 | |
|
|
| Welcome To Brandon, Vermont
Unhurried, Unspoiled, Unforgettable |
The
Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce is your one-stop source |
French Chef Takes a Chance in Vermont, With Divine Results |
| By Diane E. Foulds, Globe Correspondent - November 17, 2004 BRANDON, Vt. -- The clues were everywhere. In the soup of the day (a lobster consomme en croute), in the open kitchen with its polished chrome and hanging pans, and in the chef, dressed head to foot in white with a huge starched toque. This was no ordinary country diner. It was Cafe Provence, a culinary heavyweight concealed above a clothing store in modest downtown Brandon, population 4,000. Since July, French-born chef and owner Robert Barral has been serving three meals a day to the lucky individuals who manage to find it, and plenty do. I took a seat near the kitchen, where I could watch each dish emerge. The seared breast of duck looked especially appetizing with orange segments arranged artfully across the top, so that's what I ordered, along with an appetizer of mesclun greens on a goat-cheese cake. Then I sat back and watched. I saw purple blossoms tucked into salads, sorbets slipped onto dessert plates, and fresh mint pressed into raspberry coulis, par for the course considering Barral's background with the Four Seasons and the New England Culinary Institute. I scanned the room. It was dual-purpose: most pizza customers in booths on the right, dinner guests on the left. No tablecloths or fuss, yet the decor was casually tasteful. And, surprisingly for a French restaurant, you don't have to be a French speaker to read the menu. Clearly Brandon is a pizza town, though, as the takeout traffic never diminished. Regrettably, the pizza smell began to take a toll on my appetite. But after one bite of salad, my hunger came rushing back. The greens glistened with beet vinaigrette, and the chevre was rich but not too tart. Next came the duck, tender slices folded over steaming rutabaga, whose earthy flavor perfectly offset the sauce's sweetness. I assumed it was infused with Grand Marnier, but it was Banyuls vinegar, made from a white grape grown in the French town of the same name. For dessert I tried a sampler: chocolate bombe, mango sorbet with strawberries, apple crisp on raspberry coulis, and a spectacular creme brulee with a maple syrup crust. Way too much, but I couldn't stop. By the looks of it, others had the same problem. ''Your portions are too generous!" said one man, patting his girth. Others patted Barral, gushing about the food and keeping him from his work, but he didn't seem to mind. He had come to Brandon on a leap of faith, he told me, hoping he could offer something everyone would like. Now Brandon comes to him. Cafe Provence, 11 Center St., Brandon (above Everywear clothing shop), 802-247-9997. Open daily 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m., weekends 10-9:30. Dinner entrees $9-$20. Back to other media articles about Brandon |
|
|
|
||||||
