Restaurant Le Tertre, Saint-Émillion, France

This is a Michelin selected restaurant in Saint Emilion which is situated mid-way up a street with about a 25% grade and a railing in the middle to help haul yourself up or prevent tumbling down, depending upon your direction (see menu cover—true depiction). We were seated in a small nook street-side, where we could both watch people of various skill levels navigate the terrain and also to be observed and commented upon ourselves. The meal was spectacular and well worth the 1/2 hour trian ride from Bordeaux.

We opened the meal with a squid dish and followed it with hake wrapped in seaweed with a ponzu sauce, a side of seaweed, radish slices, wasabi topped with teeny tiny mushrooms, and flowers! There was a cheese course at the end that was quite good, alongside a dessert featuring fresh strawberries, but the langostines (a favorite of mine) atop a spring carrot mash, in a pea broth was, in my opinion, the best dish. My spouse would argue that the duck was excellent, and he would be right about that.