Le Puy-en-Velay: Chemin Le Puy and Restaurant Tournayre

Le Puy-en-Velay. Definitely one of my favorite cities on this Easter trip. R had visited it years ago and did not remember it being very notable. On this trip he was happily surprised to find a cute city with a pedestrian walking zone, many old buildings, a few great Saturday markets and many friendly locals. While there we noticed that there were a few backpackers..and then found out that Le Puy is a popular starting point for pilgrims in France wanting to walk the Chemin de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle. Following the Chemin Le Puy to Santiago, the average pilgrim covers about 1522 km or 945 miles (and that's only one way)!
Both the Michelin Guide and our friendly hotel owner at the Dyke Hotel recommended this restaurant, so R and I decided to forgo Friday night's procession of the Penitents in favor of dining at Tournayre. When the hotel owner showed me a photo of the Easter procession, I sighed and said "Oh, that's interesting" but what I was actually thinking was "Wow, those white hooded robes really remind me of KKK robes." Later in trying to describe the processsion to R, I had a difficult time painting a picture of their attire without mentioning the KKK..but the hotel owner beat me to it and said their outfits are kind of like the KKK. Two friends of mine have since commented that Spain holds similar processions called Semana Santa in the week leading up to Easter.

Anyway I digress. Back to Tournayre. It was our favorite meal in a long time, and when I'm in Le Puy again, I'd love to eat here again and compare it to Restaurant Francoise Gagnaire, Le Puy's 1-star Michelin restaurant.

Restaurant Tournayre
12, rue Chênebouterie. 43000 Le Puy-en-Velay, France

Tournayre offers a few prix fixe menus to choose from—both R and I settled on the Menu Mont Anis because of the delicious sounding foie gras entrée. Menus change frequently according to the chef's whim and the availability of ingredients from the market. Just an FYI that the website is not updated as frequently as the menus are updated, so keep that in mind when you visit the website.

On Friday April 22, our Mont Anis menu consisted of the following—also due to the restaurant's romantic lighting (and my non-flash photography), the photos are a bit dark and/or blurry. I added them anyway to give you an idea of our dining experience.

Pre-amuse bouche: a surprise of 3 tiny savory bites to amuse the mouth: macaron stuffed with goat cheese, olive madeleine, and a candied cherry tomato. Unfortunately I do not have a photo because we ate them too quickly

Amuse bouche: asparagus foam with melon sorbet and pink peppercorns

Entrée: Foie gras aux morilles, chutney de fruits secs, toast de pain brioché

Plat principal: Saint-Jacques, segment de potimarron, avec artichauts et ail d'ours 

Fromage: Le chariot de fromages affinés. All cheeses were regional to l'Auvergne, including a yummy cantal and goat cheese with poivre

Pre-dessert: candied grapefruit rind, a super light and luscious tiered mousse dessert, pâte de fruit, and macarons

Dessert: Symphonie gourmande des desserts

Vin: Something from Le Medoc

Amuse bouche

Entree

K's plat principal

R's plat principal

K's selection from le chariot de fromage

Pre-dessert surprises

This amazing mouse with mango, strawberries, and pistachio

K's choice of dessert