La Dilettante and Epoisses burger, Friday 31st October

On Friday evening we'd finished our tasting itinerary, and were ready for some downtime. Where better than La Dilettante, the new wine bar run by Lolo, who was previously proprietor at Caves Madeleine. This was the first time I'd been to this place, which is on Rue du Faubourg Bretonnière just outside the ring road on the way to Pommard. It was very different from Le Bout de Monde, much smaller and brighter - more like a cafe with wine! We drank some artisan beer and had some little plates of food and ACC chatted to the friendly waitress about her possible upcoming trip to London.

I enjoyed looking at the bottles on the wall - lots of interesting things there. There were also some cool arty wine festival posters.

However, we'd only been allowed in on the understanding that we pushed off quite quickly, as our table had been reserved for others later in the evening. It was time for Epoisses Burger Quest!

In an attempt to improve my French, I'd bought a random copy of wine mag Bougogne Aujourd'hui which I read on the Eurostar on the way down, and it had a small article about street food coming to Beaune - a burger truck selling Epoisses burgers! Naturally this caught my eye and research had established that on a Friday night the truck could be found near the BP garage on one of the roads leading out of Beaune.

We'd walked along this particular dual carriageway before, several years ago, on a memorable trip to the Grand Boutique du Vin. On that occasion, the journey had seemed endless and doubts were expressed as to the existence of the Grand Boutique, only for it to appear after about half an hour like an oasis in the desert. This time, the green lights of the BP garage appeared rather sooner, which was a relief as the road was rather sinister in the dark. As we approached we could see that the burger van was quite an event!

It was Halloween, hence the fancy dress of some of the queue. Others had donned red trousers just for the hell of it.

We perused the menu and opted for L'espicéen, the one with the Epoisses. We went for a meal deal which included frites and beer. Later we realised that the price of the "deal" was exactly the same as that for the individual components added together. Memo to self for next time!

There was a bench next to the truck which was unoccupied so we sat there to eat, receiving weird looks from everyone else. It seems that most people ring up and place their order beforehand, then collect it and take it home. That's not really street food is it? Admittedly the thought of asking Alain le taxi to collect ours on a future occasion while we stayed in the warmth and comfort of the gite did cross our minds.

The burger was great, but to be honest for me the Epoisses didn't really come across - the onion compote was more exciting. But I'd definitely have it again! The chips and beer were very good too. I brought the menu home so that we'd have the details for future reference.

Afterwards, we walked back into town and received quite a shock when a rabid dog tried to attack us. Fortunately it was on the other side of a high wall! A restorative trip to Route 66 on Place Carnot was in order, and then we called it a night. But we still had one great meal to come.