Today I returned to Alliance, one of my top five restos, for lunch. For some reason it seems particularly comfortable for the solo diner, and as a matter of fact, today three of the eight tables had just one diner! Even though it seems to be lobster and asparagus day (read on!), I didn’t have to claw or spear my way in. 😄
After I sat down, the host wheeled over a beautiful cart sporting a large ice bucket with two options for Champagne and a tray of glasses. Would I like to start with a glass? Of course, the temptation was irresistible and it would have been rude (and dumb!) to say no! So I went with a fantastic dry Rosé with tons of tiny bubbles and flavors of strawberry, cassis, cherry, rose petal, and a bit of slate and parsley. 45% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir, and 35% Pinot Meunier. Off the charts!
My first hors d'oeuvre were a warm Parmesan gougère, two tiny chilled fresh spring rolls – one with white cabbage & honey, the other with barely blanched broccoli & crème fraîche - and delicate "breadsticks" which were actually made with feuilletés (puff pastry) and pepper.
Then, a tiny cone filled with perfect foie gras purée and a zingy gel that was made with shallots, lemon zest and port. Whooo boy! And a “lollipop” of roasted lobster meat that was somehow infused with lemon and ginger - rich, sweet, balanced, with a kick of heat at the finish. Wow! My bouche was certainly amused by this time!
For my first course: peas! Underneath the just-blanched young peas and the pea & sorrel foam were slightly acidic strawberries which counterbalanced the sweet foam. Earthy, grounded, genius!
With the peas, a lovely Domaines Ott “Etoile” Rosé from Provence. Fresh, tasting of exotic white fruits, citrus, birch, and faint tarragon. 80% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre. It married beautifully with the sweet peas and the sharp strawberries.
Sorry that the photo of my next course tells you nothing about its fabulousness! It was an unbelievably tender fat spear of blanched white asparagus, broiled dates (!), roasted almonds, and chives under a cream sauce enhanced with aromatic Kenyan pepper. What a combo! Earthy, tangy, sweet, roasty, herby, creamy, floral, heat.
By the way, a hint: if you are given a flat spoon that sort of looks like a shovel, it’s meant for shoveling up the sauce!
With it, Château l'Hospital BBH, a dry white wine of Sémillon and Colombard grapes from the Atlantique region (northwest of Bordeaux). Its hints of lemon, slate and celery were a perfect counter-balance to the creaminess of the sauce and an enhancer of the other flavors. Sipped before the food, it exhibited pleasant fruitiness, and then the dryness really came forward with the cream sauce.
Then, more lobster, multiple ways, and two breads: an olive oil focaccia and a terrific brown bread made with rye and buckwheat flours and served with a saltier-than-usual high fat butter.
Lobster meat sandwiched between two thin slices of rye bread and fried somehow - crispy, sweet, just oily enough.
A morel mushroom stuffed with lobster
A nice chunk of lobster claw meat, served with a lobster shell demi-glace, morel crème, and herbs.
A little cup of light lobster bouillon with a skewer of lobster meat - this was a nice palate cleanser.
Oh, the sweetness! And the very definition of earthy. With the bread and butter, almost a religious experience!
With the lobster, a quite dry red wine Domaine Rolet “Arbois” Vieilles Vignes from the Jura (100% Poulsard). Black raspberry on the nose. Senses of cherry, cherry pit, rosemary and granite on the palate. It was especially delightful with the claw & sauce. Ya can tell when you’re in the hands of a brilliant sommelier!
Then a piece of very juicy chicken breast topped with thin diagonal slices of white asparagus, some roasted leg meat, a spear of green asparagus, and an intense brown chicken demi-glace (the chicken bones are roasted before making the stock), enhanced with Chartreuse (holy crap! can I get a liter to go?!?). Seriously, that demi-glace knocked my socks off. The whole dish complex and glorious!
With the chicken, Domaine de Montgilet “les Yvonnais” Cab Franc from the Loire. Tannic, with notes of cherries, cranberry, oak. Chicken breast can sometimes be flavor-challenged, but this wine brought out its subtleties. And it toned down the intensity of the demi glace (not that I wanted it to, but...) and the slight bitterness of the asparagus.
Next, cheese from their spectacular cart!
The goat was very lively, the Brie creamy and dense, the Bucheron acidic and herbal, the sheep Tomme intense and oily in the very best way, the bleu funky and earthy and peppery. Wow!
A substantial Saké made in France with ingredients imported from Japan elevated the sweetness and other unique characteristics of each of the cheeses. It was straw-colored and there was a hint of straw, mushroom, and orange on the palate. Medium viscosity. The bread and salted butter enhanced the funk and sweetness. I love a cheese course!
And now for the dessert parade!
A Japanese plum wine "Honkaku Umeshu Tirili Chiebijin" that tastes like a late harvest white with slight hints of citrus and apricot. Yum!
A little scoop of lemon raspberry sorbet on a mousse-textured vanilla crème with crunchy quinoa.
A quenelle of almond sorbet with an almond tuille, strawberries and strawberry gastrique, roasted almonds, and basil.
A chocolate sablé with a dollop of chocolate mousse, a cinnamon sablé with cream and ice cold slices of fresh cantaloupe, and a roulade that tasted like orange creamsicle!
Hot, intense espresso!
So, at Alliance, Chef Toshitaka Omiya chooses your food! You just tell the host how many courses you want and if Chef should avoid anything. Here’s a photo of him through the kitchen window. See the papers tacked to the wall on the left? They seem to be his order list for each table, where he keeps track of what was ordered/excluded, where the diners are in the course of their courses, etc. Clever! It also yields just-right pacing.
After I sat down, the host wheeled over a beautiful cart sporting a large ice bucket with two options for Champagne and a tray of glasses. Would I like to start with a glass? Of course, the temptation was irresistible and it would have been rude (and dumb!) to say no! So I went with a fantastic dry Rosé with tons of tiny bubbles and flavors of strawberry, cassis, cherry, rose petal, and a bit of slate and parsley. 45% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir, and 35% Pinot Meunier. Off the charts! 
With the peas, a lovely Domaines Ott “Etoile” Rosé from Provence. Fresh, tasting of exotic white fruits, citrus, birch, and faint tarragon. 80% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre. It married beautifully with the sweet peas and the sharp strawberries.
By the way, a hint: if you are given a flat spoon that sort of looks like a shovel, it’s meant for shoveling up the sauce!
A quenelle of almond sorbet with an almond tuille, strawberries and strawberry gastrique, roasted almonds, and basil.
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