The tasting menu
I'm running short of names for the food they give you before the food they give you before the food they give you before the meal. The balls in the background are flavoured with white truffle and are delicious. The thing in the front is a kind of almond sablé whose interest is hard to specify and feels pretty similar to the one in the middle.
That they brought on our plate -- underneath was a mousse of sauerkraut and salmon eggs (meh not eow). There were other goodies, some in a bowl, some in a spoon, always challenging, rarely exciting
Also in the first round of starters -- some very fragile and delicate “allumettes' dipped in olive oil -- it's a cheese-like stuffing between two very thing crispy layers; on the side, some purée on an endive or another white vegetable (I know, that's cheesy reviewing...)
The three breads: Pain au levain (sourdough), pain au lait (milk) et chataigne (chestnut, the long one on the right hand side). As you can see, your bread plate has now evolved into a bowl. Grow up.
This was stockfish (stuffed, maybe with stockfish, possibly with salmon), on vegetables, with salmon eggs. Sorry about the focus.
In there is some hard cheese (forgot which) and an asparagus coulis... but it gets "better"...
As they pour a juice of strawberry/coriander. Funnily enough, the whole thing is not disgusting. It is still hard to make sense of the cheese, but the play between asparagus and strawberry mediated by coriander is actually very interesting.
I remember that was tuna on... something, that could have been a mix of apple and sauerkraut but I wouldn't bet the farm on it
There's some black pudding underneath, in an unidentified purée. Very special, but an interesting way to highlight the boudin.
As I said, asparagus and strawberry...
Now the meal can begin...
This was from a starter of someone else, a Rubik's cube of vegetables
They bring the elements for the langoustine dish -- the soup is pleasant if apparently without langoustines. The powders here were: black grilled poppy seed and some curry. The former went on the soup, the latter on the raw langoustines
The central langoustine plate -- thoroughly delicious if unsurprising save for the little purée on the side that feels like some sophisticated version of an oyster sauce. As you can see, the top is nicely brown but the inside is barely cooked.
Brillant raw composition of langoustines (plate 2), at 9 o'clock on your table, with Campari-marinated turnips -- the bitterness highlights the sweetness, and more generally the complexity, of the langoustine. Also great demonstration of the quality of the ingredient.
Plate 3: “poelée, traitée comme un curry, pousses de chou rouge” -- this one very delicious too, emphasising more the iodine in the langoustine
(This was my neighbour's foie gras -- it was part of the same course as the Rubik's cube earlier. Tables at Gagnaire are the size of a French aircraft career but as every course is made of several plates, sometimes on the table, the course of your course collides with the course of your neighbou's course)
A crispy toast made with lardo... methinks
This little dumpling is actually a mousse of langoustines. Not sure what the sauce is, but this was very, very delicious. After came that came a gelée of langoustines with porto that was very intense.
That pathetic little piece of saffron couscous came under a cloche
And then they bring the sweetbread, roasted with liquorice, they pour the butter from the pan, and also some extra juice made as they explain in the menu:
white balsamico, red orange, and savagnin whine.
This is plate 2 of the sweetbread dish, at 10 o'clock: some crispy “cuir de veau”, the menu says (taste like fried chorizo to me) and a carabineros shrimp in its creamy juice. Wow yum.
Plate three of the sweetbread dish was this “gateau de foie” on a bed of chopped kidneys and veggies. This might have been a bit strong, definitely more for true offal lovers. They also announced a slice of tete de veau but it never came
There are two choices of cheese, we got the first one -- the reblochon part got lost somewhere in the process, but it's not like we were starving anyway.
So inside this glass of Evian water is a genepi sorbet
I really don't think this Comté had anything vintage like they claim in the menu, and the association with the celery and the Gentiane was interesting at best
The tamier was served on a “biscuit de savoie” and the match in words (cheese from Savoie et biscuit de Savoie) was better than the one in the mouth. But the cheese was pretty good, creamy but not to strong, yet with a clear and distinct taste
Those are the crozets, and maybe, after all, they were served in the reblochon fondue. In any case, it was yet another avater of mac and cheese, pretty good if not revolutionnary
We skipped dessert (yes, we're that frugal). Those are the mignardises that come with the café. No explanation but everything is at the same time excellent, not too sweet, and not what it looks like.
The chocolate was praliné, textbook, yum
I can now say I had a good meal at Pierre Gagnaire. I'm still not sure that there is such genius going on (there was no eye opening dish or mind-blowing execution) but it was sophisticated, surprising and, most importantly, very enjoyable.
