I accepted the invitation of a cool, sunny morning. to do a chore I’d been putting off—walk to the office of the Banque de Paris at the Place de la Bastille to exchange some outdated folding money for the currently negotiable version.
Paris. Métro Daumesnil.
The dining room of this elegant restaurant has the wonderfully intimate and comfortable ambience that leads the diner to set aside all petty concerns and concentrate on food and wine.
Amuse bouche: Slices of dried sausage (saucisse sèche) and a pot of rillettes under a film of fat served with rounds of toast.
Apéritifs: Between us we took one of the light, semi-sweet drinks popular in the Gascony region, le Floc Blanc de Maouhum, and a small glass of the regional sweet wine, Jurançon doux. Both apéritifs, though sweet, had the refreshing tang of acid needed to counterpoint the unctuousness of the sausage and rillettes.
Madiran Château Bouscasse A. Brumont 1993 (F220). We had no trouble believing the waiter’s remark that A. Brumont is the leading producer if Madiran. While as always we appreciated the powerful "hot-climate" Madiron characteristic, on this occasion we also took pleasure in berry-like notes more commonly associated with reds made elsewhere, from grapes other than Tannat.
Pâté chaud de pommes de terre au foie gras: An intercalation of thin slices of potato and foie gras prepared in such a way that the flavor-bearing fat of the foie gras suffused the potato. The effect was to attenuate the unctuous character of the foie gras while amplifying its perceived flavor, and at the same time to preserve the wholesome taste of potato. The highlight of our vacation.
Volaille Rôtie comme en Chalosse: Thick-slices of solid, good-tasting chicken with attractively browned skin, flavored with rosemary and bay leaf and accompanied by a potato purée that had been whipped to an airy consistency.
Salmis de palombe aux champignons sauvages, sauce d’airelles. The luxurious savors of this dish made it easy to believe the chef had followed the classical prescription to partly roast the wood pigeon before completing the cooking with the mushrooms in a stewpot. The bilberry sauce made a piquant counterpoint to the stew’s richness.
Tourtière Landaise chaude: A crusted-over flan served hot, accompanied by prune ice cream.
Gâteau Fondant au Chocolat noir. The chef enhanced the impact of the intensely flavored molten center of the gâteau by contriving a milder taste in the crusty exterior.
Mignardises: Tuiles, round sugar cookies, and most notably financiers—little rectangular almond cookies, high rising and cracked at the top.
Excellent coffee. The total at Trou Gascon was F788.
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33 rue de Lyon, Paris 43 41 97 70. Métro Gare de Lyon.
Our farewell dinner with Brian and Helen.
Kir Touraine blanc de blanc, mûre: We had been regretting not taking that path on our previous visit, so this time we were sure to confirm that for a blackberry Kir, sparkling Vouvray is just as good as Champagne.
Cuvée Boisset. We had two bottles of this house wine, one red and one white, and found them of much better quality than the rosé at the same price, F68 the bottle.
Buffet. We all four helped ourselves to the varied and appetizing crudités.
Onglet aux échalotes: A somewhat tough but tasty steak served with shallots and plenty of moderately good fries.
Rognons de Veau, pâtes tagliatelli: Wholesome-tasting veal kidney with a red-wine sauce that coated the pasta satisfactorily.
Filet de Daurade: A piece of sea bream that was adequate, accompanied by a sauce that wasn’t.
Our desserts were fun to consume but not of sufficient interest to merit a detailed description: Tarte Tatin, crème fraîche; Poire sorbet, Williams; Colonel, Vodka; Glace aux agrumes macérés.
The convivial occasion closed with excellent coffee and small, delightfully flavorful disks of chocolate. The total for four at de Lacaze was F650.