263547 Sun Nov 16 13:42:05 -0800 2003 18 26 International 0 1392079 I went to Le Bristol on a Monday for lunch. The next day Tuesday was a bank holiday so the room was only half full. Otherwise they say it tends to be full for both lunch and dinner. The room is beautiful. It is an oval shape, seemingly in the middle of the hotel. Chair are big, soft with arm rests. All the extra touches are there. Big pastry and bread display in the center of the room, rolling champagne table with glasses and several bottles available by the glass (whatelse would one expect with Jerome Moreau, former head sommerlier of Lucas Carton, working as head sommerlier for the whole hotel for the past 5 months. Jerome is slowly building the wine list. Historically it is very strong on Bordeaux. I saw at least five 1961 Bordeauxs on the list with the Ausone around 2500€ and topped by the Petrus at 15000€. Jerome is trying to get the 1961 La Chapelle on the list as well. But most of his work is on getting the rest of France represented with more normal wines. He will be added several nice Alcase wines from 85 to 95 in the beginning of December. He already has some nice Burgundies. There were several half bottle options for both red and white already as well. The amuses included an airy parmesan cookie topped with a roasted tomato and pesto had amazing depth of flavors. Hot round crab balls, a coned shaped wafer filled with avocado and radish were also offered. The bread table then showed up with at least 10 different breads, including two different loafs, something I have never seen at a 3 star before. I guess bread at this level is a lot easier to deliver if the same bakery is handling breakfast bread for 150 hotel rooms and that start around 600€ per night!!! Before the first course an extra dish I did not order, I do not think this is normal but more Jerome's kindness to let me try more, arrived. Frog legs with tandori dipped sauce. It came with a glass of Condrieau. The legs were on the bone that you used to pick up and dip in the tandori sauce. They were nice and crispy and served this way I realized why everyone says they taste like chicken. I think I could even get my kids to eat these if they did not know it was frogs. The tandori worked very well with the flowery Condrieau and this was a fun dish before some more serious eating. My first course was a half portion of macaroni filled with black truffles, artichoke and foie gras topped with aged parmesan. This was a spectacular dish. The macaroni was a tube shape and even the half portion was big. The aromas of the truffles and parmesan were powerful and all this different flavors complemented each other well, sort of like a symphony with many instruments hitting a cresendo at the same time. Can you feel the goosebumps on your arms? A wonderful Meursault Charmes from Antonin Guyon 1998 chosen by Jerome had the power and oak to match the dish and the nutty aromas of the wine played well off the nutty aromas of the parmesan. After this dish and the tomato pesto amuse I asked if the chef was from southern France, but it turns out he if from Bretagne (another speciality on the menu is eels and this may be the place to try them). Next I got two one more dish I had not ordered, a pan seared large scallop with old parmesan, blue potato chips and balsamico vinagrette. The unusual combination of parmesan and scalloped worked surprisingly well and was a great excuse to finish my half bottle of Meursault! Not an extraordinary dish, but very well executed. Next was a veal sweetbread served on top of a layer of bacon with a cinnamon sauce and bacon foam. A theme was developing in the cooking here. Depth of flavor. Smoky bacon, rich, unctuous roasted sweetbreads, aromatic and exotic cinnamon. This is classical cooking with some modern twists (the air like foam of bacon with intense flavor and aromas). It fits the room and atmosphere perfectly. The wine chosen by Jerome was a 2000 Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits from Jayer Gilles. The wine seamed older than its actually aged. Nice smokey tobacco and earthy aromas, rich taste with nice acidicy and balanced oak and load of terrior that kept you thinking with every taste. A great bottle. And it went very well with the next dish, young wild partridge (yes I got one piece of buckshot in my mouth!) roasted whole and served on wild porcini mushroom. A very simple dish with gamey flavor where the mushrooms actually outshined the partridge. And married perfectly with the wine. I hopped over the cheese and went straight to dessert which was the best I have in recent memory. Pineapple in various forms including cotton candy, poached with cardamon, cinnamon and star anise, in a beignet, in a sorbet with fresh raspberries and finally in a cream with coconut and chocolate. An amazing tour de force that had everything. Classic and modern technics, childish memories like beignets and cotton candy that brought me back to a Sunday at the amusement park, various texture and spice that allowed the pipeapple to show all its qualities and potential. And it all tasted great. This was not like Gagnaire where you wanted more of 1 or 2 of the various presentations. You wanted more of everyone! Then came out all the candies and macaroons and chocolates to finish the fun. All in all this was a great first visit to Le Bristol for me. I would not be surprised if they soon have 3 stars. They are certainly trying very hard. I look forward to learning the kitchen better, finding more dishes to go back to time and time again and getting Jerome's guidance thru what will surely become one of Paris's absolute best wine cellars. I strongly recommend at visit to Le Bristol and please ask for Jerome and tell him you are a chowhound and Marc from Sweden suggested you ask for him to choose your wines for you. If you enjoy wine this approach will help assure a wonderful time at Le Bristol. Sun Nov 16 13:42:05 -0800 2003 0 mdibiaso 1 1392080 Thanks for your continuing reports. On Bristol, did you consider ordering the prix fixe lunch (60 euros?), and how much choice and how appealing were the dishes for that prix fixe lunch? What were the champagnes offered in the champagne trolley when you visited? The room is gorgeous. It's called the Winter Garden, and is a very distinctive oval shape. I've only been at the restaurant once and it was in the Winter Garden also. I'm not entirely sure but the place might have a summer venue, also in the hotel. I remember an oursin dish, with the urchins (langue d'oursins) aligned in different colors on a piece of wafer. The frogs' legs dish brings to mind a recent Michel Troisgros invention -- Satay de cuisses de grenouilles, et frisons de concombre (Satay of frogs' legs) with cucumber. It has a satay-type paste as its saucing, and the "satay" is the bone of the frogs' legs. A key to the dish is the use of lemon zest in the satay-type saucing :) Sun Nov 16 16:26:17 -0800 2003 1392079 0 cabrales 2 1392088 I did not see any pre fixe lunch menu. But I was not really looking and it was a strange day between a Sunday and a bank holiday. Otherwise it seemed like the full dinner menu with same prices as they have on the web for the dinner menu. And of course a special menu for hunting season with about 6 options. There is an outside summer restaurant that opens when the winter one closes. Same staff. The champagnes included Dom Perignon, Bollinger and a Laurent Perrier Rose which is what I had. There was probably one or two others as well. Mon Nov 17 04:54:15 -0800 2003 1392080 0 mdibiaso 3 1392103 in the summer you could dine in the garden.its delightful surrounded by flowers and the sky above. Le bristol is my favorite among the star restaurants in paris. one should try the roast duck breast with spices and the chocolate cake with pistachios.by the way did jerome replace the young woman sommeliere.she was friendly and knowledgable,perhaps because she shared my opinion that the most exciting wines today in france are the ones from languedoc and roussillion. i also agree with mdibiaso that the food is better at bristol than lucas carton.the only redeeming dishes at L-C are the classic dishes and they are truly great. Mon Nov 17 11:24:42 -0800 2003 1392088 0 pierre 4 1392108 pierre -- I'm not sure mdibiaso indicated he thought the Bristol cuisine's was better than L-C's. He said, "I would say that the classic dishes at LC like the langoustine or lobster are still a notch above Bristol. But I have had so many dinners at LC to find my favorites and they have had so many years to perfect these dishes. And I have a feeling the desserts at Bristol could be the best in town..." I believe L-C has better cuisine than the Bristol, although I have only visited Bristol once to date and I have visited L-C more times (although not as frequently as mdibiaso). I don't dispute that Frechon's cuisine is better than his predecessors' at the hotel. Mon Nov 17 13:06:47 -0800 2003 1392103 0 cabrales 5 1392109 Pierre, Cabrales is right. Today with only one meal to judge on I find LC food is better for me personally. Maybe when I have visited Bristol 4-5 times (and I will visit every time I am in Paris in the future) I will feel differently. So for me LC is better but my opinion is biased on my personal experience. In general all the 3 stars I have been to I believe have something unique to offer and all are very different experiences. Each could earn a "best" choice vote from me depending on your decision parameters. In fact many no, 1 or 2 stars could be your best choice of where to eat in Paris under certain parameters. You may have misread my comment on LC that anyone going their and not drinking wine was wasting there money. I compare this to going up the Eiffel Tower and only looking at the view in one direction. You would have a great view but you would be wasting your money. It is not a comment on the Eiffel Tower or LC, but the person choice to only experience part of what is available. I fully understand however that there are many people who cannot drink alcohol for various reasons. Those people can still go and have great food at LC that is worth its price at this level if you consider the service, atmosphere and quality of ingredients you get with the food. Mon Nov 17 13:48:19 -0800 2003 1392108 0 mdibiaso 6 1392117 mdibiaso -- I have clear preferences among the three-stars in Paris. Even though the cuisine at Lucas-Carton is not, in my assessment, the very best of the three-stars in Paris, I love going to L-C for many, many reasons: -- I am intrigued by Chef Senderens' reading of historical recipes (e.g., Apicius, for the duck; royale-style hare, which is patterned after a Careme recipe) and his more intellectual approach to the composition of dishes and their pairing with wine. The L-C website explains why certain particularly good pairings are good pairings, and there is an elaborated reasoning behind each pair. I have all of Chef Senderens' books, and follow the chefs who have sprung from his kitchens. Chefs in the US who have worked for Senderens include Scotta Kuhn (formerly of Le Cirque, Daniel), Delouvrier (formerly of Lespinasse), Laurent Gras (Fifth Floor), etc. -- The restaurant was the first three-star I ever visited. I remember the foie gras steamed with cabbage was the first three-star dish I ever sampled. When I sampled it a second time a few years ago, it was amazing how different an analytical rubic I had since developed with respect to the dish. I sort of remember the first table I ever sat at at Lucas-Carton, with respect to its general location. -- The restaurant's decor is simply breath-taking. Not only the Art Nouveau aspects (the lines of the chairs, the panels), but so many more things that I adore about the decor. The seating along the banquette area is a lush purple. There's something slinky and provocative and elegant about the decor. The mirrors are perfectly placed in the room adjacent to the one from which one enters off the street. My favorite part of the decor of L-C are the glass panels with muted, multi-colored, gold-edged butterflies and dragonflies. If one sits further away from the windows than the panels and in the room to the left of the room into which one enters from the street, one can almost get a sense the butterflies and dragonflies are flying. http://www.lucascarton.com/lucas-carton1-us.htm The beauty extends to things such as the cutlery, which are beautifully shaped and not modern looking, but gorgeous. I love the Lalique purple flower that adorns the tables during lunchtimes, which I like better than the little domed lights with Parisian scenes on display on one's table during dinner. -- The dining room team has a high level of continuity over the years, and is very gracious. Gracious in a balanced way. The dining room team members really seem to care about what they are doing, and whether the diner has a memorable experience. The dining room team (including the sommeliers) is extremely knowledgeable, and willing to share information on the dishes and the wine when asked. I remember, when I fist visited Lucas-Carton, I was just of a drinking age in the US and had limited experience choosing wine. I was alone, but I never felt out of place. Mon Nov 17 15:52:56 -0800 2003 1392109 0 cabrales 7 1392118 What a beautiful post. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am personal not that attentive to the details of a room as you are, but as you relate everything I can see it in my memories. Lucas Carton was my second 3 star. My first was Tour d'Argent and god it was intimitating coming up in the elevator (I was eating alone as you were!!!) and then making the walk across the floor and what seemed like dozens of staff with hearing my shoes against the floor. But Tour d'Argent did there best to make my feel at home. I remember some of what I ate, foie gras with chartreuse, a filet mignon and that they kindly suggested a dessert different than my first choice in perfect French style. I do not remember the dessert but for wine I had a lovely 1/2 bottle of Ch Beychevelle. My first trip to LC was quite different. I was with my wife and another couple that spoken perfect French. We sat at the window closest to the street corner (funny I can remember where I sit but no so much about how the rooms looked for meals I had many years ago). There was a 6-7 course tasting menu then that we had. One dish was a special sea spider that they kindly noted was not available and being replaced by crabmeat. While I do not remember many dishes (we did have the matching wines) I do remember at the end saying to the others, did you notice the oriental theme in both the spicing and preparations that ran thoughout the meal. I thought at this time this was a sign of a true genius, linking the courses of a multi-course tasting menu with a common red thread. The duck was of course one of the courses and the only one that had red wine (another shock but sign of genius to me that a 3 star in Paris would have matching wines and no dry red wine but only the Banyuls as a red). I even remember ordering port wine with duck dishes for a while afterwards because I found the matching at LC so perfect. The cheese was as today, three cheese, three different breads and three WHITE wines. Again, another shock to me, I never had considered anything but red to cheese at this time (the year was 1990). And a long story either in the menu or a paper we got with the cheese about how Mr Senderens had tasted 1000's of wine and cheese combo and found in the vast majority that white not red was the best match. I also admired the work done to find this out and the boldness to say something so dead against common believes. I remember the good looking young male waiters that were so helpful, even if the English was not as good as today. And yes as you say many have been there a long time and have great pride in their jobs. The dessert was cold mango soup served with RUM as the match. Again, this bold breach with tradition just made me realize it was a meal I would remember for ever. Over the years I have lots of other great memories (I must next time ask in advance if they can make the langoustine for me in both the new way, eating by hand and the old way with chopped egg and chive sauce, served with Chablis, so I can compare the two versions!). I promise to post in advance of my next visit and hope you would be able to join me (and hopefully my wife since I get tired of travelling alone) for a blow out dinner at LC together! Bon sante!!! Mon Nov 17 16:43:07 -0800 2003 1392117 0 mdibiaso 8 1392124 mdibiaso -- Thanks for your encouragement :) Here's another L-C write-up I had not previously shared: I am seated close to the area where the two rooms connect, but closer to the street side of the second room. I am right next to the window. There are two tables that occupy a corner (they are trapezoid-shaped) along the purple banquettes, and that are probably intended for one person. The lighting at night is very different, a more sultry, level. I am in a wispy chiffon-like halter-neck dress that is backless. I feel perfectly happy, and anticipating what was to follow: I was originally going to order a foie gras with exotic fruit and rose petal dish (particularly in view of the rose petal), but decided against it because the foie might be too aggressive before the salmon in Viking style dish I really wanted to sample. I picked the langoustines “eaten with the fingers”, and in hindsight I was truly glad I ended up ordering that. :) Gastronomically, this might also be among the best meals at L-C to date. (0) Condrieu "Terrasses de l'Empire" 2000 - Domaine Georges Vernay (Viognier à la robe or vert, notes fruitées et épicées d'une structure souple très élégante aux saveurs du Sud). Emulsion de fenouil à l'huile de basilic, tomates séchées, olives vertes et noires, filet de rouget juste poêlé. Condrieu "Terrasses de l'Empire" 2000 -Domaine Georges Vernay (Viognier at the golden green colour, notes of fruits, spices with South aromas.) Emulsion of fennel with basil oil, dried tomatos, green and black olives, fillet of mullet. A very nice set of amuses. The first amuse arrived in a martini glass. I’m not ordinarily a fan of fennel. However, the material is a cream of fennel almost with a green oil that is EVOO with basil (thickish and scented). The vegetable sensation seems to be conveyed by this dish, but it is complex. There is a denser material at the bottom of the martini glass, and an evolved, primarily veggie sensation for the upper portions. On top are very supple juliennes of fennel that do not resemble the normal sensations of that veggie. A very interesting aspect of the dish is the strong difference between taste and smell, as the smell is very oceany? Anyhow, a fairly intensely flavored (in a good way) dish. Adjacent to the martini glass was a little metal pick (the type always used at L-C, with the little shells on each of them, which were to be used for the appetizer of langoustines dish) that had a small piece of red mullet on it. Bâtonnets d'aubergine en Tempura. Aubergine in Tempura, sauce with cucumber and curry sauce of Madras. These were excellent, despite my generally not liking curry. The aubergines were so supple and delicate-tasting, and their interior flesh very moist. They had been cut up into thin batonettes, a bit like certain french fries. Their tempura coasting was extremely light and delicate, and the deep-frying was so gentle and well-done that there was no oily sensation and yet there was the coating of an extremely light and wonderful sensation from the deep-frying. Very good and technically appropriate. Surrounding these batonettes was a swirl of green sauce, quite artistically added to the plate. It tasted not dissimilar to the fennel, and was veggie-based, but I could not discern the particular veggie. Then, clusters of dried cumin (the kind used in the gambas recently). I am beginning to understand further Senderens’ fondness for cumin/curry. (1) Meursault 1er Cru 1998 - Louis Jadot (Chardonnay de grande structure dans un style raffiné. Jolies notes boisées qui enveloppent le vin et rappelent le croustillant des langoustines) Langoustines royales au vermicelle croquant, crème de coquillages, amandes torréfiées "à manger avec les doigts". Meursault 1er Cru 1998 - Louis Jadot (Chardonnay at the great structure and refined style. Pretty wooded notes which wrap the wine and remind us the crusty of the Dublin Bay prawns.) Royal langoustines wrapped in fried vermicelli, shellfish cream and roasted almonds "To eat with fingers" Such a sensual, delicious dish. More delicious than I had anticipated it would be, for reasons to be elaborated up on below. I had noticed this dish on other occasions, and considered ordering it. However, there always seemed to be other dishes I had wanted more. This time around, it was really worth the wait. There were four largish langoustines, with their shells replaced by an intricate set of vermicelli (very thin) that encircled their torsos and that was the skin mimic (refined and very well executed). This formed a very delicate, but still slightly crunchy, exterior that was not that noticeable relative to the overall langoustines taste. An extremely interesting composition. The langoustines had been fairly thoroughly cooked, but without being inappropriate tasting for the suppleness of the flesh. There were about three of these, with the tail section, which had a particular appeal to me. Each langoustine was equally spaced with its closer-to-head portion (there was no head) leaning into the bowl ever so slightly, and the body secured by the same shell-top metal pick to the exterior edge of the bowl. How wonderfully presented. The langoustines tasted really good, but the key part of the dish was the interaction of (1) holding the whole langoustines in one’s hand, which was such a sumptuous and hedonistic gesture, and (2) the plunging of them into the veloute (almost that consistency) of crustaces sauce that was profound (coraile, cream, lobster, other goodies) – oooh, so good. Also interesting was a little round dish of 1/4 or 1/8 almonds that one was intended to dip in the langoustines in after the sauce (I did that very rarely, as I found the taste appropriate without this final step). Such a sense of being close to the item that I was taking in; such decadence when one can use one’s fingers at a three star (particularly in my case, where I rarely use my fingers at any level of restaurant, to the extent practicable); such a satisfying sensation from lifting the fairly large body of a langoustine. A perfect match with the Mersault. A thoroughly, thoroughly relished taking in this dish. :) I would be tempted somewhat to order this dish again, depending on the alternative appetizers offered at any given point in time. A Senderens discussion from website, when the thing had hazelnuts instead of almonds: “Meursault 1997 - Coche Dury. Dublin Bay prawns with crunchy vermicelli, shellfish cream and roasted hazelnuts "to be eaten with the fingers". The original idea behind this dish was to prepare Dublin Bay prawns without the need for fastidious shelling, while experiencing an immediate pleasure. To harmonise with the Meursault de Coche Dury, roasted hazelnuts were added to the original dish. In parallel, the same recipe was adapted to accompany a Meursault 97 des Comtes Lafon, but using very lightly roasted almonds to replace the hazelnuts. Lemon zests and fresh ginger enhance the flavour of the shellfish cream. The crux of this harmony: Crunchy vermicelli replace the shells of the prawns. They add crustiness but conserve the flavours without detracting from them. A harmony of texture and body: The soft flesh of the prawns and the full-bodied character of the Meursault, vermicelli to match the woody, roasted notes of the wine.” (2) Palette, Château Simone 1993 - F. Rougier (Cépage peu médiatique, la clairette donne sur les flancs calcaires de la montagne Sainte-Victoire un vin d'une minéralité et d'une délicatesse de texture extraordinaire) Saumon sauvage d'Ecosse cuit dans l'argile à la façon des Viking servi tiède. Palette, Château Simone 1993 - F. Rougier (Not very mediatic grape variety, the clairette produces on the limestone's sides of the Sainte-Victoire Mountain a wine of an extraordinary minerality and delicacy texture) Wild Scottish salmon cooked in the clay in the Viking-style and served warm. A wonderful dish as well, making up one of the strongest meals I have received at L-C to date. Interesting because (1) the taste of the salmon resembled very much the slow goose-fat poaching result,(2) the white clay utilized was very white when presented to me enveloping the salmon (already cracked to expose some of the salmon), (3) there was sulphur paper surrounding parts of the white clay for some reason. Aroma from the clay-encased salmon was not that strong. I suppose the main effect of the clay is to preserve the moisture-rich flesh of the salmon. When later served, there were two large pieces, each incredibly tender and supple. Incredibly fatty, with respect to the intrinsic qualities of the salmon flesh. Excellent. The saucing was buttery – perhaps too much so for my taste, and the saucing had a glaze-like aspect almost. The butter was not suppressed by the soya sauce, which did not taste like that. The saucing was like a simple butter derivative – a bit too strong for my tastes, but still appropriate for the dish. The strength of the butter sensations (not unmitigated butter, but like in a sauce – not cream-based, but more like butter with complexity) was amplified by the utilization of the same sauce to envelop a mound of vemicelli noodles (supple, cooked) – these are the same noodles as those utilized in the vanilla lobster, where they are enveloped in a type of vanilla-based thin sauce. Hmm – interesting. The slipperiness of the noodles in the mouth highlighted the slinkiness and intrinsic fattiness of the salmon. The butter was aided, with respect to mitigation, by the use of significant strands of chives, which were in longish sections. Also, there were little rings of green pepper (the hot kind, although here they were not conveying heat) and red pepper (i.e., in the sense of certain types of chili-type peppers) (??). Overall, that added to the Asian feel of the dish too, together with the very difficult to notice soy aspect of the butter saucing. Senderens’ website discussion on this dish, with a different wine: “Savennières Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 1988 - N. Joly Wild Scottish salmon with dill, cooked in clay. When reading a book on the history of the Vikings, I discovered how, when fishing, they stored their salmon and then cooked them over a wood fire sealed in clay collected from the riverbank. This recipe for wild salmon cooked in clay revives this ancient tradition, and offers guests the opportunity to discover a simple dish full of flavour and delicious, authentic aromas. The crux of this harmony: A white wine of extraordinary flintiness, backed by marked acidity. The character and distinction of this great Chenin wine, with its highly aromatic flavour, enhance the salmon with considerable delicacy. (Gypsies still perpetuate this tradition when cooking hedgehogs). (In China, "beggars' chicken" is also cooked in clay, so that when it is ready, the bird can easily and rapidly be plucked)." (3) Muscat du Cap Corse 1998 - Antoine Arena (Très printanier, ce muscat est marqué par des arômes de fruits blancs. Des notes de citronnelle et de verveine apportent une grande fraîcheu). Fin sablé et pêches blanches rôties, crème glacée à la verveine fraîche. Muscat du Cap Corse 1998 - Antoine Arena (Spring-like Muscat wine marked by white fruits flavours. Fresh notes of lemon grass). Thin shortbread and white roasted peaches, ice-cream with fresh lemon grass The muscat was very nice – a bit too perfumed for my tastes, but a perfect match (literally) for the white peaches. The muscat from this region – I had never before sampled. It was appropriate, although I think I prefer Jurancon or Montbazillac, the texture of which is slightly brought to mind by the Muscat du Cap Corse (a part of France or an affiliate of it??). The muscat here was appropriate light on the mouth. The perfumes of the wine brought to mind white peaches, and induced in the diner a desire to sample the dessert. The dessert was glorious. The peaches were roasted so beautifully – they were kind of beigish looking from their perfect cooking, but extremely firm – perfect and fleshy and firm ;) Matched with a perfect, gentle verbena ice cream that had a light texture (between sorbet and ice cream). Delicately perfumed and refreshing :) There was a denseness, in the most positive sense of the word of firmness, that was associated with the white peaches. Just wonderfully slightly caramelized on the outside too, but still retaining its freshness. A very delicious dessert. A cream-colored thin tuile was unnecessary, although it resembled in very broad terms the one utilized for the raspberry dessert. (4) Port, Andresen Colheita 1975. Cigar [particular type not in notes] This was quite an aggressive cigar. Still, this was nicely paired with a fairly regular (for old port)-tasting port, with flavors of prune/plum (quite nice). Hmmm. A very good meal. Mon Nov 17 18:19:12 -0800 2003 1392118 0 cabrales 9 1392146 After much thinking, at least as much browsing through the different three-star restaurants websites and after reading some of discussions that took place here and especially mdibiaso’s and cabrales’ reports, I decided to go and have lunch at Lucas Carton as my first experience in a three stars. As a bit of background, I should say that I am 23, French, and have tried many restaurant over the years and about two years ago it became a true passion and I started going to one and two-star restaurants as often as I can. Actually, it all started in Yamazato restaurant in Amsterdam but that’s another story. I had sky high expectations for this first meal, so high in fact that I half expected to be disappointed. To cut the suspense, I was not, I was blown away, this was one of the three best meals in my life (the other two being in my family and in Yamazato). This is such a beautiful and calm place. It figures that one should have to cross two sets of doors before entering the restaurant. Something like a decontamination room. I was seated on the left, on one of the purple sofas, at a very nice table, probably designed for single diners. And here it began: As an aperitif I ordered the Manzanilla sherry, intrigued by a sherry announced as “salty” or even having a sea shore feeling. I know that in single malts but have never seen it in a sherry. Also, the belon-jabugo-sherry combination was one of the classical ones according to the website, though not exactly in this form. The sherry was perfect and a very interesting match both with the soft textured belon oyster and the more rigid squid, highlighting the sweetness in the squid and the nut in the oyster. It was a match in which putting two ingredients with a strong common flavour (sea salt) face to face made all the subtleties of each other come out in full light. The jabugo ham was a nice idea as well but I think would have benefited from not being on a toast and being served warm, which is the way it is supposed to be done. A couple of shavings on the side would have been nicer, as the bread took away from it without giving it anything else than some not really needed structure. As a starter I obviously went for the foie gras au chou as it is a classical creation of Senderens. I also remembered from this board that it was the dish that had so well started Cabrales’ career in eating and hoped it would do the same to me. ;) A fantastic dish, perfect association. There are so many contrasts in restaurants today that people seem to have lost the idea that contrast is easy whereas a true association is where real culinary pleasure lies. Contrast is putting mango in a cabbage salad. It will only use the sweetness of one of the ingredients to flatter one’s palate and make the other one seem original. A true association, like Senderens’, is a dish where both ingredients reply to each other. The soft foie is evidenced by the crunchy cabbage but the cabbage is revealed as a noble ingredient by its proximity to the foie. Both are wrapped together in a symbiotic manner. And the cabbage is outside, no bragging here, you cannot see the foie. To me this is very interesting, it shows that the chef does not try to impress using chip tricks and fancy displays, you have to come to the dish for it to reveal itself in all its glory. The Jurançon was a fine match, just by smelling it while eating the starter one could lengthen the taste of the foie for a full minute. However, the wine was so strong and original in taste that I had some trouble getting my palate out of its sweet, siren-like tail and it lasted well into my main dish, despite my efforts to Chateldon it out of taste (sorry if you cannot use a trademark for a verb). The main dish was probably the least interesting one, though it was still one of the very best ducks I’ve had. For pieces of perfectly roséed duck served with glazed carrots and some unidentified green leaves (I meant to ask but forgot, maybe spinach) and a little ‘aumonière’ of duck ‘abats’ on the side. This dish was matched with a domaine de Trevallon (half cabernet half shiraz). A dish I enjoyed a lot but not as much as I normally would have because of the shock of the starter. I remember that the carrots were particularly interesting though, because they were glazed in a way that made their colour stand out and melted in your mouth revealing a taste of carrot so perfect that it cannot be achieved without a lot of work. What I mean by that is that I have often noticed that a taste, to be perfectly clear, has to be put in perspective and that there is a lot of hard work in making ingredients taste their best while appearing simple. Again, this is not show-off cuisine at all. By then, I had already had the chance to talk to the sommelier for a good half hour and since I felt like eating some cheese and especially some comté he offered to have me taste some Cote du Jura (20% savagnin, 80% chardonnay). Then again, a perfect match, the lighter wine being soft on a 1999 comté that would probably have been overshadowed by a young vin jaune. For dessert, a dacquoise with citron confit and ginger ice cream. A nice dessert but one that became truly great with the paired wine. This dessert without the wine is meaningless. This was true of every dish of the meal actually, except for the duck (the only one for which they had a choice of matching wines actually). The sommelier tried to get me to guess the wine and I managed all right, with a lot of help from him when I was going astray. I t wa a moscatello de montalcino and made me understand fully what the sommelier meant when he said they were often building the dish from the wine rather then looking for a wine to match the dish. This dessert was fabulous taken as a whole, but what was on the plate was clearly there to allow the wine to shine at full potential. And it was a star. Actually, this was also the most expensive one I had (30 euros). I ended up paying 210 euros, not regretting one euro of it, whereas in brasseries and small restaurants I often do regret paying 20 for a dish not worth 3 in my mind. All the wines were refilled (though in quite different quantities depending on the person doing it) except for the dessert one because the sommelier had given me a really huge glass. Another consideration: the level of service was just perfect. Not a single mistake. The waiters were nowhere to be seen and appeared out of nowhere the moment I wanted to get up or had emptied my glass. The very opposite of what you so often see in restaurants full of waiters walking fast and never bringing you anything you ask for. It seems you now have to pay 200 euros to be able to have really good service. I will post this report on the board I more usually se but since your two contributions here have helped me so much in making my choices I felt it was appropriate to post here first. Thanks again! I will try a few other three stars at lunch soon (my mind is now set on the Véfour) but frankly I do not see how I could fairly compare them when they do not have this wine-dish matching system. So now I’m torn apart between returning to Carton and trying some other place. There are worse dilemmas! Tue Nov 18 18:11:36 -0800 2003 1392124 0 molochbaal 10 1392148 molochbaal -- Thanks for your descriptions :) I'm glad you were not disappointed (I would have felt badly if you had been...) On the foie/cabbage, as you likely noticed on the website, Senderens wrote: "foie gras, which releases its fat on cooking; this is then absorbed by the cabbage." The fatty oils, a sort of golden-ish color, are emolient and are sort of partially trapped by the cabbage and partially taken in by the inside of the cabbage. The cabbage has another effect, apart from hiding visually the foie and providing a textural contrast to the softness of the foie you mentioned and trapping the foie fatty oil, of augmenting the softness and suppleness of the foie. The foie is not in direct contact with heat, like in sauteed preparations, and its exterior is therefore not browned or otherwise altered in a way that detracts from the suppleness. The cooking of the foie is rendered non-aggressive, because it is encased. This then causes fewer barriers to exist, when the diner reaches the foie part, between the outside of the foie (which is supple/soft) and the innermost portions which are even more luscious. That the foie is sitting in its own fatty oil is also an aspect of this. Senderens continues, "By confirming that flavour is the texture of a product, which in turn gives it a shape, I decided to endow this dish with an unique "first taste", using coarse salt and a mixture of ground peppers." The coarse salt and pepper components are on the side of the dish, and I found them largely unnecessary. I didn't think additional salt was required in the dish, and the pepper was arguably too stark for the foie if utilized in larger quantities. :) Tue Nov 18 19:38:17 -0800 2003 1392146 0 cabrales 11 1392153 All of this is perfectly true and completely confirmed by every bite. Not just theory at all. I would like to know if the wine pairing has evolved over the years. As I mentioned, the one I tried with the Jurançon was very successful but a bit overwhelming as regards the main dish. (I also found the incense in the toilets annoying as it made such a brisk cut in atmosphere but perhaps am I being unduly sensitive). I would also find it interesting to find out which dishes are created "from" a wine, with its characteristics in mind, and which are crafted on their own, and then matched with a wine (clearly the case of the foie gras). Would it then appear that the latter category is mostly constituted by the more recent dishes, therfore showing some kind of radicalization in Senderens' approach to pairing? Wed Nov 19 01:24:07 -0800 2003 1392148 0 molochbaal 12 1392154 Thanks so much for the report and happy you had a great visit. Lunch may be the perfect way to find out if LC is the place for you or not since the prices are so much lower than dinner. Regarding the foie gras wine being so strong. Several times at LC I have been served a foie gras dish last rather than as a starter just because it is hard for the following wines and food to match up to such intense flavors. Could be an interesting concept to ask the servers about. Regarding which plates are developed for a wine and which are wines chosen for a plate. My feeling is that the more recent dishes are plates developed for a wine. This is so of the Italian dessert wine you had, also the case for the Gewurztraminer they served foie gras with exotic vegetables with, and the old white burgundies they get from Leroy every now and then. It also seems to be the case for more unusual wines, like the Italian dessert and the old white Burgundies. God, I am drouling just thinking about your lunch! Wed Nov 19 05:32:14 -0800 2003 1392153 0 mdibiaso 13 1392159 molochbaal -- I don't quite recall whether I had wine with the foie the first time I went to Lucas-Carton. I know I had wine at some point in the meal, but I didn't used to take notes and my memory is hazy. I can't unfortunately recall what I had as the entree (English, not French, sense) -- it was not the Canard Apicius, which required two people even back then. Interestingly enough, the Canard Apicius, which I have only had once, has been my least favorite entree to date. I am going to have to try it again. May I ask why you might have picked the duck entree over the game and foie pie which is indicated on the website to be available on the business lunch menu? I'm going to choose between the business lunch, which has the game pie, and the a la carte, which has the lievre a la Royale. :) Wed Nov 19 12:46:42 -0800 2003 1392154 0 cabrales 14 1392160 I forgot to mention I am going to study some of Senderens' books, but that will take a while, to answer some of these questions. Wed Nov 19 12:48:04 -0800 2003 1392159 0 cabrales 14 1392164 The game pie was my original choice but at some point I figured this meal would need something lighter to balance the starter and dessert. I also believed foie gras both in the starter and in the main dish would probably not allow me to taste the second one at its best. I thought the duck's liver followed by the duck itself was a more subtle thread for the meal. It might have been a mistake though, I won't be sure until I try the game pie next time if it is still on the menu. :) Wed Nov 19 18:21:31 -0800 2003 1392159 0 molochbaal 15 1392364 I asked a maitre d' at L-C recently whether my dining companion's choice of the foie with chou for apps, followed by the game and foie tourte, would be too heavy. He said yes, and steered us towards the gambas as apps. My dining companion stayed with the foie and the tourte, and it seemed fine. The tourte was slightly on the salty side. It included wild duck, hare and foie -- in small integrated diced bits. It was a wedge of tourte about the height of my longest finger. The dough was buttery :) Thu Nov 27 23:21:05 -0800 2003 1392164 0 cabrales 1 1392090 Thanks so much for the great report. I think Frechon is one of the best chefs around, and agree the three stars should come sooner rather than later. Although Michelin's snobbish attitude towards hotel restaurants may not help them. I have been four times in the last year or so and enjoyed it immensely each time. I might be going this December, do you think Jerome would be willing to do some wines by the glass to match each course as he they do in Lucas Carton? Also taking the food alone, how does it compare to Lucas Carton in your opinion? Mon Nov 17 05:07:34 -0800 2003 1392079 0 DEM 2 1392092 Jerome might be able to do by the glass depending on how many dishes you have, but it could never be as researched and well planned as LC. Nor would he be able to offer such top end bottles by the glass as LC as he would risk having half the bottle unsold. But if you call in advance and speak to him I know he would do his best (he only works Monday to Friday). Comparing to the dishes to LC is so hard since LC is so focused on the wine/food combination. I would say that the classic dishes at LC like the langoustine or lobster are still a notch above Bristol. But I have had so many dinners at LC to find my favorites and they have had so many years to perfect these dishes. And I have a feeling the desserts at Bristol could be the best in town (the pastry chef has equal billing on the menu as the head chef which says something about their aspirations in that department). Mon Nov 17 05:22:31 -0800 2003 1392090 0 mdibiaso