Bordeaux Restaurant - Rangiora

The perspicacious of you will already have discovered Bordeaux Restaurant in Rangiora. For the rest please rise from your desperate procumbency, pretend you’re on the TGV from Avignon to Paris and get yourself to this charming North Canterbury village to enjoy a white gloved evening of polish, an excellent, somewhat comprehensive  selection of local and international wines &  skillfully prepared, well presented French-style fare.
What’s more you will enjoy all of this in  what I can only describe as quaint, nineteenth century surroundings exuding a quiet, ordered, mesmeric  charm.
We were a small but animated group looking for something more than mere bouffage and a quick scan of the menu confirmed we had come to the right place. An amuse-bouche of roast beetroot, feta & balsamic with a hint of strawberry and a crumbling of walnut caressed our palates before the arrival of a perfectly sensational, pretty pastiche of puff pastry, French Blue cheese, poached pear and roasted walnut roquette leaf.  This dish, entitled Millefeuille au Roquefort set the stage and the standard for the courses to follow. We were nothing less than delighted.
My companions basked with satisfaction in the glow of a simple but succulent “Duck a l’orange” .  My place was dominated by the “Angus Beef Fillet poivre vert” – seared angus beef fillet with green peppercorn & mushroom sauce presented with truffled pommes.  A rare treat indeed, in more ways than one!  My eyes fluttered over the glorious bounty as I  soliloquized  with a sort of fiery, ecstatic abandon, in expectation of plenty.  The soft mystery of texture, the fullness of  flavour , the unmistakable, earthy bovinity and the prolonged, lasting lushness gave spirited wings to my already soaring delight and gratitude. The chef had clearly excelled in his craft this evening.
With just three desserts to choose from, Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice cream, Crème Brulee or Apple Tarte Tatin there was little chance of even this writer getting muddled. The profiteroles won out and what an outstanding choux treat, tendered on a plate  in such a way as to  cajole and entice, oh so very, very nice. Caterina de' Medici, wife of Henry II of France would have been secretly proud of my worship of these visually seductive, softly sensual and highly mischievous  waistline saboteurs.  And so it was written…..