Au Trou Gascon

[fortedei]

Any thoughts on recent visits?

Any thought on recent visits to restos of this type with a strong regional bent?

Thanks.

[tupac17616]

A few thoughts from my meal at Au Trou Gascon back in March over HERE.

Edited August 8, 2008 by tupac17616 (log)

[PaulaJK]

Tupac, Thanks for that great review. You make me want to visit this

restaurant, sooner rather than later. We will be in Paris in late

September. Do you have any other recommendations?

Paula

[fortedei]

Tupac, Thanks for that great review. You make me want to visit this

restaurant, sooner rather than later. We will be in Paris in late

September. Do you have any other recommendations?

Paula

←

From a meal this past March:

Thursday for lunch we went to Au Trou Gascon where we hadn't been in

20 years. It was as good as we remembered. Way out in the 12th (but

easy to get to by Metro), it is the original restaurant of Alain

Dutournier. Mostly businessmen and a few couples at lunch. Pleasant room,

very good service without being either

fawning or cold... just right. Great menu with so many things to try

(again food from the southwest), even better wine list (both the menu

and wine list very reasonably priced). We had

gateau de topinambour, foie gras, truffle noir (with the Jerusalem

artichokes serving as the pastry in essenially a millefeuille; how he

did it is beyond me)... outstanding dish; fricassee de petit gris,

ravioli verte; la cuisse d'oie confite en pot

a l'ancienne, galette de pommes, and a salad with intense fresh mushrooms;le cassoulet,

lighter and more elegant than most, but also more flavorful; tourtiere chaude et croustillante, glacecaramel; russe, pistache glace. Definitely a place to go if you want more than a bistro,but don't want the fanciness of the many-starred.

[tupac17616]

Tupac, Thanks for that great review. You make me want to visit this

restaurant, sooner rather than later. We will be in Paris in late

September. Do you have any other recommendations?

Paula

Thanks for the kind words, Paula. Others here can offer much more experienced insight than I can, but for me the most enjoyable meals from this Paris trip were probably:

Low -- Chez L'Ami Jean, Chez Michel

Mid -- Au Trou Gascon

High -- L'Arpege, L'Astrance, Pierre Gagnaire

Well, my thoughts also wander to Laduree, Gregory Renard, and Poilane. But I assume you were talking restaurants!

[RandyB]

I had a hankering for some southwest style food before I leave in two days. (Of course, once again there is a strike on the RER-B to CDG.)

Based on recommendations here, I called au Trou Gascon at 10h30 this morning and got a reservation for 13h. I made sure they would have the confit of goose today. I think I had the best table in the house - middle table along the wall facing out toward the room and the windows. It is a simple but elegant dining room, with tables not too close. Many business diners at lunch.

I was ordering lunch off the carte, and skipped the entrées. The amuse bûche was rillettes de thon, or basically tuna fish salad with capers. It was fine, and the capers were not overly salty. The portion with little toasts was generous. In some restaurants it would have been an entrée.

My main course was the confit. A large leg plus a small, crispy disk of additional meat. It was very tasty. Excellent skin with just enough fat to add the taste but not feel fatty or greasy. The bottom side was perhaps a tiny bit overcooked but not a problem. My one small criticism, and perhaps it is just my personal taste, was a bit too much salt.

The sides of potatoes bernaise and salad with mushrooms were both tasty accompaniments. The dessert of tourtière, another southwestern dish, was very good. Thin strips of pastry with apple slices, served warm with salted caramel ice cream. Alongside were three warm prunes cooked with a glaze of (I assume) Armagnac.

My tab was 55€, of which the main was 30, the dessert 9, a glass of vary nice Graves was 10, and the very small, not very strong cup of coffee a ridiculous 6€. Except for the coffee, it was well worth the price. The lunch Menu is an even better deal at 36€ for 3 courses, albeit not including the confit d'oie nor their renowned cassoulet.

Oh, yes. Whether you order coffee or not, you get a plate with a dozen or so chocolate covered coffee beans and two thin cookie strips.

[John Talbott]

Interesting. My pal and I have been looking for confit d'oie ever since it got dropped off the carte of Le Terroir. Thanks for the news.