I have a confession to make about Jamin -- it's my favorite haute cuisine resto in Paris. I've been to, over the years, Lucas Carton, Arpege, Pierre Gagnaire, Guy Savoy, Taillevent, etc. and I don't understand why Guichard doesn't merit three stars in the mind of the Michelin inspectors. Sure, Gagnaire is fun and experimental, Passard is intellectually satisfying and daring in his embracing vegetables as a basis for cuisine, but -- the food at Jamin is always satisfying and enjoyable on every level. One never feels as if one is the subject of an experiment, but the food isn't stodgy or overly classical, either. I like the cheese cart, but not the dessert cart -- it tends toward less interesting desserts that can stand up to being left on a cart. (Don't get me started on Passard's "Tomate confite aux douze saveurs," it's an inferior rendition of a famous Bengali tomato chutney that's served as a dessert with pooris). I remember: a lovely amuse bouche of araignee de mer in avocado cream, dotted with creme fraiche; a "vichyssoise" with ribbons of leek and langoustine; a pan-seared John Dory on a very tart, lemony compote de fenouil; roast pigeon with a medly of fava beans and peas and tarragon; Oh yeah, another thing: while I prefer a chef and sommelier to go to the trouble of pairing wines with courses, as they do at Lucas Carton, I was happy that the wine list at Jamin has many half bottles. Well, as Dennis Miller says "I don't know, that's just my opinion, I may be wrong."
