Chef "Sauces" and his 50-year-old Cognac! - Friday, 7 March

 

Éric Trochon, chef-owner of the charming little Solstice in the 5th, is a 2011 Meilleur Ouvrier de France (“Best Craftsman of France,” a highly prestigious award given every four years since 1924 to the top practitioners in a variety of fields) and is a professor at École Ferrandi (which graduates many of the top chefs in France).  He has opened and managed restaurants in France, Japan, Korea and elsewhere.  Along with his Korean wife and sommelière Mi-Jin Ryu, they serve French cuisine with a bit of a Korean touch.

He also wrote the book on sauces.  Literally!  

My apéritif of Champagne Déhu Pere et Fils 2015 (mostly Pinot Meunier) was beautifully floral with a sense of honey and yellow plum.

A warming roasted pumpkin soup spooned over a lively quenelle of crème fraîche, with some hazelnuts and a slice of toasted chestnut bread (a quickbread style, with a slightly coarse texture) was a perfect start to the meal.  With it, the Champagne went sweeter and the honey came forward.

Next, a cool creamy cauliflower custard topped with ribbons of shaved raw cauliflower, caviar and fleur de sel – so inventive and unfussy, and wonderfully tasty and surprising on the palate!

Then a pure, flavorful and toothsome piece of roasted sole on a bed of cous cous, raw celery, and diced just-poached celeriac, sprinkled with chives and celery leaf.  An herbal oil and a beautiful fish demi-glace rounded out the dish.  

With it, Domaine de Montille Les Clos du Château 2022 white Burgundy (100% Chardonnay).  Delicate, white fruits, a bit of lemon, slightly minerally.  With the food, vanilla and a slight sense of licorice came forward.  Absolutely delightful!  My server told me that this wine was originally produced only for use at the château, so although the vines are right next to those of AOC Puligny-Montrachet, it wasn’t part of the appellation.  I sure am glad that it’s now available to the rest of us!

Then “Le Grand Vol au Vent” - the most ethereal feuilletés (puff pastry) – perhaps the best ever – over chicken breast & sweetbreads & dumplings, with mushrooms and foie sauce.  Outta sight!  Chicken pot pie was never like this!  

With it, Maison Marthe Henry “Maranges” 2021 (100% Pinot Noir).  Light, but profoundly in the red fruit realm (especially noticeable after the white wines up to this point) with currant, plum, cherry, a hint of strawberry and oak, a little spice.  And pairing with all the butter in that pastry – zowie!

The cheese course looked lovely, so I just had to give it a try!  A smoky and crumbly aged cow’s milk cheese, a light creamy ash-rubbed goat, and an intense and just-salty-enough sheep’s blu.  All accompanied by a green tomato jam with a hint of lemon zest.  Very nice indeed.  I always think that the cheese is the most civilized course!

As part of the wine pairings, they served a glorious Champagne Billecart-Salmon rosé with the cheese.  40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier – beautifully floral with a sense of wild red berries and citrus zest.  

However, my server also offered me a taste of the very rare 50-year-old Pinau Francois 1er Cognac from the large decanter by the window.  It knocked my socks off!  Oak, chestnut, powerful caramel, dried black plum, vanilla, and black raspberry (which gave it some zing!).  Ugni Blanc, 17% ABV.

I felt like falling to my knees to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the growers, harvesters, vintners, preservers, and merchants who made this possible (not to forget my server and mother nature!).  With the cheese, it was absolutely explosive!  And after this, the Champagne tasted like mineral water!  

Using a pipette to transfer
some of the glorious nectar of the gods to a glass for me!

Finally, a citrus dessert that was (thankfully) less acidic than I had anticipated.  A Bergamot cookie with dollops of lemon crème and Chantilly, sprinkled with grapefruit flesh and zest.  A very nice and harmonious ending to this meal.  (Sadly, the Champagne did nothing for it and vice versa).

Restaurant Solstice, 45 rue Claude Bernard in the 5th arrondissement.  One Michelin star.  https://solsticeparis.com/

Michelin Calls Datil "Restaurant of the Future" - Thursday, 6 March

Datil, a resto that opened in 2023 and got its first Michelin star in 2024 (that's fast!), just rocketed to my top 5 list.  You may jump ahead to my report on lunch, but do not fail to read this fascinating interview article by the Michelin inspectors:

https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/travel/datil-paris-the-restaurant-of-the-future-is-here

The view from my table

Datil is unique on several fronts: they have a team of five co-chefs (rather than a chef + sous chefs), all with stunning credentials, all women; they have a rotating shift system so nobody has to be in the kitchen for extreme lengths of time; they are closed weekends; they are a vanguard of sustainable gastronomy, working seasonally and locally; they have a clear ethos of mutual respect; they know their producers personally; plants are central to the menu, but they work closely with their suppliers to support animal welfare; they are committed to zero waste.  Almost enough reason to go, but oh, the food and drink!

My meal started with a glass of their house Champagne, Bonnet-Ponson Cuvée Perpétuelle. 40% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay.  Fine bubbles, tastes of sweet apple, yellow fruit, a bit of yeast.  

For my amuse bouche:

an amazing deeply flavored warm broth of roasted red cabbage that had a slight acidic edge like balsamic vinegar, making it intense and rich enough to make you think you were drinking a well-crafted beef broth;

mushroom custard topped with roasted cauliflower and a cooled version of the cabbage broth; 

and a cabbage fritter sitting on top of a drop of slightly sour blueberry gel (wowzer!).  How did I fail to get a photo of it?!?  

There was just enough acidity in the Champagne to balance the bit of grease in the fritter – stunning!

Next: scallops tartare, scallop roe, and a kumquat, topped with raw carrot shavings and a drizzle of dashi demi-glace; pickled carrot strings on a bed of roasted carrot and chickpea purée; a little bun made with chickpea and rice flour and sprinkled with some seaweed dust which gave it a lovely zing!  “Charming” is the word that comes to mind for this course!  And, of course, "deeeeelicious!"

With it, Habibi Cherri 100% Gewürztraminer by Anaïs Fanti.  Pure and vibrant, with a sense of pineapple and parsley, beautiful viscosity and fabulous legs!  The wine became caramelly and almondy with this set of dishes.  The winemaker inherited the vineyard from her grandmother; it’s organic - no chemicals have every been used there.

As delivered to the table

Next, my truffle supplement (I couldn’t resist!):  a custardy hazelnut cake with poached pears and celery purée & oil, topped with a foam of roasted wine (I think that’s what my server said!) and then showered with a generous mound of truffle shavings!  

After I dug into it

Euphoria, here I come!  

With it, Joan Rubió’s Deix 2022 – a Spanish white Crianza wine from the Xarel-lo grape (from Catalonia, primarily used in the making of Cava) by one of the leading female vintners of Europe.  Again, a natural and biodynamic wine from vineyards that have never (or at least never in decades) seen chemicals.  It is aged in casks, then tanks, then bottles.  It has a lovely fresh, slightly citrusy taste with hints of walnut and leek.  I believe that my server told me that the grapes aren’t pressed at all, contributing to its freshness.  If the truffles made me euphoric, the wine boosted it up a notch!  

Then, Belgian endive prepared three ways: roasted and then charred on the grill, blanched, and raw.  It sat on a bed of graham-tasting cookie crumbs with apple disks and a smoked endive sauce.  A side salad of apple, cabbage, endive, and some sweet-lemony-fatty shredded chicken confit.  Yum!  

With this course, La Paonnerie Estate’s “Les Pentes” white Rhone by Marie Carroget, the 5th generation winemaker from this estate, again completely organic.  Beautifully rounded, I got a sense of apricot, pear and hazelnut with a bit of earth, which complemented the bitter notes in the endive; it turned a little minerally with the course.  My server/sommelière told me that she was excited about attending a big conference in Nantes this weekend that Ms. Carroget has organized for female winemakers and their fans – more power to them!   

For dessert, a lemon givré (lemon sorbet served in a frozen hollowed-out lemon rind – I love how French gastronomy has a different term for sorbet when it’s served in the rind!).   The sauce poured around it was lemon “milk” with Jerusalem artichoke for texture and sweetness.  As a little surprise, in the shell underneath the sorbet were some chocolate nibs, some grains (farro?) and lemon pulp (the little individual capsules or juice sacks).  On the side, a coronet with a gentle Chantilly.

With dessert, Domaine de Rancy “Le Temps D’un Oubli” (“The Time of Oblivion” or “The Time of Forgetting”).  What a perfect name for this marvelous very viscous late harvest wine, high in alcohol with dark caramel custard on the nose and on the palate.  The youngest daughter recently stepped up to lead this multi-generation family estate.  Hmmm...daughters stepping up seems to be a trend!

So, yup, you gotta try it - for the food, for the wine, for the ethics, for the ethos!  Just go! Restaurant Datil, 13 rue des Gravilliers in the 3rd arrondissement. https://www.datil-restaurant.fr/en-us  One Michelin star.

Your contented correspondent after lunch!

The Magic (and Truffles!) of Pierre Gagnaire - Wednesday, 5 March

Today was my first “fancy meal” of this trip, i.e. one accompanied by Michelin stars!  The rest of the fancy ones will be at one-star restos, but today was lunch at the three-star Pierre Gagnaire.  He is one of writer-teacher-chef Patricia Wells’ (with whom I studied in 2001) top heroes.  I’ve been wanting to eat his food for years, but the evening offerings are just too dear.  They recently (I think) started a lunch service, so I took the plunge!

The room is elegant and understated.  Mostly grey and taupe with touches of color, clean lines, simple vases of fresh flowers, white porcelain, fine but unadorned crystal, substantial but not overly heavy flatware, bold and graphic prints on the walls.  Very “zen” I guess!  I did have to manage some steps down into the dining room and then up to my section, but the staff was right at my elbow to make sure it went well!  And they were well-staffed - it seemed like there was one greeter or waiter or sommelier or bus-person for every-other guest!  [Note: you can click on any image in this blog to see a larger version.]

My amuse bouche consisted of eight elements (left to right):  an extremely thin pastry ball with black garlic puree; a thin slice of cooked beet formed into a cylinder and filled with sweet potato; spicy lentil cream topped with lardo di Colonnata and a slice of tuber Melanosporum (Périgord black truffle); a leaf of spun sugar with garlic and pepper (partially hidden); soupy orange gel with bonito purée (spectacular!); homemade tofu with sesame cream and sesame seeds; a parmesan sablé-style cracker; a beet and tomato feuilleté breadstick.  Spectacular tastes, perfect execution of each element; distinct and harmonious full flavors (without being salty) that enhanced each other and that moved from buttery to spicy to vegetal to earthy to oceanic to acidic without clashing along the way.  My mouth was absolutely amused!

A server brought over their box of huge tuber Melanosporum to show off (or maybe to tempt me to add one to my lunch order, which apparently one can do…not sure how they prepare it!).  They typically cost $1,000/lb retail.  These truffles are credited with producing euphoria, and not just because of the price!

For my first course:

Stunning sea bream carpaccio with sweet sweet smoky scallops, baby spinach, tiny cauliflower buds, spinach/watercress purée, cranberry jam, black garlic, and a slightly acidic (lemon zest?) creamy sauce made with Jerusalem artichokes.  Oh, the harmony!  Every bite was just a bit different than the last.

A chunk of rare Kobe beef in a warm gentle beef broth with couscous, lots of shredded baby leek and coarsely ground black pepper.  Absolutely melt-in-the mouth meat – if I’ve had Kobe beef before, it certainly wasn’t like this.  Wow!

With this first course, Piante Faro’s Etna Bianco “Pietradolce” 2023, grown (you guessed it!) on the slopes of Mt. Etna.  100% Carricante grapes.  Fresh, a bit minerally, dry, with a hint of almond.

Up next:

Deeply roasted sole - sweet and smoky - with corne d’abondance mushrooms (“horn of plenty,” but also called trompette des morts or “trumpet of death” although they’re not poisonous – go figure!), slightly gelatinous cockles (they’re the tiny shellfish with a little yellow claw in this photo), and smoky figatellu (pork liver sausage), with a shellfish lemon thyme sauce.   

With this, Cyril Fhal’s “La Femme Soleil“ 2023.  100% Macabeu grapes – a little heavier, white fruits, more herbal, slightly minerally.

Then: 

Squid stuffed with tiny mirepoix and a zesty lemon purée (the squid is hard to see in this photo), with Paris mushrooms and sea snails, in a sea urchin bisque.  

On the side, sunchoke gel, blanched seaweed and slightly salty and herby plankton ice cream.  A-a-a-mazing!   

With this, a Domaine Courbis Saint-Péray “Le Tram” 50% Roussanne and 50% Marsanne.  White fruits, a bit citrusy, a touch of floral. 

Then my final main course:

Roasted breast of Culoiseau chicken, dramatically served under a smoke-filled glass dome!  Very tasty and juicy.  It was served on parsnip paste and topped with a clementine gel veil (loved this!) and shreds of radicchio and leek, and then topped with a foie gras sauce.

On the side, cabbage stuffed with confit chicken leg and foie, and served on a bed of beet-syrup-poached leeks and mustard.

With the chicken, Domaine André Perret’s Saint-Joseph “Les Grisières” 2020.  Syrah grapes.  Black cherry, prune, lovely tannins.

Then, on to my five pre desserts!  From the left: a lovely shatteringly crisp pastry (maybe graham flour); a thin chocolate cylinder with lavender cream; a tiny spun sugar “bowl” with a licorice-y gel and black olive; almondy cream in a tiny crêpe; a chocolate cylinder with pistachio cream and nuts.

And finally, my nine desserts, served in three sets of three!  

Lemon crème with pears and pomegranate seeds topped with a crispy meringue disc; fabulously sweet chunks of mango in a slightly citrusy sauce with a gently flavored rose gel candy cube and vanilla-rose Chantilly; hazelnuts and baby figs with a salsify jelly.

Apple poached in beet juice on a pastry nest with a chocolate “stem” and meringue “leaf” (clever!); roasted pineapple with black garlic and a sable cookie; poached pear with fig cream and Chantilly, and two meringue discs joined with fig compote and hanging on the rim of the bowl.

Citrus sorbet with coconut ice and crisps, tiny meringue kisses, and Cognac; chocolate ice cream and sauce with toasted almonds, covered with a transparent disk of spun sugar and black sesame (clever!); hazelnut cake with currant conserves and Chantilly, topped with a crispy spun sugar bow.

With the desserts, a Prosecco DOCG Valdobbiadene “Superior di Cartizze” Le Colture.  100% Glera grapes.  Stone fruits, a bit of honey.  Nice balance for the wide range of flavors in the nine desserts!

All of this took only three hours (all those servers were very efficient!)!  Quite the memorable experience.  Not something I’ll do every trip, but I can see why Patricia Wells is enchanted with Gagnier’s ethos and talent and ability to create magic from common (and some quite uncommon) ingredients.  

Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire – 6 rue Balzac in the 8th arrondissement.  Three Michelin stars.  https://pierregagnaire.com/en

The Not-So-Beautiful View from My Window - Wednesday, 5 March

 

So, half of my street (rue François Miron) is torn up for some kind of public works project.  Not sure what it is, but deep holes have been dug, big pipes are sticking up, temporary housings cover some kind of monitoring equipment, etc. Sewer or gas?  It's certainly not an archeological dig (which actually could happen in this part of town!)!

Update:  a friend who knows about this kind of stuff tells me "the work is being done by Compagnie Parisienne de Chauffage Urbain.  That’s the Paris Central heating network - similar to what Saint Paul, New York and other large cities have."  It's so great to have friends in the know!!!   

A sign on the fence tells me to be patient because the concrete takes time to dry, the work is complex, etc.  Hmmm.  I'm guessing that they won't wrap it up during this stay.  Perhaps by my return in August?