Petrossian is a French company which is known for their caviar. Its been around since 1920. Its usually a dependable place to get caviar. However, on our last visit to the Galeries Lafayette location in Paris, we were disappointed with the quality of some of the products. To star, we ordered a jar of ossetra and sevruga.
Palais Royal is a One Michelin Starred restaurant located in a beautiful setting along the Palais Royal Gardens. It is evident that a lot of attention to detail went into the interior design (for example, the beautiful textured walls). Walking up to the restaurant, and depending where you sit, you will be treated to long hallway vistas.
When we arrived, we were informed that it was too late to order the tasting menu so we went with a la carte. They meal was still in a tasting format due to all the extra amuse that were presented starting with “oeuf – egg”. An extremely crispy shell and with a lusciously creamy egg yolk center.
Lasserre is an 80 year old, one Michelin star restaurant in Paris. For a recent trip, I booked it because it ticked all the boxes for me that I wanted in my first dinner in Paris post COVID.
1. it had a Michelin star
2. it had old school French classics on the menu
3. it had a tasting menu
4. it was grand, in that old school Paris luxurious way
5. it required men to wear jackets
Sometimes tasting menus can get tiresome. Long drawn out affairs where even if the food and service is fantastic, sitting for hours in a chair in a hot dining room, tired from travel and wine, can be difficult. Fighting sleep sometimes even. Its even worse when the food is not outstanding. In my earlier days of travelling to eat, I would look forward to the tasting menu format.
Recently, we have favored ordering a la carte or going to places that don’t even offer a tasting menu. However, our recent dinner at Lucas Carton in Paris, France, a one Michelin starred restaurant, reminded me how amazing and enjoyable, a 3 hour dinner can be.
Prunier specializes in French caviar. They have two locations in Paris. The one I visited is the Madeleine location.
The restaurant has some unique combinations of caviar. We wanted to try the mortadelle and caviar baguette but it was not available. Instead we tried the burrata version. The combination was interesting, and the veggies were very crisp.
I would definitely return for caviar and try some of the other unique caviar pairings. I think the price, relative to other caviar is very good. 9/10. As another plus, after your meal, you can go see the Madeleine church across the street which is beautiful:
Restaurant Pantagruel – New and on Track for a Star
Restaurant Pantagruel is a new restaurant located in Paris, France. In my opinion, they are on track to get a Michelin Star. We decided to order a la carte. I started with the uni (sea urchin), then the duck, and the rice pudding for dessert.
The meal started with an amuse. The stuffed leeks were delicious. The uni was good and had a strong taste of the sea, almost too strong. Although I like the ocean taste, I also like my uni a bit buttery and sweet. This dish was primarily ocean taste. If you are a fan of uni, the presentation will also excite you.
Amazing food can make up for bad service. I can think of some Asian restaurants in my city for example. However, can amazing service make up for ok food? That is the conflict I faced with this meal. The service was 11 out of 10. The chef came out multiple times to check in on the meal. The gentleman serving us was amazing. The restaurant is new, and they were clearly trying very hard, and cared about what they were putting out. However, in the end, taste is so important and is a huge part of the experience.
Followed by pureed broccoli. The presentation was beautiful, but pureed broccoli is not a technically difficult dish to execute.
Arnaud Nicola is a restaurant in Paris that specializes in Charcuterie. The chef, Arnaud Nicola, is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) in Charcuterie. The MOF designation is awarded in various fields. Basically, it is a contest held every four years in each category, with the winner being able to use the designation for life. It basically signifies a person is a master in their field. The restaurant also has a store side where you can buy various charcuterie to go.
Upon arrival, they poured us a complimentary glass of white wine. We had the degustation dinner.
The title is a bit of an exaggeration but it is something that I go to great lengths to avoid – having a bad meal experience. Yes, I know the differences between French and North American service cultures (in fact, I admire the French philosophy on meals and food, I started a company based on it – if you want to learn more, I suggest you read this book – French Kids Eat Everything). Yes, I understand politesse. I can read, and have a basic conversation in French. Sometimes, all that doesn’t matter. Like the time my second eldest daughter and I went to a place in Paris that supposedly cooked the best Bresse chicken.
Au Petit Tonneau – Eat UNESCO? Why no trip to France is complete without this
In 2010, The Gastronomic Meal of the French has been registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
You can watch this short video to learn more about it.
As someone once told me “you can eat very well in Paris, but also very badly”. Paris is filled with restaurants catering to tourists. Service is usually bad, and the food is just as bad; and while the diversity of restaurants in Paris is definitely increasing, classic French dishes seem to be disappearing. I’m talking about the kind you find in a Julia Child’s cookbook.
This is a review of our dinner at Ledoyen in Paris. Ledoyen is a 3 Michelin Star restaurant. For me, three mistakes happened during the meal that should not happen at this restaurant. One would be inexcusable at any restaurant, and 2 could be overlooked, but not at Ledoyen. Our bill with 3 tasting menus, one wine pairing, 2 glasses of Champagne, cheese, and water was over 1,400 Euros. At this level, perfection is expected.
Although I love food from all over the world, I cannot go many days in a row without thinking of Asian food. Sushi in Paris, Pho in Lyon, sure I’ve done that. The first time I had sushi at a “high end” restaurant in Paris over 10 years ago, I thought it was horrible. fast forward to 2019, and we have Nodaiwa in Paris. The restaurant also has a branch in Tokyo and specializes in Unagi – freshwater eel (anago is salt water eel). Note that they specialize in eel so if you are looking for sushi, they have sashimi you can order as a side dish but should probably go somewhere that is known for sushi.
La Boruse et La Vie is a small bistro in Paris. I went straight to the main dish here without a starter because I had a big lunch. Roasted pigeon, and foie gras. It is brought over in a copper pan and then plated for your tableside. The sauce is a warm vinaigrette, is delicious, and cuts the richness of the dish well.
This is a heavy dish. Absolutely delicious. The perfectly cooked pigeon and the fattiness of the foie work so well together with the sauce.
Le Bouchon Bordelais was highly recommended to me by locals and I have mixed feelings about it.
The restaurant takes fresh, seasonal ingredients (good), uses them in traditional dishes (good) and then “modernizes” them (could go either way).
Obviously, cooking with seasonal ingredients is good. Also, traditional dishes are traditional for a reason, they are time tested and good. Modernizing something can be good if well executed, or can invoke the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Le Saint-James – The most perfect meal of 2019 so far
Le Saint-James is located in the Bordeaux region of France and has a Michelin Star. Bouliac to be exact. We took an Uber there from the center of Bordeaux and it took about 20 minutes.
The town of Bouliac is a nice, small medieval town which makes for a nice walk before or after your meal so make sure to plan for that. Here is a picture of the town, just outside the restaurant which is in a hotel.
Despite my better judgement, and general rule about booking restaurants with a view, I booked lunch at Shin Yeh. Shin Yeh is located a top Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world.
On certain lists which I trust, the restaurant ranked highly, plus we were only in Taipei for a short time so I felt it would be worth it to see. In general, my experience is that restaurants with a view are overprice, and the food is mediocre. They know people will come anyway, for the view. There are a few exceptions, but I have generally found this to be accurate (by the way, Shin Yeh has minimum spends for tables by the window). To start, the view IS good (here it is, I just saved you hundreds of dollars).
