La Petite Maison
3 Place du Connétable, 18300 Sancerre
Tel: +33 (0) 2 48 79 21 36
GPS: 47.330631, 2.839988
The Menu:
Empanadas/Boeuf/Maïs/Avocat
Quesadillas/Porc effiloché/Mozza
Burger/Veau effiloché/Barbecue/Frites
Spaghetti/Pesto roquette/Burrata
Brioche pain perdu/Espuma Tonka/Pâte à tartinert
Panna Cotta/ Fruits rouge/Crumble
The Wine:
Alexis Hudson La Charge! (Vin de France) 2023
François Crochet Sancerre Exils 2023
“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.” – Anthony Bourdain
As recently as 2022 the residence at 3 Place de Connétable was a half-derelict house on the back streets of Sancerre, still standing, but clearly unloved. That was before the arrival of Morgane Prieur, whose husband is Luc Prieur, of Domaine Paul Prieur in Verdigny. It is Morgane who has breathed new life into this address, and in the process she has created for residents, visitors and tourists alike one of Sancerre’s nattiest new dining venues.
Originally from Franche-Comté, Morgane studied hospitality in Jura before then heading to the bright lights of Paris, where she spent eight productive years honing her trade. It was during this time she met Luc Prieur, a young eleventh-generation vigneron from Sancerre, and there must have been a spark, as in 2020 the two settled together in the Sancerre region. Morgane passed a couple of years helping out at Momento, a well-known restaurant in Bué run by Thomas and Mariana Jacquet, before she struck out alone, opening La Petite Maison in 2022.
Situated close to the summit of the hill of Sancerre (well, walking here, it sure felt like it) the restaurant enjoys a prominent corner position on one of the less narrow streets which snake their way through the back of the town. In fact it is difficult to go further ‘back’ from here, not without jumping over the town’s walls and remparts, anyway. Not something I immediately recommend, to be frank.
Morgane’s culinary inspirations come from far beyond these remparts, and beyond Bué, Paris and even France. Her menu blends an international and eclectic mix of themes and styles, with Mexican, Italian, Iberian and Middle Eastern influences all apparent. A menu built around sharing, it is short and select, with five starters, four main courses and four desserts. Like many restaurants in the Loire Valley’s wine towns – whether it be Bourgueil, Chinon, Saumur or Sancerre – the wine list is lengthy and drips with local treasures. I would think, given her husband’s profession, Morgane is not exactly short of local contacts.
On a balmy summer evening in June I took a seat at one of the jade green tables placed outside the front of the restaurant and made my choices. The dishes that the kitchen at La Petite Maison sent out brought Bourdain’s words to mind; the quesadillas stuffed with pulled pork and mozzarella were sliced to share, and were partnered by a creamy red pepper mayonnaise; simple, but dense and deliciously filling. The beef empanadas had the same air of simplicity, perhaps deceptively so; these classically moon-shaped packets of pastry were expertly crafted, the beef filling freshly spiced, the entire package cooled and freshened by a little avocado dip. These are clearly not the first empanadas Morgane has fashioned.
As for my main course, there was not much I didn’t love about the veal burger, with its toasted brioche bun, mountain of shredded filling, the rustic, skin-on frites and the mustardy dip. It was rapidly devoured, partly because the meat juices were soon soaking into the base of the bun, resulting in a half-soggy sandwich. This made this one of the more messy burgers I have eaten in recent times, but also one of the more delicious. Meanwhile, a platter of rocket pesto spaghetti with burrata I also tasted was Bourdain-simplicity and peppery-rocket purity made real.
Leafing through the wine list I was, as my words above no doubt suggest, seduced. The one surprise, especially given the number of diners I spotted drinking by the glass, was the rather short selection of wines sold in this format, just a half-dozen in total. On the other hand, why should this be a problem, when the list of bottles for sale is so extensive, and the prices so reasonable? Sancerre leads the list of course, a multitude of options carved up according to terroir, with many favourites – François Cotat, Vincent Pinard, Pierre Martin, Gérard Boulay and others – present. Other Loire appellations come next, and if you are hungry for ‘foreign’ wines, then there are some superb options from Jura (very hip!), Alsace, Chablis and beyond.
I plumped for the by-the-glass pétillant naturel, the 2023 La Charge! from Alexis Hudon, a Quebecer who settled in Bourges, establishing a négociant business to purchase and vinify grapes from across the Centre Loire and Touraine regions. And, finding myself drawn to the silex section of the list, I followed this up with a bottle of the 2023 Exils from François Crochet. I have long admired the wines of François Crochet wines, his Exils (an anagram of silex, of course) typifying the citrus vivacity that flint brings to Sancerre.
I finished up here in sweet style, with a brioche pain perdu, tonka foam and chocolate sauce, a real brick of a pudding which failed in its attempts to beguile me, although it did ensure I was unable to complain about not being sufficiently stuffed to the brim. And the red fruit crumble which appeared at the same time was good enough. The highlight of the dinner, though – apart from François Crochet’s wine of course – was surely that pulled veal burger, soggy bottom or not.
Curiously, meeting a colleague from the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins du Centre-Loire for lunch the next day, to my surprise she had booked a table at La Petite Maison; I ended up sitting in exactly the same chair, at the same table, and took advantage of the amazing value found in the lunch menu. And then, two days later, finding many other restaurants in Sancerre had curiously closed-down for the evening, I ended up here again.
That’s three visits in four days, with joy each time (I tried out more of the by-the-glass options on my third visit – no disappointments other than the reds being poured a little too warm). Returning to a restaurant multiple times is surely an endorsement, and I am certain this won’t be the last time I eat at La Petite Maison. This is a plan I am sure the late Anthony Bourdain would have been on board with.
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