Day of Delights

I'm a sucker for Sunday brunch. Mom and I browsed through the Breckenridge Dining Guide when we arrived last week, and we were both trying to find a place that offered something different for brunch. Looking through the paper the next day, an ad caught my eye. Le Petit Paris Bistrot was scheduled to begin its Sunday brunch service today. Earlier in the week, I stopped by the restaurant and spoke to the owner about the menu, and mom and I quickly decided that we would have to be two of their first patrons.

We started with a basket of fresh baked brioche, croissant, and pain de chocolat. Heaven. Every time I touched my croissant, it seemed to fall into deliciously buttery vellum flakes. I gave my pain de chocolate a kiss of raspberry jam, and closed my eyes as the bitterness of the chocolate mingled with the sweet tartness of the jam in my mouth.

For our main course, mom selected the Eggs Florentine, Benedict style, and fries. The dish was essentially a meatless version of Eggs Benedict, replacing the ham for spinach. She said it was perfect. The fries hardly looked like fries at all. They seemed to be golden thin curls of potato, perhaps made with a vegetable peeler. They were the perfect combination of crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with just the right amount of salt. I had the Crepe du Jour, which was a crepe filled with mushroom, scallion, and swiss, topped with an olive tapenade. I couldn't pass up those gorgeous "fries" myself. Everything was so beautifully plated, so perfectly made. The crepes were the best I've tasted, and I will say that I've had crepes in Paris. The main course came with our choice of mimosa, sangria, or Bloody Mary. I went with the Bloody Mary, and it, too, was the best I've ever had. It was thick, and the horseradish flecked the deep red with white. It was spicy, too, the heat lingering at the back of my throat. Mom enjoyed her sangria, which she said was not as sweet as some sangrias are, which is exactly as the restaurant's owner intended. She said she wanted the wine to still be present, that "it's not supposed to be punch," and she's right.

So the meal was delicious, but I have to say that the owner may have been the highlight for us. She is absolutely precious, so kind, attentive, sweet. It was clear that she truly wanted us to have a special brunch at her restaurant. I heard her talking to her staff, too, and I could tell that she had a great rapport with them. When we left, she caught us just as we had stepped out of the door. She wanted to be sure that we had found the experience pleasurable and unique. She pressed her hand in mine when I told her that it was wonderful and that she made the best Bloody Mary, and I thought that this is one of those really great people you sometimes have the luck to run into. As mom and I walked to the car, that sweet woman and her wonderful food was all we could talk about.

When we got back to the condo, we prepared the dogs and headed for the car. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Vail Farmer's Market. It was a lovely day for driving, and the scenery was, as always, stunning. It's rather early in the season for any produce other than cherries, lettuce, and beets, and the prices on the produce at these markets have been exorbitant. But we got to walk around Vail village, people stopping us frequently to fawn over my beautiful dogs (outfitted in bandannas for the occasion). We also saw a lot of fascinating hand crafted items and lovely lawn sculptures that rotated in the breeze. I think I may need something like these in my garden at home. After all, what else is that wretched Michigan wind good for?

It was a good day in the mountains for us, and it ended with the sunset seen from our deck I've posted above. Mom asked what we're doing tomorrow, and I said, "Tomorrow is unwritten. Let's just let it reveal itself to us." And so that's the plan.