After you have viewed these faded splendors, you might like to visit the Lunéville restaurant which last year received unrestrained applause from a group of Wine and Food Society pilgrims. This is the HÔTEL CENTRAL, a pleasant hostelry whose dining room walls are richly decorated with old Lunéville pottery. The à la carte menu is well stocked with Lorraine specialties; pâté Lorraine en croûte, truite aux amandes, and the invariable quiche. We tried the regular prix fixe luncheon, accompanied by a dry, palatable Gris de Toulois, and found it delicious and inexpensive.
Bar-le-Duc (Meuse)
Few names from the Lorraine are as well known as Bar-le-Duc. Not because of its wartime significance or its pleasant hillside site is it famous but because if its divine confiture de groseille, the currant jam which is appreciated by gourmets throughout the world. The incomparable taste of the Bar-le-Duc contained in that little glass jar is achieved because the seeds are first removed from each individual currant. I have always pictured ancient ladies and teen-age girls painstakingly extracting each seed with finely adjusted tweezers and ruining their eyesight in the process. With embarrassment I must admit that I did not verify this conception during a recent trip to Bar-le-Duc. It was noontime, and I headed straight for the HÔTEL DE METZ, in the heart of this attractive town. All of the guide books had given it a pat on the back, and their praise proved more than justified. Madame Ensminger provided an abundant and fairly priced menu to her guests. The immortal quiche Lorraine was there in splendor. So was a limpid truite à la crème and a tender chicken fragrantly simmered in champagne. A cool, crisp blanc de blanc was the final note to this symphony, which we recommend with enthusiasm.
Ligny-en-Barrois (Meuse)
The road eastward will probably lead you through this little town on the banks of the placid river Ornain. It has known epic days during the varied wars which have swept over Lorraine. Today it has reverted to its somnolent past, and there would be scant reason for the traveler to stop here except for the HÔTEL DU CHEVAL BLANC, a hospitable country hotel on the town square. This is an admirable stopover for luncheon. On a murky Sunday its cheerful, immaculate, well-lighted dining salon was a welcome sight to these weary voluptuaries. Monsieur Ney offered two prix fixe luncheons at 500 and 900 francs. To combat the gloomy skits, we settled upon the latter and stalked through a delicious menu of saucisson en brioche, truite à la crème, and poularde à la broche, accompanied by a faintly pink vin gris de Lorraine. Blue skies after that! The inescapable conclusion is that Monsieur Ney is a master chef.
Verdun (Meuse)
The name of Verdun will ever remain a symbol of heroic French resistance and suffering and final victory. This was the barrier beyond which they did not pass, but it took the lives of four hundred thousand Frenchmen in 1916 alone to make it so. In this comparatively tranquil epoch, one can visit the scenes of the most bloody and ferocious battle of World War I—Côte 304, Mort Homme, Vaux, and a dozen other disputed slopes. At Douaumont is the sober ossuary where countless unknown soldiers repose, and not far away is the heart-rending Tranchée des Baïonettes.
If you come to Verdun, two worthy hotels spread their welcome before you in the rebuilt city. One is the HÔTEL BELLEVUE on the rue Douaumont, a well-appointed place with a sheltered garden and a pleasant dining room overlooking the park. There are two good prix fixe meals at right prices, and a new specialties such as omelette norvégienne and brochet Bellevue which will enable you to assess the culinary gifts of Monsieur Beckriek. The wine list is tempting, the rooms are comfortable, and the service is good.
Another favored hostelry is the HÔTEL COQ HARDI, located across from the post office at 2 avenue de la Victoire. On the exterior, the Coq Hardi is not impressive at the moment, but the interior appointments and fine cuisine are something else again. Here is savory regional cooking with a strong Lorraine accent, accompanied by a becoming repertory of wines. Perhaps a shade expensive.
Corny (Moselle)
This little town with the provocative name is located about 9 miles south of Metz and has been known for decades as a gustatory stronghold. The whole countryside knows the RELAIS DE CORNY, made famous by Monsieur Thiry, a gifted cook and a charming host. Located on a pleasant site with a good view of the river, Chez Thiry is furnished with old Lorraine antiques and a wine cellar which holds numerous Moselle treasures. One really gets the genuine Lorraine specialties here, and in abundance. Porcellet à la gelée, tourte chaude, and terrine de lapereau are some of the best. There is a palatable prix fixe meal also. Thiry is a name to remember!
Metz (Moselle)
This heavily defended citadel early claimed fame as the residence of the highly vocal Brunehilde, one of the rare royal ladies to end her days attached to the tail of a wild horse. Charlemagne had a particular penchant for Metz. For centuries this frontier bastion has been the keystone of conflict. In 1944, defended by a series of powerful fortresses, it offered fierce resistance to the American Third Army for almost ten weeks. During this time General Patton's men blasted the surrounding forts but spared Metz, the city where Lafayette commanded his garrison before embarking for America in 1777. In Metz, the immense, spiny cathedral of Saint-Etienne deserves particular mention. Its nave soars to astounding heights (only Beauvais and Amiens are loftier), and its stained glass, now fully replaced, is a supreme glory. The most picturesque bit of architecture in Metz is the Porte des Allemands, which served as a château-fort in the thirteenth century. It is joined to a fortified bridge which is charming, though a little menacing.
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