cabrales

Bux -- Yes, there was an aspect of intellectual depression. In my case, it was partly the intellectual depression of realizing that so very few restaurants can truly please subjectively. Contributing to this was the fact that normally I am quite curious and excited about visiting a restaurant for a first time. And previously, I had thought about going to Le Meurice on several occasions, but never quite gotten around to it. Hence, although Le Meurice was never particularly high on my list of restaurants in France to eat at, it was not something in which I had had no interest. When I arrived, there was such a sense of deja vu. Its look was like the Bristol or Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon. The service and welcome were like those at countless other places. The menu, although nicely crafted with respect to product combinations, had many of the same things as a sufficient number of other restaurants. The wine list looked surprisingly familiar as well, as I tend to concentrate on white Burgundies and old champagne, with a nod to white Bordeaux. I have been ordering mostly seafood (usually turbot, red mullet or bass, in the case of fish), Bresse chicken, mushrooms and vegetables (veal and beef included only rarely). Perhaps this is a temporary situation; perhaps it is my chosen focus on French cuisine. :confused: I don't mean to appear to be complaining about my restaurant visits; that is not the intent, and I appreciate them greatly. However, the question is the marginal utility derived from additional restaurant visits of late.

Bux -- I wouldn't say Le Meurice was depressing in my particular case -- perhaps uninteresting beyond the decor and opulence (which probably says more about my current condition than about the restaurant). In my mind, Le Meurice is among the stronger one-stars in Paris cuisine-wise, leaving aside its opulent surroundings (together with L'Astrance and, at a distance, L'Espadon, Helene Darroze and Hiramatsu, Ghislaine Arabian). It did feel unusual being the only diner for over an hour admist chandeliers, marblework, drapery, etc. The room feels spacious because the ceilings are high, among other things. I was thinking about the decor and my being amidst it, although I also continued to review the menu after I had ordered. I felt a bit fatigued, but that is not from aspects relating to Le Meurice. But, Bux, you pinpointed the prominent aspect of the lunch -- what I was feeling about the non-food aspects and about myself.

The April 2002 edition of Magic Paris furnishes an interview with Loiseau. Below are excerpts: "Q: What is your life's philosophy? A: To be able to live in the present, you have to know the past. . . . Using a classical base, I have modernized cooking without forgetting its roots. I eliminated fatty preparations in favor of lighter-based sauces, more refined, more delicate. After the meal, the client feels good. . . . . Q: What do you think of your sculpture in the Musee Grevin? A: I am very impressed! At this time, I would like to pay tribute to Paul Bocuse; thanks to this great mean, chefs have become stars. Before no one recognized them. I am a true disciple. What Platini or Zidane have done for soccer, the great chefs have done for cooking. It is necessary to dream, idols hep give birth to vocation!" Note Loiseau did not pay tribute to the Troisgros, with whom he spent a significant part of his apprenticeship. Jean Troisgros is said to have had hopes for Guy Savoy, but to have said that he himself would become an archbishop (or similar high clergyman) if Loiseau were to become a great chef!

I had a good, but again uninspired, lunch at Le Meurice, in the hotel of the same name in Paris. This one-starred restaurant is ornate and formal, and offered food that left me wondering whether I am becoming jaded of late or whether so many restaurants in France actually are so similar. To be clear, the dishes were well-designed and appropriately executed; there were no obviously flaws with the meal. Yet I left feeling somewhat dissatisfied. In fact, I am becoming even indiffernent to my choice of restaurants in Paris because I am resting up for a visit to Michel Bras and have visited all the restaurants about which I could potentially truly care in Paris. I was originally going to explore Chiberta, because the chef there was a sous-chef of Lucas Carton's Alain Senderens at one point in time, a chef whose progeny rather intrigues me. But that being said, I could not find the address of also-one-starred Chiberta when I got into a taxi, and decided to sample the cuisine at Le Meurice for the first time instead. No big deal either way. Les Morilles Blondes: Les tetes farcies a la morille, reduction de vin d'Arbois (Blond morels -- the heads of the morels stuffed with morels, reduction of a wine from Arbois) (26 euros) Le Bar de Petite Peche: Le filet transparent, chou tendre et tourteau, releve au sevruga (Bass from small boats: The filet in a "transparent" presentation, tender cabbage and a special type of French crab, with sevruga caviar) (43) Le Citron de Menton: Decline au mille feuille craquant, une fine gelee et coulis au miel (15) (Lemons of Menton: In a crunchy millefeuille, a fine gelee and a coulis with honey) 1/2 Mersault, Boillot 1998 (60) Glass of Muscat Rivesalte (13) The meal unfolded with an average gelee containing small lobster chunks. On top of that, a veloute-like item flavored again with lobster and containing certain, limited creamy elements. Then, the appetizer of blond morels. There were three large morels that appeared a medium brown color. Each was at least 4 cm in length, and looked bulbous and "full". I did not particularly appreciate the grainy, bread-like texture (for some reason) of the diced morels inside the three large morels, but their inclusion could not be said to have been misguided. The morels themselves were delicious, although I could not tell how blonde morels tasted markedly different from regular morels. The reduction of the described wine from the Jura tasted like an overly salty red wine reduction. There were meat-like aspects of the saucing that added to the intensity of the morels, although I have generally, and subjectively, always preferred sauces with weaker meat connotations with these mushrooms (unlike, for example, porcini). The bass was presented in two circular-shaped thick pieces, which appeared to have been cut from yet larger pieces. The flesh was appropriately prepared, and the fish was of appropriate quality. However, not an inspired dish despite the nice touches of (1) a large square-shaped "package" of green cabbage (nicely between crunchy and soggy) around shreds of torteau crab meat, (2) a small quenelle of sevruga caviar (this reminded me very slightly of Pic's infamous bass with caviar dish, in which the caviar was directly on top of the bass and for various reasons more interesting) served on the side, and (3) a blanc-manger of bass with slight hints of sweetness in the mouth afterwards. The white-colored sauce for the bass was attractive, being a light, cream-based sauce utilizing the same torteau crab. Overall, a good bass preparation. Finally, the best part of the meal for me. Menton lemons. These had been the subject of discussion between Susan Brown and me when Robert, Susan, Steve P and I had dined at Beacon at Cap d'Antibes. The discussion had ben spurred by the lemon tree right on the other side of the glass window next to our table. When I saw the Menton lemon dessert, I had to order it. It did not disappoint at all, even relative to my anticipation of this dish. The coulis of lemon had a nice, medium consistency and honey to augment the naturally sweet tones in the Menton lemon. The main part of the dessert, a long, rectangular single piece of thin pastry (not necessarily a classical millefeuille), sat atop two quenelles of Menton lemon sorbet that pleased me. Tart, but still lingeringly sweet. Below that, another piece of thin pastry and lemon-taste-infused, soft, cake-like portions. Surrounding this rectangular item was a ring of small Menton lemon pieces in a light syrup. The Menton lemon gelee was not particularly noticeable in the dish. I enjoyed this dessert tremendously. The dessert wine recommended by the sommelier was not overly thick in the mouth, and went very well with this dish. Overall, a good meal at a relatively strong one-star restaurant. However, not a restaurant I feel I need to visit again any time soon. Background The food service was very good, although, admittedly, the ratio of dining room staff members on the food service side to the diners during lunch exceeded 1:1. The sommelier team was a bit weak, and the wine list of the restaurant lacked the depth I would have expected at a hotel (although it was above-average for a one-star Michelin restaurant). Water is expensive at 7 euros for a 1/2 bottle of Chateldon, and at 7 euros for an espresso. The decor was stunning, if one likes formalism, large areas of black and white marble, old paintings, and a medium pink/yellow color scheme for the curtains. More seriously, the decor was very ornate and classical, and conveyed a sense of opulence. This was enhanced by the fact that I was the sole diner in the room for at least 1/2 of my meal experience. The ceiling contained beautiful artwork that has faded over the years, but that was more attractive without refurbishment. Certain parts of the room were cateogorized as a historical monument or similar type of facility. The Meurice hotel is, of course, very conveniently locted close to the Louvre in the 1st arrondisement. Next to the restaurant is a nice area for afternoon tea (reportedly) called the Jardin d'Hivers (the Winter Garden), although the facility is not inexpensive.

Tony -- At that restaurant, were any other dishes annotated with praise from restaurant reviewers?

Steve P -- I've never been to Craft; your review is making this place among the first on my list to visit. What are your thoughts on dinner vs. lunch?

I have almost no knowledge about mangoes, but have had some small ones in Asia (about the length of a woman's pinky finger or smaller) that were better than those I have found in Western Europe or the US. Do members use dried mangoes that are abundantly available at Asian grocery stores, or dried mangoes from other vendors, in cooking?

I had dinner at BON 2, a newly opened sibling of BON that presumably offers the same menu, a design by P Starck (albeit different designs reportedly than that at the original BON) and the benefit of consultant Jean-Marie Amat. See the "The Power of Michelin" Thread in this forum for background on Amat's recent significant misfortunes. Alas, the food offered at BON 2 is not at all gastronomic, and does not offer (from my examination of the menu) glimpses of Amat's former self at the St James in Bouliac. The meal was not poor; in particular, the raw shellfish plate contained fresh items that were appropriate. However, BON 2 cannot be viewed as a serious gastronomic endeavor. It seeks to be a hip place, for those who care more about decor and the look of the dining room staff members than the cuisine. The following were taken in: (1) Le Provencal Champagne Cocktail (Lavender, Vodka infused with lavender, cane sugar, liquer of violet, champagne) (14 euros) -- Appealing, although I do not ordinarily drink vodka. The lavender was not dominant in this blush-colored, fragrant drink. A review of the drinks menu suggested BON might offer a nice selection of drinks, albeit at somewhat expensive prices. (2) L'Assiette de BON (22/person) (Should have consisted of 2 Fines de Claire No 2, 1 Perle Blanche No 2, 2 "Mini-Noisette" from Cap Ferrat, 2 Pink Shrimp aka Crevettes Roses, 1 Clams in French -- different from same term in English, 2 Spanish mussels aka Moules d'Espagne, 6 Bulots in French; the restaurant gifted me 2 large langoustines, 6 additional bulots, extra numbers of almost every other item and 1 Bigorneaux which I thoroughly enjoyed -- in effect, I received the 44 euro Le Plateau BON, but without the 1/2 Torteau crab). Served with glass of Vin Pays d'Oc, Terret Michel Laroche, a wine particularly well-matched with oysters and shellfish per the restaurant (it was alright). The seafood was presented on a large platter, with appropriate mayonnaise and with mignonette for the oysters and certain other items. Everything on the platter was fresh, and appropriate-tasting. This is not a poor place for taking in a seafood platter, although places offering similar items at lower prices may be commonplace in Paris (?). The Spanish mussels had a beautiful reddish interior that I had not before seen in mussels. The Bigourneaux was also good. Certain oysters were of varieties not found everywhere in Paris (e.g., the Mini-Noisettes). Belons were available on the menu, although not included in the various platters. Perhaps the flesh of the langoustines could have been a bit firmer, but that is likely a pet peeve and the langoustines were clearly fresh. Even the shrimp did not suffer from the usual problems one might have when they are included in seafood platters. (3) Poire de Boeuf Grille (Grilled beef) (26 euros), taken with a glass of Bordeaux, Cru Monplaisir (7 euros; not appealing). This item was poor. The beef did not taste like Charolais, as the restaurant indicated when the question was posed. The meat was tough, even though I had ordered it rare, and the basic flavors somehow seemed poor. The accompanying "Grosses Frites" (large sized fries) were fair. It is sad to see Amat-supervised food fall to such levels of mediocrity. (4) Baba au Rhum (9). This was nicely executed; the menu suggested almost all desserts were by Laduree. There was a syrup enveloping the cake-like part of the baba au rhum that made it glide into one's mouth attractively. Overall, a very disappointing meal. Amat is almost, but not quite, stooping as low as Marco Pierre White's supervision of Planet Hollywoods in the UK. Background BON 2 is located at 2 Rue du Quatre Septembre in the 2 arrrondisement. Tel: 01 44 55 51 55. It is an easy 5 minutes' walk from the Opera building. The Figaroscope reported that a third BON is planned, to be located in or around the Samaritane department store overlooking the Seine. The decor at BON 2 is reportedly very different from that at BON, although provided by P Starck still. At BON 2, there is a raw bar area with 6-8 stools. A rhino head adorns the background of the bar. Then, various tables of dark wood with clay colored leather for dark wood chairs. Light pistachio (more muted and with hints of grey) velvet curtains, including around several tables that could theoretically have been closed off for privacy and that had chandeliers. The main dining room had a number of rectangular mirrors with diamond-shaped patterns. A large electronic "ticker" scrolling area runs across a part of the upper area of one side of the restaurant. Included in the ticker are various international stock indices, and certain individual companies' stock price and names. Also appearing on this electronic scrolling area were quotes in French relating to the meaning or lack thereof of life (e.g., translated, "life is the first stage of death", "life has no meaning, but nothing can be more important than a life"). Not that I have seen that many Starck designs, but this is clearly not among the stronger designs. The service was decent. My server seemed to genuinely care about the cuisine, although I have no information on the attitude of other servers. There is a small shop offering P Starck and related designers' products (including P Starck Alessi creations). Here are significant excerpts from the menu, roughly translated and excluding shellfish platter-related items: Soups -- Poultry bouillon -- Cauliflower veloute, with hard-boiled egg and raw cabbage -- Daily fish soup Appetizers -- White anchovies with piquillo pimentos -- Confit aubergine with tuna compote -- Tuna, peanut and coffee sauce -- Spring vegetables -- White asparagus with lukewarm vinaigrette -- Green asparagus with parmesan -- Plate of black jambon from Bigorre -- Filet of red mullet raw, with olives -- Salmon tartare with oysters, salad of haricot vert beans -- Crab salad with avocado -- Terrine of duck foie gras, vinaigrette of leeks -- 30 gr of Oscetra caviar, grilled toast, cream with lemon, onions Fish -- Grilled fish of the day -- Bass with clam-like items -- Brochet of grilled eel, salad of raw heart of artichoke -- Roasted sea bream with fennel and olive oil -- Mackerel grilled and caramelised Meat -- Roast chicken with its jus and large-sized fries -- Oven-prepared duck, caramelised -- Rack of lamb (this would have offered a greater indication of how different BON's cuisine is from that at St James° -- Pan-fried foie gras, white asaragus Various Laduree desserts

I sampled Kuglehopf from a street vendor near the Strasbourg cathedral recently. It seemed like a large, specially-shaped brioche with raisins. I have not sampled the version offered by Pierre Herme in Paris, but it looked pretty moist and good. I wanted to sample choucroute, but did not. Various items cooked in an earthenware pot-like item called Baekkekoffe (sic) also appear popular locally Buerehiesel offers a version with Bresse chicken for two people. Earlier observations are in the thread on the Westermann sandwicherie, which also has the address for La Boutique d'Antoine Westermann (offering certain vacuum packed Buerehiesel dishes for later consumption; sadly closed when I visited). :confused:

countess -- I am glad Bux and your Parisian sources are around to prevent me from leading you astray. Apologies if my reply on Le Squer caused confusion :confused:

Bux -- My sentiments exactly

Andy -- When certain diners shovel the food down, do they provide any verbal communication about the quality of your cuisine or ask for additional servings? Would such indicia of appreciation of your food make you feel better? I have been wondering whether my relatively slow eating pace (and it's only slightly more slowly) might be contributing to special treatment I have been receiving with greater frequency at restaurants visited for the first time recently. Perhaps at least some restaurants may perceive that diners who eat more slowly enjoy their food more.

countess -- Does the hotel mean Christian Le Squer's three-Michelin-starred restaurant near the Champs Elysees called Ledoyen?? I suspect so, since there is no high-end restaurant in Paris called Le Square of which I am aware, at least. (In London, as you know, there is Philip Howard's two-starred restaurant called The Square, but that is obviously not the intended reference.) Had a very good lunch at Ledoyen there several days ago -- the spider crab appetizer ("Araignee de mer" in French, at around 60 euros) was good. Also, there is an entree of the inner organs of Bresse chicken (including crests, sot-d'y-laisse, kidneys, etc.). Despite the French holidays, I am having no problems locating restaurants in which I am interested. If you are on line in the next hour or so and provide indications of type of cuisine, price range, etc., I'd be happy to advise. For example, I called Taillevent at the last minute for dinner last night, and secured a reservation before deciding to pick its one-starred spin-off Angle de Faubourg, which I had never visited. Today, secured a last-minute reservation for lunch at Jamin, operated by Robuchon pupil Benoit Guichard. Let me know if you are interested in three-stars. Certain other ones are open today.

lizziee -- L'Arnsbourg was excellent; prices were very reasonable at 100 euros for the most expansive degustation menu. The food there is much more interesting than any other facility around Strasbourg. Dining room's principal area is simple and beautiful and gives impression one is in the middle of the Vosges woods, due to the significant use of glass. Buerehiesel was good; Auberge de L'Ill was very disappointing (strong suspicions I was served spoiled foie gras). :confused:

Patrice -- If you don't have the menu handy, please do not allocate even a bit of time to finding it. Your restaurant is opening soon; I'm sure you have things to do with your time.

I would appreciate members' input on Salmon House on the Hill in the Vancouver general area. I wonder about the taste effects of the restaurant's Alderwood smoking process. Apparently, in the absence of traffic, this restaurant can be accessed from downtown Vancouver in about 15-20 minutes.

Patrice -- Thanks for your contributions to this thread. When you have a chance, could you discuss your olive oil tasting menu? What brands of olive oil, and which countries' olive oils, did you utilize?

Lyon has the advantage of proximity to Troisgros. It's difficult for me to speak of regions, because, subjectively, a single restaurant that is exceptional can "make" a region. Likewise, the absence of such an exceptional restaurant can "break" a region.

Steve Klc -- To me, these items appeared generally room temperature. They were displayed in the take-out area of Korova like other patisseries. I do not remember temperature contrasts as having been a significant element in the two Emotions desserts sampled, although, admittedly, I was not focusing on temperature for some reason.

Bux & Steve Klc -- The height of the glass was more than its diameter, by about 50%. The layers were quite distinct, because each of the three principal areas appeared to be separated by a thin layer of a slightly sweek cake-like item. (This cake-like item was easy to dig through, though, because it was so thin and so light). I both "dug in" towards the bottom and sampled each layer on its own. My impression is that "digging in" is at least part of the experience arguably intended?

Bux -- Apologies for the lack of clarity. The round cylindrical, "normal stubby drinking glass"-type glass container had a height that was about the length of my thumb. It was a fatty looking glass container, but not really that different from a water glass at certain establishments (and was circular in shape if one looked at it from the top). I have secured a copy of the Herme listing of patisseries. The "Les Signatures" patissieries listed are: (1) La cerise sur le gateau (Cherries on cake) -- biscuit dacquoise aux noisettes croquantes, praline feuilette, fines feuilles de chocolat au lait, ganache et chantilly chocolat au lait) (2) Tarte au cafe (Coffee tart) -- pate sablee, biscuit au cafe, ganache au cafe melange PH. (3) 200 feuilles (this is trademarked name) (2000 leaves; a play off millefeuilles, which, as members know, means 1000 leaves literally) -- pate feuilletee caramelisee, praline feuillete, creme mousseline praline (4) Ispahan -- previously described (5) Carrement chocolate -- previously described (6) Tarte chocolate (Chocolate tart) -- pate scure, biscuit chocolat, ganache chocolat, nougatine au grue de cacao, poivre et fleur de sel (Note interesting use of fleur de sel and pepper in this tart, which I have not yet tasted) (7) Montebello -- biscuit dacqoise aux pistaches, creme mousseline pistache, fraises fraiches ou framboises suivant la saison. (8) Envie (translated, "Desire") -- biscuit dacquoise aux amandes grillees, compote de cassis, creme vanille parfumee a la violette, decor de fruits rouges (this sounds marvellous; note I have not yet tasted it) (9) Millefeuille aux fruits rouges et menthe fraiche (Millefeuille with red fruits and fresh mint) -- pate feuilletee, compote de fruits rouges, biscuit aux amandes, creme a la menthe fraiche) If members wish to have any (or all) of the above translated, please let me know. Steve Klc -- Many thanks for your thoughtful post. I'll consider your questions over the next little while. I sought to purchase Herme chocolates at Korova. Unlike other occasions on which I had visited, no chocolates were available today. Not much information was provided on the reasons why. :confused:

I forgot to mention that one of the team members at Korova indicated Pierre Herme is Alsatian. I saw the Kugelhopf Brioche-like item that I had seen in Strasbourg at Herme's, and asked the question as a result.

Ouff -- Visited the Korova shop of Pierre Herme after lunch, because I wanted to. I tried the "Tarte fraise aux loukoums" (strawberry tart with loukoums?) (pate sablee, creme au citron vert et basilic, fraises et morceaux de loukoums a l'eau de rose et legere croute de sucre; selon la saison, cette tarte est decline avec des framboises) (pate sablee, cream of green lemon and basil, strawberies and pieces of loukoums? with a rose water an a light sugar crust; according to the season, this tart can include rasberries). An appealing patisserie item as well. Sitting inside the tart was some custard-like cream, on top of which were placed halves of small strawberries, overlapping each other in a ring. Inside the ring were three pieces of rectangular gelee of loukoums (?), which had a certain resin-like taste and are difficult to describe (the gelee was relatively dense). Then, a very thin baby-to-medium pink disc of sugar, on top of which were a half-strawberry and another gelee of loukoums. I liked this item as well. Note I dislike dark chocolate desserts, and thus have a tendency to like egg- or fruit-based desserts. Together with the Les Emotions glass items previously described, this and something called C Bon make up the Spring-Summer Collection 2002 of Pierre Herme. Here's the official description of the C Bon (indicated to be available only from June to August) -- biscuit 'financier ', creme aux abricots, peches poelees, groseilles ('Financier' biscuit, apricot cream, pan-fried peaches, currants). As for the previously-mentioned tomato dessert, I personally choose not to discuss it in the context of vegetable desserts because one of the main points behind the utilization of the tomato was to highlight that it is a fruit and not a vegetable. Of course, as Steve Klc mentioned, others might be interested in a discussion of it in this context.

Simon -- Below are excerpts from an interview of Jean-Andre Charial of Baumaniere, appearing in the April/May 2002 edition of Prestige Immobilier magazine: "Q: Do these [authentic, distinctive] places have an influence on your cuisine? A: Certainly. Here at Baumaniere, we are in an extremely mineral and very rigorous environment. My culinary creations are surely different from those I would achieve int he Val-de-Loire. Q: Where do you find your inspiration? A; In cookery books and from the trips I have made to India and Japan. India instilled in me several ways to use spices. My Japanese journeys made me sensitive to the ingredients used and the vessel used for the presentation . . . . Q: What is your definition of luxury? A: Space, silence and effective but discreet service. . . . also extremely fresh products such as peas picked that very morning."

There is a new type of Pierre Herme desserts called "Les Emotions", which are presented in a clear glass container about the length of one's thumb. (The containers are kept by the customer, even with take-out purchases.) The three flavors (euros 7.80 each) are: (1) "Depayse" (haricots rouges assaisonnes au gingembre et cirton vert, creme au the vert, pamplemousse au miel citronee) ("Disoriented" -- Red bean seasoned with ginger and green lemon; green tea cream; grapefruit with a lemon honey) -- An appealing creation. The red beans at the bottom of the glass, whose inclusion may have been inspired by their use in Japanese desserts but feel so "French", are tied together with a little bit of jus (unclear source) and with the transmuted, strangely and wonderfully pronounced flavor of green lemon. The ginger was suppressed, and aided the green lemon. Then, a thin layer of a cake-like material with a sweet aftertaste. Above that, a fatter layer of white grapefruit sections, which added nice acidity despite their combination with the sugar elements of element. Another thin layer of the same cake-like material. For me, the best part of the dessert was the luscious green tea cream forming the top layer. Overall, interesting and a complex combination that worked. Note I do not generally like complex cuisine, but this dessert worked. It also contained humor (at least to me) because of the utilization of many ingredients common to Japanese desserts, but in a manner that was distinctly non-Japanese. (Note Herme sold patisseries in Japan even before his first Paris patisserie shop.) (2) "Etonne" (biscuit et tuile a la noix de coco, gelee de fruits exotiques et epices, ananas, kiwi, fraises, groseilles, mangue, creme de noix de coco) ("Surprised" -- Thin biscuit of coconut; gelee of exotic fruits and spices; pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, currants, mango and cream of coconut) -- Not sampled. (3) "Exalte" (gelee de tomate, fraises au citron confit au sucre et au sel, creme a l'huile d'olive et vanille) ("Excited" -- gelee of tomatoes, strawberries with confit lemon and sugar and salt, cream of olive oil and vanilla) -- The two thin layers of cake-like material again separated three principal other ingredients. On the bottom, a tomato gelee that was very expressive of crushed tomatoes and that was not sweetened except for the natural juices of the tomatoes. It was attractive to me that Herme had not found it necesary to modify the taste of the tomatoes. The middle section consisted of the strawberries -- the sugar and salt additions were relatively subtle. The salt was not noticeable, except that it muted the strawberry taste in a nice way. Finally, the cream of olive oil and vanilla was almost like regular vanilla-flavored cream. On top of the glass, as decoration was a half strawberry and a beautiful piece of dried tomato skin. This dessert was nice, but, apart from the tomato layer at the bottom, resembled many strawberry desserts I have sampled. Nonetheless, the tomato and strawberry combination worked well, with the tomatoes adding very muted saltiness/sweetness, as well as juiciness (from the interior sections and the seeds). I finished my sampling with a single macaron of caramel and fleur de sel. I liked it as much as I remembered.