Restaurant Recommendations for Dijon needed. Also: Burgandy wine tasting recommendations????

[gdmack]

We are spending three nights in Dijon in late September. We will be staying in the center of the old town at the Hotel Wilson. Would love some good restaurant recommendations for both lunch and dinner. Prefer New Cuisine to Haute Cuisine (aspics don't turn us on), but if there is a "Must Do" we would like to at least give it consideration. Will probably get out of Dijon for one or two days during the day (we are getting to Dijon on the TGV but plan to rent a car), so are willing to get outside of Dijon proper if there is a worthy restaurant. Live near Napa, so wine tasting is not novel to us, but if there is a particular winery or two we MUST check out, we would love to be aware. Obviously getting wine back to the USA on our flight home will be challenging with carry-on restrictions, so not sure how to handle things if a purchase is expected with a tasting at a winery.

[mangeur]

If you like modern cooking, you should visit David Zudda' DZ's Envies across the side street at Les Halles. His cooking reminded me of Le Chateaubriand.

[DaTulip]

Hmmm...how to answer this?  I guess the first reaction is to suggest searching the site for recent comments on the exact same topic, but then someone would say that is rude.  So, here are several relevant, recent links:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/713855
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/775141
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http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/732558
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Specifically for Dijo I'd recommend a trip to Les Halles, restos on this site www.lisasdotcom.com/dijonrestaurants.htm as well as cooking classes from Alex Miles at http://www.miles-alex.com/cooking-cla....

You say that you "are willing to get outside of Dijon proper if there is a worthy restaurant."  There are many.  What is your price range, proximity, food preference?  

You also stated that you, "Live near Napa, so wine tasting is not novel to us, but if there is a particular winery or two we MUST check out, we would love to be aware."
Wow.  I know what my hubbie would say...."let me know when Napa starts making Pinot & Chardonay.".  But seriously, you must understand that wine tasting in Burgundy is not like in CA (Napa or otherwise).  In Burgundy, you mostly visit (by appointment & not a last minute call like many in CA) with the vintner/farmer who explains his/her wines in French.  Think a max of 3 tastings in a dedicated day that is planned well.  As a benchmark we've done 12/day in Paso Robles and 8+/day in the Napa/Sonoma valleys.  These folks understand that you can't bring much home & won't expect that you buy much.  

As for getting wine home, you certainly cannot carry it on the plane.  You can put it in your checked baggage subject to import limits. For the US you can bring in 1 bottle (actually 1 liter, but a regular bottle is 750 ml or 3/4 of an allowable unit) per person before being subject to tax.  If it is for personal use, not resale, you should be good.  Tax on the extra bottles is nominal (something like 3% of the value).  We brought back 40+ bottles last trip.  Easy to bring 12 or fewer without much issue.

Hope you enjoy the region!

[ChefJune]

I have brought back as many as 10 at a time in a suitcase with no taxes and no problems. I carry a roll of (small bubbles) bubble wrap, a box of 2-gallon zip lock freezer bags and a bunch of rubber bands to wrap each bottle separately. Have never had a broken bottle (knock wood!).

Yes you need to make your appointments well ahead of time. There are few if any walk ins in Burgundy. There are tasting rooms in Beaune for a few producers, and wine stores that have tastings you don't need to sign up for, but that's not a winery.

Don't miss the Grey Poupon Mustard Museum in Dijon.