Annecy is a touristy town in the Haute-Savoie region of France, so there are restaurants and cafes everywhere you turn, especially in the old town area (see earlier post).
The local specialties – Savoyard dishes – typically served on black slate, feature cheeses and cured meats (which we had plenty in Switzerland). So we feasted on beef throughout that weekend.
Beef raw.
Beef cooked in butter at our table. Cholesterol overload !
Beef grilled and served with herb butter. Some of the fries in this region are cooked in duck fat.
We were not searching for a gourmet experience and did not consult any restaurant guide. We just picked those places that looked comfortable.
There is a restaurant boat – the MS Libellule – which serves lunch and sunset dinner on the lake. We did not book in advance and missed it.
Many of the tourists visiting Annecy came from other regions of France and because Savoyard dishes are somewhat different from the rest of the country coupled with the idea of terroir, they loved the local stuff. This region (Haute-Savoie) became part of France in the 19th Century after it was sold to France by the Piemont noble family.
The amount of mussels served in that pot was enormous, a rare occasion when an European dish beats the size of a regular American portion. Yeah!
This dish – la choucroute (de la mer) is unusual as it serves potato and sauerkraut (piled under the fish) with seafood instead of sausages or pork meats. I did not put that langoustine up – that was how the dish arrived.
We had the choucroute at La Taverne de Maitre Kanter – apparently the only Alsatian brasserie in Annecy. (The Alsace region is further North of here, bordering Germany, which we will visit soon).
Many of the restaurants are located along the waterways.
For some restaurants, you can see them across the canal but can’t get there without finding a bridge first. And when you have crossed the bridge, the entrance to the restaurant may not be prominent because the dining room may be located at the back facing the canal while the kitchen is on the street side.
We would like to come back to visit Annecy and explore the communities around the lake in the summer next year. Staying further out on the far side of the lake and hopping over for dinner, perhaps by boat – sounds like a plan.
