Lievre a la royale in Paris

[fresh_a]

Me too had lunch at Le Comptoir on a whim- the place was packed, no surprise, Camdeborde never works the weekends, but his staff is well-trained, friendly and the dishes held up. The ouef mayo was great (5€!) and the daily onglet was decent, although hard to cut (bad knife).

[olivier]

For my last restaurant dinner of 2008, I decided to go back to Stella Maris and try the lièvre à la royale there. It was everything I expected, and more: the way it's presented is quite astonishing, indeed. It almost looks like a Bras or Ramsay "coulant au chocolat".

Very good, but some part of the dish were "chewy", which surprised me a little bit for a lièvre à la royale.

(low light + ultra compact = lots of noise, sorry.)

[John Talbott]

And for my last meal (out) in 08 I had lievre a la royale at l'Epigramme, 10 Euro supplement over the menu. Quite good.

[ulterior epicure]

I had lievre a la royale a few weeks ago at Michel Rostang.

It was okay. The accompanying rable cuit rose was offensively too gamey, even for me. I suspect it wasn't the best.

The lievre itself, with a nugget of foie gras in the center, was okay. The sauce was very nice. Rustic. Hardy. The meat was not bad; not terribly moist, but not dry either. Full post of the meal coming... sometime, hopefully. I've got a mountain of meals I need to pile through first.

[HOLLY_L]

I had been curious to try this dish since the thread started, but this is my first time in Paris in the fall. I saw it on the menu at Le Pre Catelan (a la facon du Senateur Couteaux), but didn't want to order it for 99 euros. But I did order it the other night at Les Saveurs de Flora. Having never had the dish before, I have nothing to compare it too really. But I thought it was quite delicious, although too rich for me to finish.

Here is a link to the picture I took (out of focus - sorry!).

[Christopher Haatuft]

We ate at Iteneraires last night and for a €13 supplement, you could have the lievre a la royale. My friend had it and kindly got out of the way as I poked my fork in it, so I can say that it was good. I've never had it before, so not much for comparison, but it was rish, gamey and well cooked. The price for three courses including the lievre came to under €50. Not bad for such a good restaurant.

[fresh_a]

Very disappointing lievre last night at Chez Michel. With truffles and foie gras , and a 25€ supplement (!). Has to be good we thought so we splurged. The dish was very uninspiring. The truffles were odorless and tasteless, and the dish itself really didn't merit the price we paid. Not only that, my dining partner found two large pieces of plastic wrapping his lievre, and the waiter explained , "Oh, that's just for shaping the dish". No apologies. No reaction. Then again, I'm not surprised, as chef Thierry Breton didn't perform any cooking duties at all, his Japanese stagieres seemed to do everything. (Trust me, we had a full view of the kitchen for the entire dinner).

[olivier]

Anyone tried the one they serve at Au Bascou?

Simon raves about it every year (well, he did in 2008 and 2009), but that still isn't enough for me to go there!

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Haven't tried the Lièvre at Bascou, but tried Bascou and thought it was crappy. I'd stay with Besson, Senderens, Fréchon.

Edited October 28, 2009 by julot-les-pinceaux (log)

[olivier]

I was at la Régalade Friday night, and game was all over the menu. Had the Lièvre à la Royale, a bit expensive for the place (+20 EUR on a 30,5 EUR menu), but well worth it.

Two thick slices instead of one, that's one of the reasons why I love this restaurant so much. Oh, and the fact that it was very good, too.

Other photos of the meal here: http://picasaweb.google.com/miaaampics/LaRegalade30102009

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Great pictures and you seem to have a new camera. The dryness of the meat you mention is nevertheless a significant flaw in my opinion.

[felixhirsch]

Last year when Frechon was about to get his 3*, Simon published a video review, and judged the lievre a la royale to be the only dish there worthy of 3*.

Anyone who is interested in it in London: Antonin Bonnet of the Greenhouse will be serving it in a little while. I'll go and find out about that, as soon as he gives me the signal.

[olivier]

Great pictures and you seem to have a new camera.

Same camera+lens, but I used the custom white balance trick you told me about the other day.

Oh and at least half of them were taken by my better half!

The dryness of the meat you mention is nevertheless a significant flaw in my opinion.

Well, it was only noticeable on certain parts of one slice. I don't think I've ever eaten one that was totally exempt of this defect, except at Stella Maris, but it had other flaws. I guess I should try one of the very good ones...

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Last year when Frechon was about to get his 3*, Simon published a video review, and judged the lievre a la royale to be the only dish there worthy of 3*.

He can't always be wrong.

[felixhirsch]

who can't be Frechon or Simon?

CHristian Bau just told me that he liked Frechon's cooking very much when he went recently. Has anyone had that LALR?

[felixhirsch]

Take a look at this :

http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/francais/carte/carte-chasse.pdf

reads like a pretty interesting game menu. That 3 course lievre dish mustn't be too horrible, the rest sounds pretty tempting too.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Coming from Gagnaire, the whole thing looks surprisingly classic.

[felixhirsch]

speaking of classical:

The Taillevent website mentions a LALR on the suggestions du moment. Also, their wine list seems incredibly reasonable, at least for Parisian restaurants of that standing.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

It is.

[felixhirsch]

has anyone ever tried the Ducasse LALR? I suppose they don't change the recipe of that very often. It is one of the dishes he served at the meal, at which pretty much all of the 3* from the world ate at ADPA. Knowing Christophe Moret, I am pretty sure, that he has one of the most succesful versions in Paris.

Lièvre de Picardie rôti / à la royale / en civet 100 €

If it does what it says, it should give a comparison of the classic ways of preparing hare, which could be of some interest.

[pirate]

Lievre a la Royale is as the name implies a royal dish. The was no recipe in Escoffier's Guide Culinaire but going back to the 19th century, there is a recipe in Ali Bab. It utilizes a rather large hare, foie gras truffles etc. and is a kind of cross between a civet and daube. The recipe is for 10 to 12 diners and clearly meant for royal affairs. As time wore on the recipe has been debauched. In the last century Madame Saint-Ange states: (a rough translation) Professionals affirm that they do not have a definitive recipe for lievre a la royale;so there are numerous and very disimilar recipes, some marked by a bit of extreme fantasy. She offers a reasonable recipe. Perhaps Hirsch should gather 9 to 11 friends and order well in advance the royal dish as in Ali-Bab. Served, since the recipe in Ali Bab uses a high grade burgundy. with a double magnum of a Cote de Nuits grand cru red.

[felixhirsch]

Dear Pirate,

Thanks for the explanations, but I was well aware of the different versions of the dish. They have already been discussed in this very topic, if you look back a little.

I would like nothing more than getting a few friends together and cooking that dish together, but find some, who are interested in cooking in my age (in that kind of cooking that is). If you do, let me know who they are, I want to meet them!

[fresh_a]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2009-11/1348671/IMG_1932.JPG"]Here's the one I had at the Pré Catelan yesterday. Superb with a nice 2007 Cote Rotie. Edited November 14, 2009 by fresh_a (log)

[fresh_a]

url=""]Here's the one I had at the Pré Catelan yesterday. Superb with a nice 2007 Cote Rotie.

[felixhirsch]

does Anton still do the Senateur Couteaux version of the dish?

looks rather simple and straightforward for Anton (the plating).