Went for lunch Tuesday. It was over 90 degrees outside, and close to that in our Airbnb, so the air conditioning was delightful.
Nice that they have an a la carte menu.
A little preview of the ingredients to come. I don’t think it was meant to be eaten, anyway I did not.
Excellent bread. The server asked me if I preferred the end or middle, and kept the ends coming througout.
Pea and carrot soups. To my taste it was oversalted (something I almost never say), pretty good but couldn’t really get much of the delicate flavors.
I got a glass of the J.-L. Chave Hermitage blanc, 14.5% alcohol overpowered the complex and subtle flavors, didn’t drink it, waste of €90. First Chave I’ve had that I didn’t like.
Off-menu “carpaccio” (?) of I think thinly sliced turnip? Nice salad-ish sort of thing.
Peas and strawberries actually worked pretty well together. Not mind-blowing but good.
Coleslaw, more or less. Another nice salad-ish sort of thing. Not exciting but exactly the kind of thing I was happy to eat in the fucking heat wave (highest temperatures ever recorded in May in Paris).
Ordered another wine, specified lower alcohol. This was good. The food didn’t really make me want wine, though.
Vegan sushi. Rice was warm. Good. Nice variety of textures.
Presentation of the white asparagus cooked in hay.
Off-menu dish, three different dumplings, was it two kinds of beets and chard? The dumplings were nice but the broth, which the server said was made with peas and mint, was spectacular. First item that felt like it deserved three stars. Or two.
Some vegetables in a honey sauce (I think the only non-fanatical-vegan item). Good but didn’t make a big impression.
Asparagus. Nice but I’ve had some better versions on this trip. Interesting that white asparagus no longer has a short season, it’s been around since the day we arrived, March 31.
Some more veg in some other kind of sauce. Good but not wow.
Presentation of the artichoke tart.
Not bad but would probably have been better with some egg and/or cheese and/or cream and butter in the crust.
Chocolate dessert was a compelling argument to use cream and butter in the pastries. The sauce included reduced Syrah, on the whole the dish accentuated the tannins in the chocolate. Nice assortment of textures but I didn’t care much for the flavors.
Mint? ice-no-cream. Refreshing but not exciting.
Cherries were very good. Would have been even better with dairy.
Tartlet of candied white asparagus, fennel, and apple was a fun bite. Juice of apple, carrot, and some third ingredient I forget tied with the pea-mint broth as my favorite bite (slurp) of the meal.
Overall, it didn’t have the alchemical transformations, synergistic combinations, or spectacularly good / new ingredients that I expect at this level. On the other hand, when I went into the kitchen to meet the chef, it was maybe 120 degrees? He was clearly having a gas though came off as something of a wild man / madman. Seemed like a guy I’d love to get drunk with in a wine bar. I want to go back in cold weather when I figure there will be more actual cooking.
I guess this was the first Michelin three-star I’ve been to when it had three stars? (went to Saison before and after).