degusto

I went to Bristol a little more than 6 months ago and the meal was good but certainly not worth the money. Service was impeccable and Jerome, the sommelier knows what he is doing. The food was overall on pretty average 2-star standard, monotonous and lacking a dimension even if the desserts were real highlights. My review of it is here. I also ate under Frechon in his earlier restaurant and while it was a pleasurable place to eat, it was clearly not a venue for great food. A restaurant can have a night off, but my objection against the food at le Bristol is a much more fundamental one. The cuisine lacks a respect for the ingredients and a respect for serving the most pristine ingredients.

Yes, but did they blow you out of the socks? That is the issue.

So far this year I have not either had any Alba truffles that have blown me out of the socks. My feeling is that it has been a pretty average year from a quality point of view. However, I had the first black truffles of the season last weekend and they showed a maturity that was surprisingly good for early December. Whether these were freaks or a sign of lots of early maturing high quality black truffles this year is too soon to say.

I would say that a large part, sometimes the vast majority depending on the season, of the resellers at the Provencal markets are not producers but rather just vegetable resellers going from one market to the other. You will see the same people the next day at a different market. Some vegetables may be sourced directly from local farmers but perhaps more often everything is sourced at the M.I.N. (Marché Interet National) in Cavaillon or in Chateaurenard (one of the largest for fruits and vegetables in Europe) the day or days before. The difference between what is sold from many of the stalls at the markets and very well-stocked supermarkets is often limited or non-existent so one really needs to look out for the great stuff, which is around but often not to the extent people in general think. The marché paysans are often better since at many of these smaller markets there are mostly producers which is a reason these are open only a part of the year. Fish is a different story. I don’t think I have seen one fishmonger at a Provencal market selling even decent fish. I am thinking about all the markets north of Marseille. It may happen but one would assume that virtually all fish sold by these fish mongers, as well as most other normal fish mongers, have at best been sourced at somewhere like M.I.N. in Marseille (big for fish) the day before, which means if it is a fish from Brittany, which it often is, it was landed at best one day before that on top of which the fish often has been “burnt” by being on ice. Then at the markets to be sold to the public, the quality of the fish will not be improved by having one side exposed to ice and the other to day temperature, which in the spring and summer can be well beyond perfect storing conditions for fish. There is just no comparison to a fish bought directly from the fishermen in one of the small ports of Marseille or elsewhere along the Mediterranean coats. It can be a bit tricky because you will never really know what type of fish you will get when you go there and sometimes such as when the weather is bad, there is nothing to buy. The only alternative, if you want great fish, is to buy fish from a very serious wholesaler or semi-wholesaler who will not display fish on traditional fish counters but have all his stock stored in perfect conditions at all time.

Isn't hot jelly a Ferran Adria trick? Just wondered if there was a CC/MG influence... ← People tend to think that the use of agar to make warm jellies is an Adria trick, but it is not by any means. It has been used in cooking in Asia for hundreds of years and it was introduced in Europe long ago. Vegetarians have used it as an alternative to gelatine since it is produced from seaweed. Check out Oxford Companion to Food for more background info. Asian shops and shops for vegetarians have carried agar since long ago. It is IMO not easy to use and there are drawbacks with it. First of all, if too much agar is used, the texture easily becomes unpleasantly grainy and even when correctly applied it does not really melt in your mouth to provide that fantastic sensation of a perfect jelly of gelatine. Secondly, agar tends to encapsulate the taste so the taste sensation is often limited. Personally I also think it is not completely tasteless, regardless of in which form it is used (flakes, powder, cubes e t c) which somewhat limits the number of flavours it can be used with. These problems have been evident in most of the agar-based jellies I have had at el Bulli and elsewhere. This is not to say that it does not have its uses because it really does.

Tuber magnatum pico or Alba truffle is also found in Croatia and Slovenia. The season for melanosporum starts in late November but they are not particularly flavorful until late December. They start to be reasonably good in January but the real peak of flavor is often in late February or March depending on the exact origin of the truffle. Indeed, when buying several unbrushed truffles in a sac one may end up having the odd brumale among the truffles. Some brumales are actually quite flavorful and if an unbrushed brumale has been around with melanosporums, it can be quite difficult to pinpoint it just by smelling it. The best way to spot them is to scratch the surface. If it easily falls of, it is a brumale. Also the pattern inside is quite different. The vast majority of the French production (80 % or so) of Perigord truffles comes from an area in Drome, Vaucluse, Var and the Provencal Alps and not from Perigord. I think this is a complete misunderstanding of these two noble ingredients. Comparing Alba truffles and Perigord truffles is simply not meaningful. Alba truffles should be seen as a condiment and they cannot be cooked. Perigord truffles can be cooked, eaten raw, integrated into preparations or sauces or serve as a condiment like the Alba truffles. The Perigord truffles offer not only an aromatic sensation but also a textural sensation that the Alba truffle lacks. They are both great produce but so different both in taste and appearance that it is difficult to say one is better than the other. It is true however that you do not need a great chef to really enjoy Alba truffles but even a very good chef can mess up Perigord truffles. If you measure it from simply a flavour point of view, I have had Perigord truffles at the end of the season that have been as full of flavours as the best Alba truffles I have had. As for the pricing, well it really says nothing with respect to which is the best. The production of Perigord truffles is much larger and easier to harvest but prices are still climbing and the differences have the last years been less than previously.

If you do go to Apt there is also a small but very good cheese store called Picodon et Pélardon on rue de la Sous-Préfecture. The selection is somewhat limited, but the quality is usually impeccable.

The recipes in the French Robuchon books call for the butter to be stirred (remuer) into the mash and the mash, after the milk has been added, to be whipped (fouetter) in order to incorporate air into it.

It is a good region for food shopping. You will not be very far from the old port in Marseille, where you will find ultra fresh fish directly from the fishermen. Do go there to buy your fish, it is a pretty fast drive and parking can be found nearby. There are other ports on the west side of Marseille where you can buy fresh fish as well. There are many markets in the region. In Aix there is a big fruit and vegetable market on Place des Précheurs and Place de la Madeleine every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Be there early on Saturdays. There is another small market on Place Richelme, which I believe is open if not every day, most days of the week. There is a good market in l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue every Thursday and Sunday morning. There is an even better one in Apt, which is a bit of a drive but a nice one, every Saturday. Be sure to be early especially in Apt since parking is a bit of a problem. For a complete list of the Luberon markets, go here. The market in Cavaillon, famous for its melon, is quite good too and you should not miss some of the marché paysans, if you are in the region when they have started. There is also an indoor market in Avignon with decent stuff but it is a bit of a hassle to go to. Boucherie Fassetta on rue Espariat in Aix en Provence has decent meat. There are a few decent butchers in l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Apt. You will be close to one of the most fabled produce of France, the asparagus of Robert Blanc in Villelaure, west of Pertuis. But there will be plenty of very fine asparagus from other good small producers at all the markets during the spring. Make sure to buy asparagus directly from a producer that cut them the same morning. Some specialties not to be missed include, in addition to the asparagus from Luberon, Sisteron lamb, which unfortunately is not an origin that guarantees high quality but it can be of very high quality, poutarge from Martigues, brousse de Rove (ewe’s milk cheese in the region often used with berries and jams), the small cigales de mer from Marseille, tellines from Camargue and the squab pigeon from Luberon to mention a few things. The probably best wine shop in the region is La Cave du Septier in Apt run by Thierry Riols and his wife. Their website is here. Thierry is a very serious caviste and prices are reasonable. You will be reasonably close to Chateauneuf du Pape and Southern Rhone and there are a few interesting wineries in the Provence region that are not too far from you, such as Domaine Richeaume in Puyloubier, Domaine de Trevallon in Saint-etienne-du-gres and for some of the best whites of the region, Château des Tourettes outside of Apt owned by the famous Guffens Heynen from Burgundy.

This is the recipe as described in several of Robuchon’s books and how he has prepared it on French television. The amount of butter is 200-250 grams for 1 kg of potatoes. The steps are almost as described in the thread. After the potatoes have been passed through a food mill, the mash is stirred in order to dry in a pot on very low heat for five minutes. The butter should be incorporated little by little and it is not whisked vigorously at this point. Before the milk is added, the seasoning should be rectified. The milk should be incorporated little by little after which the pure is beaten with a whisk in order to incorporate air. Finally, it is passed through a tamis, which gives it the right texture.

Even more surprising is the total absence of Etxebarri.

Cloudberries are perhaps the only produce that I personally think gain from being preserved. They are not particularly interesting fresh regardless of what is done with them. The problem with the preserved ones is that often there is slightly too much sugar and other additions.

Cranberries grow wild in Scandinavia and have to my knowledge at least at some stage been farmed. I have seen different types of cranberries in Scandinavia. They have historically mostly been used to make liqueur not unlike Cassis de Dijon, but with cranberry taste, and perhaps more important to flavour vodka. More recently juice of cranberries seems to have gain in popularity but this may be made from imported berries.

Short cuts and cost control the way it is excercised in these restaurants inevitably means inferior products on the table. To what extent it disturbs you is another matter. That the odd dish or two may be of high standards does not alter the fundamental problem with these restaurants, namely that you will never eat great food. It does not mean that you cannot enjoy eating there, but the discussion regarded whether the food merited a star or not and I have seen other people who have hailed the food as great on these forums. Serving dried morels during the peak of the morels' season, clafoutis massproduced much too long in advance, poor quality asparagus, lamb of second rate quality synomous with low cost produce and garnish prepared well in advance is taking short cuts that leads to an inferior result.

Auguste High ambitions, poor execution in my experience. And adding to the comments about Aux Lyonnais + l'Astrance, I went a few days/weeks after they opened, liked them, went back with Colette and our best food friends of 45 years eating experience in France and both were very very disappointing to be kind. ← It would be interesting if you could elaborate a bit on why you were disappointed. Poor ingredients, poor cooking or was it simply just a matter of taste?

degusto, I appreciate your analysis. And I think it is applicable to many restaurants I have visited lately (i.e., Dominique Bouchet, pinxo, bouquinistes, espadon bleu). The question is where do you find a a bistro (new or old) where the economics does not detract from the what is on the plate. There aren't any. Are there? Best, Henry ← No there are not any, or rather there are not many. They usually exist in very short periods of time when a very ambitions and competent chef opens a new place and keeps prices down while trying to establish the restaurant. l'Astrance in its early stages was a good recent example of that. You may like the cooking or not or you may dislike the limitations in choices, but they did serve, and still serve carefully selected produce prepared with very professional cooking. It is not strange they became popular and subsequently started serving even more expensive produce and charging very high prices for it. Whether it today is worth the prices is an open debate. The demand certainly suggests that it is. I have not yet been to Auguste but one would assume that the ambitions are high and the produce sourcing and cooking are on a very good level.

Ducasse's fast food joint in Monaco was not bad, was it? I think you liked the crudités even if it came without piri piri sauce.

Or if The Blacksmiths Inn gets a star.

If I ever form another punk band, that's what I'm going to call it. ← I suppose egullet’s user agreement rules out any royalty to me.

That Aux Lyonnais would get a star is just surreal to me. It is an extremely well managed bistro with good profitability, despite very modest pricing, and Ducasse is not likely going to benefit by its elevation to stardom. I really don’t understand how people can claim Aux Lyonnais to be more than what it is, namely a good place with an exceptional interior for a decent grub and a reasonably good selection of moderately priced wines by the glass but it will just never serve or be able to serve great food, unless the whole business concept changes and that is not likely going to happen. Aux Lyonnais’ food costs seem to be a bit below 30 % and with the modest price levels of its offerings, many short cuts in ingredients sourcing and food preparation must be taken in order to deliver food with the profitability Aux Lyonnais is showing. To me this is very evident from what is on the plates. It is not a restaurant in its early years run by an enthusiastic chef striving for recognition and establishment. If the Michelin guide starts awarding stars to this type of restaurants, it will do a much greater disservice to the gastronomy than their inexplicable and illogical methodology and standards for awarding 3-stars.

Don't we predict upgrades to Petrus and Le Manoir every year? I suppose it might happen eventually. ← Based on my two meals at Petrus over the last year I would find it logical if Waering lost the star he has. Both meals were unacceptable for any only half-serious restaurant without any star ambitions with the second meal particularly appalling that I surely would give a rating below 9/20 to. I thought the meal would climax with an overcooked, dry, tough-textured, reheated and rather nasty tasting shoulder of lamb served at barely lukewarm temperature with disingenuous garniture but it was toppled by a sad cheese trolley and the following dessert. The cheese trolley was well below the generally always-disappointing state of the cheeses at the top London restaurants, even if it had some way to reach the deplorable cheese selection at the Foliage also experienced this year and which was a solid 0/20.

Even if Michelin’s ratings are getting more and more enigmatic and the guide’s value rapidly is being diluted beyond being just a good collection of opening times, addresses and telephone numbers, I would be extremely surprised if Michelin would send a place like Aux Lyonnais to stardom. I have eaten there several times and it is the typical restaurant where a large part of the food is wholly or partly pre-made and most of the time prepared with not even good ingredients (for example dried morels with their nasty taste of smoked dirt served at the height of the morels season) and where it is often evident that the food has been “sitting” around for a while before being reheated or served. I have always felt that there was a pretty clear borderline between stardom on the one hand and the over-practising of that kind of cuisine. Some may of course argue that that borderline has been erased with the renewed interest in sous vide cooking at the haute cuisine level but that is really a different story. Aux Lyonnais is ok as an inexpensive bistro that may merit a bib gourmand but a star makes no sense. I never thought Roellinger would get the third star. Obviously since he now is an espoir, Michelin does indeed consider him. On the other hand, the espoir class looks rather ridiculous with the inclusion of l’Oasis in La Napoule. It would be quite laughable if l’Oasis would be promoted to 3-stars. On the other hand, why not? Michelin’s ratings are about as messed up as they can be already.

Only very nice? You are underrating fries cooked in horse fat.

Ducasse was a little less modest when playing down the need for him to be present in his kitchens. He said: «On ne s’attend pas à ce qu’Enzo Ferrari ait vissé chaque boulon d’une voiture avant de la vendre à un client». It would translate into English that you don’t expect Enzo Ferrari puts all the nuts on to the cars that he sells.

For me, it's a France vs. not France thing. At multi-starred French places, it has WITHOUT FAIL been the case, in my experience, that the tasting menu seems like an absolute bargain compared to the a la carte offerings. Not atypically, it's something on the order of a 140 Euro 7-course tasting menu vs. 48 Euro starters and 75 Euro main courses. I understand that part of this is because there tend to be many "unexpected extras" with either format, but I think that a lot of these restos redundantly "price in" the add-ons with both the starters and the mains (i.e. your 30 Euros worth of "goodies" is added on to the price of both your starter and your main plat) but don't meaningfully cut down on the portion sizes for tasting menu servings. For some reason, this tends (or, more preceisely, has tended to be for me) the case only in France -- it has not been so in Italy or Spain (the two other European countries in which I have dined extensively enough to have a thoughtful opinion), which are much more similar to the US pricing rubric when it comes to tasting menus. I don't think I've ever seriously considered ordering a la carte in a multi-starred French establishment -- both because I have been interested in seeing what the chefs could do and because it has always seemed to be quite obviously the better deal. ← There is a difference in portion sizes. At French 3-stars, a 7-course menu will serve approximately the same amount of food as a three-course menu. There are some exceptions of course. Some dishes ordered a la carte menu might be small but expensive if they are based on luxury ingredients. Whether you go to Troisgros, Michel Bras, Le LouisXV, Michel Guerard, Regis Marcon, Pierre Gagnaire e t c a degustation menu will not from a food quantity point of view be a bargain compared to ordering a la carte. I cannot think of a single multi-starred restaurant where there would not be a portion size cutback equivalent to the larger number of dishes. Robert’s points, as far as I have understood them and most of them I agree with, is that with smaller portion sizes you miss some of the most exceptional eating experiences such as eating a whole roasted duck for two, eating a whole roasted pigeon (tasting menus will serve you only half a pigeon), eating fish cooked on the bone e t c. Not that I entirely agree that fish or meat cooked on the bone is necessarily always the best way to prepare fish or meat, but that is another matter. The other reason to Robert’s degustation menu allergy is that you tend to eat less well from another point of view, namely much of the food on the degustation menus and the now so popular freebies have been prepared in advance or the degustation menu courses are just mechanically being put together in an efficient assembly line for 60% of the guests who are under the perception they are having a bargain meal, with the result of less than stellar food. This is no doubt a problem at many of the multi-starred restaurants.