The Local Flavor

Author: Daniel L. J. Phillips

The next time you make the drive up Route 7 to Vergennes, resist the urge to turn left for Black Sheep and treat yourself to an amazing meal at Christophe's on the Green, located in the Stevens House on the corner of Main Street. Serving innovative French country cuisine in an elegant setting, Christophe's is the perfect place to commemorate a special occasion. Just be sure to bring a thick wallet - or your parents' - because this is the most expensive restaurant in the nearby area. When ordering from the dinner menu, appetizers are $9.50 each and entrées are $26.50 a piece.

Owned by chef Christophe Lissarrague and his wife Alice, the décor features cream yellow walls and exposed brown beams, accented by thick-framed country windows and a few unimposing paintings. The service is also very sophisticated, offering a complementary palate cleanser before the appetizers - ours was an oyster baked with cheese in its half shell - and a small plate of sweets with the check.

For the best sampling of the kitchen, I highly recommend ordering the six-course Tasting Menu for two people, which includes two starters, two entrées, a cheese tray and an assortment of desserts. The order or variety cannot be substituted, but each item appears individually on the regular dinner menu. The Tasting Menu begins with the Portobello mushroom tarte tatin and watercress salad, followed by the grilled quail with a lentil salad and foie gras, both of which are light, full of flavor and two of the restaurant's best dishes. The parsnip soup with marinated scallops is another outstanding appetizer that can be ordered from the regular menu.

After the quail, the Tasting Menu proceeds with the slow poached Maine lobster with chive polenta and tarragon sauce, which was quite heavy and rich. While it was a nice treat out of season, the claw, tail and leg of the lobster were slightly overcooked. This was followed by the roasted lamb loin with eggplant, barley and flax seed on a butternut squash sauce, which was my favorite main dish of the evening. The lamb was delicate and savory, while the Pommery mustard and vegetables created the ideal balance of sweet and sour. Other entrée highlights include Christophe's grilled swordfish and chicken brochette dish and the smoked and roasted free-range chicken with leek and mushroom.

Moving on to the cheese tray, you will have a choice between three goat cheeses or several other Pyrénées-style cheeses, all of which are served with walnut bread and quince jelly. For our dessert selection, we were served almond chocolate croquettes with ice cream, rice pudding in baked phyllo and a delicious pear pastry soaked in Grand Marnier. I strongly recommend a hit of Illy espresso to finish off the meal and perk you up for the drive home.

Alas, great taste does not come cheap - the total per couple of the Tasting Menu amounts to $120. For an extra $70, each of the six courses is carefully paired with a glass of wine to compliment the fare. However, I found the service was lacking in this regard when the wine arrived several minutes later than each Tasting Menu dish.

Not surprisingly, Christophe's stocks an impressive wine list, mostly from a number of well-known French producers from the major regions. Among the wines from the Tasting Menu, the Louis Latour Montagny 2001 (Chardonnay) was a refreshing but subtle blend of fruit and oak to start the evening. The Aloxe-Corton 1998 (Burgundy) was a strong choice as well, since the fruit and acidity paired nicely with the lamb. You can find some excellent French selections in the $30-range, but you will have to pay slightly more for the boutique Napa producers - Matanzas Creek and Kistler being the strong Chardonnay choices - while the California Cabernet Sauvignon wines were a bit pricey and might overpower the delicate flavors of Christophe's French country cuisine.