Sampling Bordelaise cuisine is a highlight of our tours to Bordeaux. Here are a few things to try when you’re on tour.
* **Canelés.** If you’re a traveler with a sweet tooth, be sure to try this beloved Bordelaise pastry. The small cake is flavored with rum and vanilla, has a custardy center, and is named for the copper mold in which it’s baked.
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* **Chocolatines.** Known in Bordeaux and southwestern France as the chocolatine and elsewhere in the country as pain au chocolat (translation: chocolate bread), this indulgent treat consists of buttery, flaky puff pastry baked around pieces of chocolate.
* **Seafood.** Bordeaux is situated roughly 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and many restaurants and cafes in the city serve seafood that’s been freshly plucked from its waters.
* **Oysters.** Also nearby: Arcachon, one of France’s seven distinct oyster-growing areas, making the bivalves a must when they’re in season.
* **Entrecôte marchand de vin.** This traditional Bordelaise dish, also known as entrecôte a la bordelaise, features a rib steak cooked in a rich gravy made from Bordeaux wine, butter, shallots, herbs, and bone marrow.
* **Lamprey à la Bordelaise.** Once enjoyed by the elite, this dish is now popular throughout the Bordeaux region. It consists of lamprey—an ancient type of eel-like, jawless fish caught between December and may—stewed with cured ham, red wine, fresh herbs, and vegetables, such as leeks, onions, and garlic.
* **Blaye white asparagus.** This regional delicacy (asperges du Blayais in French) is harvested between February and May. Travelers who visit Bordeaux then can find it at local farmers’ markets and on restaurants’ seasonal menus.
* **Wine.** Bordeaux is known around the world for its wine, which travelers can taste and learn more about on our included and optional Bordeaux wine tours. Whether you favor red, white, or rosé wine, you’ll find it in Bordeaux.