Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Supper at The French Connection, Franschhoek

Off after the festival at Hartenberg to Franschhoek, where our group of Irish friends was staying. We had to say goodbye to Liam Murphy, with whom John used to have fun with rally Volvos when he was young and fancy free. Many years ago. We managed to secure an outside table at French Connection, the talk was very good, as was the food and we had a lovely farewell evening
Chatting with Jason Ratner, the restaurant manager
The menu
Three large, very tempting tempura prawns with honey ginger and garlic soy on Japanese mayo were Liam's starter
Lynne wanted something light, so flame grilled asparagus it was, served with garlic butter soaked bread curls, tomatoes and pesto. Delicious
John went for one of his favourites, the home made Paté de Campagne with sticky red onion marmalade and cornichons (baby gherkins) and some salad leaves
Rosé goes with most things, so we ordered a bottle of Foundation Stone 2015 from local wine farm Rickety Bridge. It’s a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Viognier, full of strawberries & candy floss, with a kick of spice. Lynne told Liam, who prefers red wine, to close his eyes when first taking a sip and he would think he was drinking red wine. It was the perfect wine for the wide choice of food we ordered
The restaurant was nice and busy all evening and they do manage to turn tables. It was a lovely balmy evening
Pose! Liam and Lynne
John's choice of rich duck in a caramelised berry sauce made with Raspberry balsamic vinegar. There were cape gooseberries, strawberries and some black berries & raspberries
A huge portion, we also ordered some of the signature crisp potato frites
Liam had the Moules cooked in white wine cream and lots of garlic for his main course and raved about them
Lynne’s main was also huge. Tender grilled calamari with chilli, lots of garlic, lemon, olive oil, olives and roasted tomatoes topped with a mountain of rocket
We finished with two coffees for the lads. Our bill did not include the wine, which Jason very generously gifted. A lovely meal, then came the long drive home
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus






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