Far from the Madding Crowd - Saturday, 22 July

The Place des Vosges is the most gorgeous square in Paris … just ask anyone!  It’s also the oldest planned square, inaugurated in 1612.  Any time of year its perfect geometry, paths, fountain, grass, trees, symmetry, arches, red brick, cream stone, shops and restos lure tourists and residents alike.  

Today I had lunch at Restaurant Anne, which is in the breathtaking courtyard of the Hôtel Pavillon de la Reine at 28, place des Vosges.  It has one Michelin star.  The kitchen is overseen by Mathieu Pacaud, son of Bertrand Pacaud, chef of the three-star L’Ambroisie, also on Place des Vosges.  No wonder the food was so good!  (BTW, I had the enormous good fortune of having my 60th birthday dinner at L’Ambroisie thanks to the generosity of my dear friends Dale Halladay and Mimi Haddad.  Story and photos here:  https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-6-0-birthday-dinner-at-lambroisie.html )

The courtyard setting at Anne is absolutely stunning - ancient stones, hedges, trees, giant potted plants, sculpture (including a giant Calder-esque one), umbrellas, dappled sun, light breeze, muted conversations, silver clinking against porcelain - I could sit here all day (it was actually three hours, not bad!).  

I was going to skip an aperitif, but decided that that would just be foolish, so I went with a glass of Bollinger’s elegant Rosé (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier) - red fruits, tiny bubbles, wonderful aroma, barely sweet, a touch of spice - perfect with my first courses.

Everything on the menu was so tempting, but when I learned that the chef’s choice prix fixe menu contained most of the things I would have ordered anyway, I went with it!

My amuse bouche:

• A melt-in-your-mouth shortbread with avocado puree and herbed tomato concassé
• A thin brown sugar wafer cone with cauliflower puree and raspberry gel
• Fresh yellow tomato juice with sparkling water

(That white cylinder on the right is actually a piece of compressed cotton onto which my server poured some water, making it unfurl!  You eat the amuse bouche with your fingers, so this was for wiping them when you finished.  Practical and entertaining!)

Next, a terrific sweet prawn fried in tempura batter and served in a pool of just-over-room-temperature green pea and tarragon foam.  Purity of sea and land.

    Then, lobster tail covered with a melon aspic, with tiny croutons and dots of intense melon and watercress oils - wow, what a brilliant pairing of lobster and melon - who wouldda thunk?  With it, the claw meat in a ring of leek gelatin, topped with a razor-thin crouton (I removed it for this photo), and sitting in a pool of slightly cool lobster bisque.  Holy buckets.

With my next courses, a 2019 Château Le Pin Beausoleil (organic) Bordeaux (Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv) - powerful yet smooth -  blackberry, licorice, chocolate, pepper, a bit of minerality.

Up next, Pollock (a meaty white fish similar to cod) with a bread crust, served in a pool of frothed bouillabaisse.  On the side, saffron sabayon in a potato tube, tomato “caviar” (tiny balls of just the flesh), crispy roasted Pollock skin, and garlic flowers.  OK, I’m running out of adjectives. The way everything balances and enhances everything else is nothing short of genius.

Then, some Baltic black beef sirloin!  The chunks of beef were topped with Kalamata olives, which gave it all the saltiness it needed, then covered with breadcrumbs and broiled.  It sat in a pool of perfect beef demi-glace.  On the side was a really terrific sweet, herbaceous, peppery tomato aspic containing toothsome white beans - just marvelous!

Then, a cheese course before dessert, the height of civilization (in my humble, but outspoken, opinion!). From mild to piquant, from cows, goats, sheep.  The pristine greens barely dressed with a mustard vinaigrette were perfect with the cheeses.  And I got another of their terrific whole wheat seeded rolls.  Pro tip: spread plenty of salted butter on your bread before adding a chunk of cheese.  You will thank me!

Finally, desserts!  

Chunky strawberry and rhubarb compote topped with lemon sorbet and crème pâtissière in a pool of rhubarb, marigold and mint jus.  Refreshing and surprising and elegant!

A dome of raspberry and yuzu “jello!”  White chocolate mousse dribbled with an herby sauce.  A meringue dome containing some raspberry gel on a shortbread cookie.  Whipped cream.  Tuilles.  One perfect raspberry.  All on a pool of intense, very sweet raspberry sauce.  I might have fainted.  

Then, an espresso with a tiny chocolate tart and a lemon cream.  A perfect finale.

The bustle of tourists and locals just outside in the Square is wonderful to see and join, but I felt that I was far from the madding crowd for a few hours with this wonderful food & drink in this wonderful enclave.  What a gift!

Restaurant Anne - 28, place des Vosges https://www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com/restaurant-bar

Michelin’s writeup: https://guide.michelin.com/en/ile-de-france/paris/restaurant/anne