Les Elysées du Vernet - Merged topics

[lizziee]

Les Elysees

This restaurant is one of Paris's 2 star restaurants that is often over looked. It has always been one of our favorites for the ambiance (the ceiling was designed by Eiffel), the professionalism of the staff and the Mediterranean based cuisine of the chef.

Elysees's chef has just been chosen to be the new chef at Taillevent, one of the most revered and most respected Michelin Three Star restaurants. He will be responsible for keeping the 3rd star and helping the restaurant celebrate 30 years of being a 3 star - quite a responsibility for a 39 year old chef.

We were not excited by the prix fixe menu that was offered. I decided to create our own and the Maitre d' was more than accommodating. There were 4 of us so we decided to have 2 different kinds of fish and 2 different kinds of meat to be able to "taste" more.

1st amuse - white bean puree soup served cold with tiny crisp bits of ham.

2nd course--warm roasted langoustines with a melange of vegetables - diced tomatoes, haricot vertes, thinly sliced radishes, pea pods, and mushrooms in an olive oil "bath." An excellent dish.

3rd course--tuna with a brunoise of vegetables. The presentation of this dish was fascinating in looks. It resembled a "marrow bone." A piece of "lightly cooked" tuna was rolled into a circle--in the center the brunoise of vegetables, and the tuna sat on a tomato marmalade and thinly sliced pimentos interspersed with diced ham.

4th course--Jambon Iberica--the entire pig was presented at the table and thinly sliced by the Maitre d' at the table. This jambon is very special--it is a black-footed pig that is fed only a vegetable diet; imagine 4 carnivores eating a vegetarian pig.

5th course--fish.

a seabass cooked like a roast with cepes and tiny bits of truffles.

rouget with tomato confit, tapanade and a "fine galetter de socca" - a sweet pancake made with chick-pea flour often sold by street vendors in Nice.

Both fish dishes were well-executed with a wonderful marriage of flavors. The chef is a master with fish.

6th course--

lamb loin roasted with cepes

roasted pigeon

(My note taking ability disintegrated at this point - too much conversation and wine)

7th course--cheese

This was a well executed, exciting menu with a generous "nod" to the South of France. The room is beautiful and romantic with a pianist playing softly in the background. The service was superb and the quality of cuisine was innovative, without being fussy.

WINES:

The sommelier was excellent - we worked out selections in Magnum with reasonable value--

95 Mont de Millieu

92 Pommard

Lunch: Elysees de Vernet

We had such a wonderful dinner at the beginning of our trip, that we decided to have lunch on our return into Paris.

My husband had been salivating for the Jambon Iberica, but we were told that they don't serve it at lunch anymore. He begged, moaned, pleaded but to no avail. (Two days later as we were having a late night coffee in the lobby lounge at Vernet, Philippe, the Maitre d' stopped by for a visit. He had been out sick a couple days before when we had lunch. My husband happened to mention his pathetic appeals for jambon. Philippe asked if he would like some jambon sandwiches for the plane. The next day 4 perfect baguettes stuffed with Jambon Iberica arrived packaged as "plane food.")

With our aperitif, we had an amuse of smoked salmon with about 4 grains of caviar--OK.

1st course--

Me - poulardes(clams) in a light clam stock with butter, parsley, a hint of mustard and 1/4" diced potatoes.

My husband--a millefeuille of crispy slices of potato chips stacked vertically with a "glue" of brandade with a touch of anchovies holding them together. Delicious.

2nd course--we both opted for the tuna steak with nicoise olive sauce on a ratatouille mixture. The taste of the olives was overwhelming. We had asked for the tuna to be served "very rare" and got it slightly rosy. A disappointing dish.

Dessert--

My husband - feuillette with wild strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

Me--poached pear with berries and vanilla ice cream.

Laurent, the assistant Maitre d' brought us a "gift." He had us guess what it was. It looked like ice cream, but we were dead wrong--goat cheese sorbet with olive oil and a touch of pepper.

In general, they have revamped their lunch menu significantly. The orientation is towards a relatively inexpensive prix fixe tasting menu costing 58 euros which included a full bottle of wine. It was a cheap Bordeaux that would have been better omitted.

As I mentioned previously, the wonderful chef is leaving for Taillevent in December. It appears that management has decided that they are going to lose at least one of their Michelin Stars so I wonder if they are dumbing down the menu, making it cheaper and creating a "self fulfilling prophecy."

A question to members: There are more restaurants to post on this extended trip to France. Am I boring the life out of everyone? Should I keep posting?

[cabrales]

A question to members: There are more restaurants to post on this extended trip to France. Am I boring the life out of everyone? Should I keep posting?

lizziee -- Regarding your concerns, the reaction has been quite the contrary to that about which you worry, although I can only speak for myself. I have very much appreciated your posts, including on a number of restaurants (like the subject of this thread and Pre Catelan) that I have never visited. Please keep posting.

[Lesley C]

Lizziee,

Please please keep posting. Reading your posts has been thrilling and educational. As much as I dream of dining my way around the French three stars as you are right now, I don't think my liver could take it. I am very happy to live the experience through your reports. Bravo!

[southern girl]

Lizziee....I don't see how anyone could not enjoy living vicariously through your reviews...I feel my hips expand every time I read one ...I know you walked a lot...but I would have had to walk across France to have not gained any weight and it would be worth it to experience what you and your husband enjoyed!

[jakubc]

Lizziee,

Please keep posting. I find it very illuminating to have one person's perspective on many restaurants. You and Cabrales have convinced me to try Troisgros, for example, on my upcoming trip.

I am curious if there is a review of L'Arpege lurking in the wings....

[lizziee]

Cabrales, Lesley, southern girl and jakubc,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I really wasn't fishing, but I appreciate your kind words.

Yes, jakubc, Arpege is lurking in the wings.

The amazing thing about this trip is that I didn't gain an ounce. When we got back to the States, we had another 12 days of traveling due to family obligations. That is when I put on the pounds.

Here's to the French Paradox!

[pirate]

Lizziee

Your posts are all very informative. I'm always amazed at the amount of food and wine you consume.

[lizziee]

pirate,

My husband is even more amazed; I can eat him under the table.

[marcus]

Lizziee, you are incredible. I am generally considered a humongous eater, but I have no doubt that you could eat me under the table as well, and with ease. The idea of having three meals in two days at Troisgros is mind blowing, and then to go on from there....

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Les Elysées, the restaurant at the Hotel Vernet next to the Champs Elysées, has been renovated during the summer. It is, in my opinion, the best value in town for lovers of the Robuchon style. And also one of the best foods, regardless of value.

There's plenty of delicious, classic, technically impressive food for 64€ at lunch, and wonderful unknown and cheap glasses of wine. This is hardly trendy, and novelty-istas will be revolted by the place. But this is exceptionnally good and it really does not deserve to be half-empty for lunch. And it deserves its own thread.

I wrote about it before the renovation and just did it again, but I have yet to write the English version for that second post. Pictures are there, though.

Edited October 8, 2007 by julot-les-pinceaux (log)

[Culinista]

The Hotel Vernet is one of my favorite places to stay in Paris.

[John Talbott]

Many thanks. I haven't been in quite a while so it's good to see it's still good.

Your post is ironic because the same person who urged me to put some impressive looking places like the Pre Catalan in the First time visitors etc topic also mentioned the Elysees. The lunch menu which was 220 FF in 2000 has crept up though.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

In terms of how food prices evolved in the last eight years in France, I would consider that 64€ now is less than 220FF were at the time.

[Julian Teoh]

I received an email from Hotel Vernet this morning; the replacement for Eric Briffard is Guillaume Ginther, who worked with Briffard, Marc Veyrat and Emile Jung.

If it was possible, lunchtime prices have dropped even further. It is now 40E for two courses, "cocktail" and coffee, and 50E for three courses and extras. Four courses (entree, fish , meat and dessert) are now 80E.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Patrice, the sommelier, and André, the md, are still there.

[pierre45]

In terms of how food prices evolved in the last eight years in France, I would consider that 64€ now is less than 220FF were at the time.

←

ITs interesting to note that 220F equalled 33.5 euros in 2000.So prices have doubled in 8 years .So the inflation rate in resaturants is over 15% per annum.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

I would say more like 10%, considering that at Robuchon's Jamin, the lunch menu was in the 60FF area. But it is six times over fifteen years. By the way, 15 % over eight years is more like 3 times

Indeed restaurant inflations is much higher than your usual CPI. But it is actually lower than food inflation. Food prices, among other things, depend on oil prices and the last couple of years have not been friendly in that regard.

[grace3]

I have read Julot's most interesting review from July, 2007. It certainly sounds like a place where I would like to go.

I wonder if anyone has been there recently..for lunch or dinner.

Thanks,

Joan

[robyn]

Joan - The chef from that restaurant has moved (or will move shortly) to Le Cinq at the George V - so I think the review isn't relevant now. Robyn

[grace3]

Joan - The chef from that restaurant has moved (or will move shortly) to Le Cinq at the George V - so I think the review isn't relevant now.  Robyn

Well, I guess that takes care of that! Thanks, Robyn.

Joan