Mariellen's (a)Musings: Open Two Years and Already Michelin-Starred – WOW!

Chef Toshitaka Omiya and maître d'hôtel Shawn Joyeux met when they were both working at L’Agapé where Toshi was a chef and Shawn was the house manager. In 2015 they decided to strike out on their own, and opened Alliance in the 5th arrondissement, just across the Seine from the Île Saint-Louis. And, can you believe it, two years later they already have their first Michelin star! Toshi has worked with some of the best chefs in Paris since his arrival in 2001 – Patrick Pignol, Alain Passard, Eric Brieffard, Philippe Legendre and David Toutain.

I was able to get a lunch reservation for today, and WOWZER the beauty and purity and perfection of ingredients & technique & cooking knocked my socks off. Maitre d’ Shawn Joyeux also proved to be a brilliant wine advisor, steering me to just the right thing for each course.

I started with a Kir Royale, and rather than the usual Crème de Cassis I went with a peach liqueur. Shawn paired it with an Pol Roger Champagne extra brut, which provided a gorgeous balance between the sweet stone fruit flavor of the peach and the refreshing dryness and tiny-bubbliness of the very fine Champagne.

While I was sipping my apéritif they brought me three fun little nibbles – a rice cracker with a dollop of salmon mousse, a cheesy focaccia muffintop with fennel puree, and a crunchy pastry balloon (how did they make this?!?) with raspberry.

Then came a perfect, just barely poached oyster in a giant shell with lemon foam and crispy fried onions – briny and sweet and delicate.

They had just received their first white truffles of the season, and when I was seated Shawn brought over a 2-inch wide beauty sitting on some dry pasta in a covered glass display dish, informing me that a brand-new menu item was available – fettuccine with shaved truffles and truffle stock. He asked, "are you ready?" and then removed the dish's glass dome. I passed out for just a second, and when I recovered, I ordered the fettuccine with truffles for my first course! It was perfection.

The subtle earthy-funky-dark-heady character of especially white truffles must be paired with something simple like perfectly cooked pasta, or eggs, or polenta – no fancy stuff, just let the truffles shine. Chef Toshi did make a perfect truffle consommé to moisten the pasta, and just a little was served with the dish (the rest in a small pitcher to add if you wished or to slurp up by itself after you finished the pasta) – I slurped and bread-sponged to get every last drop! Euphoria!

Next, one of my very favorite things, langoustines! They taste like a cross between lobster and shrimp, but have (I think) a certain hard-to-describe untamed quality to them. Shawn told me that Toshi “respects the product” and poaches them very slowly from refrigerated to serving temperature – if cooked too quickly / at a too-high temperature, they tend to seize up and lose their pristine character. This wasn’t the first time during the meal that he used the phrase “respects the product.” It seems to be a characteristic of Japanese cooking, and especially French-Japanese cooking, and oh, boy, Toshi has it down pat! The languoustines were served with fennel two ways (braised crunchy-tender and seared to deep-almost-burnt as a garnish), and the dish was served with a light orange sauce and a cream foam. Shawn recommended a white Rhone with this dish – the Domaine des Hauts Châssis Crozes-Hermitage “L’Essentiel.” At first sip, its subtle exotic fruit and floral character was delightful. But when sipped with a bite of the langoustines and fennel, the previously-almost-undetectable anise character of the wine just exploded! Spectacular!

Then, a cheese course! The astonishing variety in an elastic/earthy cow’s milk cheese, a creamy/funky/zingy sheep’s, and a dense/chalky/strong/crumbly/astringent goat’s from Fromagerie Laurent Dubois just a few blocks away on Boulevard Saint-Germain was remarkable. With it, a Pinot Blanc “Apogée” from the biodynamic “Vignoble les 2 lunes” in Alsace expanded each cheese’s unique characteristics.

All the wines were served barely chilled, just under cellar temperature.

I didn’t have room for dessert, but they did bring me a light-as-a-cloud vanilla mousse with salty ground black sesame, a financier, a tiny “chocolate pie,” and a sablé cookie rolled in sugar. With it, a perfectly roasted caramelly espresso. I was able to get all of them down!

What a way to while away an afternoon.