The French Goat

When we travel to a new town, we look for gourmet wine and food shops, art galleries, small bookstores, boutiques, and antique stores. We always search for a restaurant that provides a memorable dining experience featuring local artisan food. We found all that and more in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

We enjoyed the most delightful brunch of our lives at The French Goat in Lewisburg.

Knowing that Mr. Mickey enjoys bread above all other food, I ordered a Bread Basket, including a freshly baked croissant, pastry, and a chocolate croissant. There were very few crumbs remaining by the end of our meal.

We both ordered the omelet of the day, which included crab and leeks with potato hash. When you have a light and fluffy omelet prepared perfectly with the freshest ingredients, your standards are set higher forevermore.

We enjoyed a Pavlova with a fresh berry compote for dessert. Mr. Mickey had never experienced this baked meringue dessert, named in honor of the Russian ballerina, so it was great fun to see his expression. After this meal, he asked if driving three hours each way to have brunch was out of the question. We don’t have to make the return trip on the same day. Arthur Forgette, the Proprietor of The French Goat, is also the host of a Bed and Breakfast, Maison Marcel, and a donut shop owner, Retro Donuts and More.

After such a delightful trip, we look forward to our next visit to the Allegany Mountains to stay in the Bed and Breakfast and enjoy more of all that Lewisburg and Greenbrier County have to offer. The area is rich with history and vast natural resources. I can envision my retirement here.

As always, I packed separates that could be worn in various combinations to create appropriate looks for any part of the day. I did not bring jeans on this trip since there is a strict dress code at the Greenbrier.

My Sunday look included Montana Moss jeggings from Chico’s. The navy top is old by Clara Sunwoo via My Fair Lady.

I often build my look around the colors in a silk scarf. I especially appreciate the vibrant colors of this one. It was unfolded and worn as a wrap to fend off the air conditioning while we enjoyed brunch. The Dooney & Bourke Bordeaux bag is old.

26 Comments
  1. The Pavlova looks delicious. I’ve made them but you can’t get them anywhere around where I live. Not even the very upscale restaurants offer them. Sigh. I’m glad you had a great trip. And whenever you do retire, it is wonderful. Take my word for it.

  2. Such an interesting brunch venue. I enjoyed that stop and imagine how beautiful the town given its location. And as many delightful places to wander plus stop for food as you both seem to find.

  3. Hi Susan, Your weekend looks amazing! I know you love the Chico’s Jeggings, the reviews on their site have a lot of mentions of them really stretching out and becoming baggy / loose during the day. Do you find this to be true? TYIA, Angela

    1. I do find that the Chico’s jeans stretch but I know that, so I order them slim-fitting. The gals in the store once told me they should start out fitting as a girdle would.

  4. We have stayed there many times on our way to Colonial Williamsburg. It was such a surprise the first time we found Lewisburg, stopping off the freeway for gas and then wandering into town to find a place to eat. The homes are so charming and there are lovely antique stores and restaurants.

    1. Thank you. I eat small amounts of natural foods a couple of times a day, drink about ten glasses of filtered water and walk a few miles every time I get a chance. Even though we eat out a couple of times a week, we often share a dish.

  5. You are so lucky to live in that beautiful part of the country and get to travel to all these lovely resorts and restaurants!

  6. My husband and I discovered Lewisburg last November while visiting The Greenbrier. What a wonderful find! We intend to go back and really explore the entire Greenbrier Valley. We expected The Greenbrier resort to be nice, but Lewisburg … we’d never really noticed on the map…instead our attention had been on White Sulphur Springs. We want to see what else lies within Greenbrier Valley…such a gem!

  7. Lovely post Susan. My husband and I loved that little town when we visited there way back when and stayed here:

    http://www.generallewisinn.com/. It’s still there, which many of the inns we have stayed at over the years, are no longer in business, but alas, new ones have cropped up. Love that area!! So green, pretty, and historical, yes.

    We like to visit the same kinds of venues as you do when we travel for quiet, rest, and quaint rather than big noisy anything which just isn’t for us.

    Loved your Greenbriar post; have never been but it looks so lovely!

    Happy travels to you and Mr. Mickey.

    Kathryn 🙂

  8. Oh Susan, what a lovely trip last weekend! Please… are you going somewhere this weekend? I always wait in anticipation of “our” next trip! :)) Thanks for always so generously sharing with us.

  9. Susan, I’m curious…are your travels at this point to look at potential retirement spots as well as the fun of exploring?

  10. Dear Susan & Mr. Mickey,

    Just a quick thank you for the joy, that your sharing of your travels have brought into our lives. My husband and I always look forward to your excursions. He (my handsome guy), is willing to share a single dessert with me, but only after viewing a lot of your blogs. Thank you for that…

    Our love and admiration to the both of you.

    Lyn & Wade Bourdon
    Carmel, IN

  11. Egads! Are you thinking of moving out of the beautiful east Tennessee area for your retirement? Moving to the Lewisburg area???? East Tennessee would miss you so much!

    1. I doubt I will leave the area any time soon, but my spirit longs to live in a quaint village where I can walk to bookstores, cafes, and the Post Office. Wouldn’t that be a dreamy existence?

  12. Lovely tribute to The French Goat, and the wonderful photos that you took. I too believe Arthur and Debbie have done an incredible job on all three of their endeavors. I recently stayed at the Maison Marcel with my two daughters, ate at The French Goat, but had to leave Lewisburg just before the first donut was “born” at Retro Donuts . . . But did manage to have the first cappechino to come off the coffee machine. Can’t wait until I leave Florida and come back to all three of these incredible places! Oh, did I mention, I am Arthur’s mother and am very proud of both he and Debbie? Lovely blog!

    1. Thank you so much for leaving this delightful comment, Marge. We didn’t get to meet Debbie, but Arthur was a true gentleman, and it is evident that this lovely couple is passionate about their endeavors.

  13. I purchased two pair of the Chico’s Jeggings. Just WOW! The fabric feels amazing. I’m ordering more before they are sold out.

  14. Susan, only 20 miles south of Lewisburg is a small town called Union. Check out Elmwood the next time you are in the area. They have a B&B.

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