France, Part IV: This provincial brasserie was an accidental discovery, but a happy one!
The main attraction here: the notorious Andouillette sausage, a powerfully odorous pig colon-&-tripe sausage that smells exactly like a bad public restroom. Even as the plate is brought to the table, the stench of it already assaults your nostrils.
The key to eating this is not breathing while you bite into it and chew. If you can manage that, it's actually addictive: supremely succulent, with complex flavors that manage to be both sweet and savory (but with a stinky aftertaste nevertheless).
Less intrepid eaters can still find tremendous pleasure in the Perigord salad. The version here is a massive mound of green salad with duck gizzard, smoked magret, foie gras, potatoes & croutons. This probably contains as much carbs, fat and sodium as three Big Macs, but let's say it right now: this was the best salad we had all year.
Being in Champagne region, champagne had to be the drink of choice, naturally.
The brasserie is a five-minute stroll from Reims' marvelous Gothic cathedral.
Brasserie Le Carnot,
Reims, France.
