that I felt my body heat going through the roof.
Seated directly next to the heater I dug into course number one. A huge portion of escargot swimming in butter and cream as you’d expect. Pretty good but I have had better.
Course two was a sea bass with even more butter which had a nice crust to it but was incredibly rich. It was about this time I had to step outside and get some air.
Course three… cheeeeeeese. I am never one to turn down some good cheese but this had gone to far and I needed some balance here! Bold, stinky, dry and creamy… they covered all cheese bases and I had had enough. I needed some fresh veggies or a nice salad to calm it down a bit but this meal was turned up to 11.
I tossed my buddy my card and left him to finish dessert alone while I walked the streets soaking in the crisp fresh air. Reportedly the dessert was just as heavy and I don’t think I would have lasted another second in there.
I always thought I liked French food but maybe the just do it better in the good ol’ U.S.A.
U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A.

Un bon endroit pour boire un petit café au soleil en fin de matinée
L’ambiance est chaleureuse les habitués s’y retrouvent très souvent
Un peu chers mais délicieux et les petits déjeuners sont extras
Le samedi matin à l’heure du marché c’est parfait