Gerard Besson - Merged Topics

[grace3]

My Les Elysees sort of went down the drain...now, how about this one?? Lunch and/or dinner.

Thanks,

Joan

[John Talbott]

My Les Elysees sort of went down the drain...now, how about this one?? Lunch and/or dinner.

Thanks,

Joan

←

Julot's six year comment was only made the 4th of April so it's pretty current.

Warning: I'll be merging this into the existing topic as soon as it runs out of steam.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Here's my Besson report: http://www.julotlespinceaux.com/2008/04/gr...-in-france.html

Besson is as traditional as it gets. It's really good, but seriously out-of-fashion, and far from modern standards. At the same time, it's a food with a very high amount of skills inside and and thoroughly enjoyable. It should not be missed in season if you like game and truffle.

It's not dazzling like Briffard's cooking can be and I don't have a value recommendation in Paris for dazzling food to this day. I would say that lunch at l'Arpège is the best shot at it, or Gagnaire if you like it, but we're not talking very cheap menus.

Good lunch deals include, as I listed recently, Savoy, Rostang, Robuchon, Lasserre and Besson. None of those redefine food.

[PaulaJK]

We dined here on Friday evening, One is pleasantly greeted into this attractive room, The entire front room was occupied by a business group and there even was a short speech during the evening, something I found very odd for an upscale dining experience,

This group may have drained the attention of the waitstaff for although our waiter had the presence of a professional, there were shortfalls, We repeatedly had to request that our water qnd wine be served, And the second tier staff tended to serve food without stating what it was e,g, the amuse ,the cheese plate,etc

Amuse: cream of cauliflower,, room temp, delicious

Starter: poached lobster claw on chilled minted green pea puree

Fish: bass covered w its mousse in a dark sauce

Entree; canette w poached peach, This was delicious, My husband,s veal was not special and was fuklly cooked when ordered medium rare

Cheese was a plate of 3 items placed on the table without explanation, no fruit, nuts or special breads

Dessert: again, no choice,,a coupe of lychee with frais de bois and ice cream,

I felt that the menu caved with the cheese and dessert and that servuce was below expectations, However, both the lobster and duck were delicious,

[muichoi]

I'm happy when staff serve food without telling me what it is. My short-term memory is not that bad.

Or did you order a surprise menu, in which case I sympathise?

[PaulaJK]

We had ordered the menu degustation on which neither the cheeses nor dessert were specifically titled. I was quite surprised at the lack of a cheese cart and even more so by the lack of a choice of desserts. At this high tariff, who expects a coupe to be plunked in front of them?

We were disappointed with this experience [which we had approached very enthusiastically] . I suspect that Gerard Besson is en route to a lower rating.

Edited September 30, 2008 by PaulaJK (log)

[julot-les-pinceaux]

I don't think Gérard Besson deserves a lower rating, though I would not be surprised if he got one in those days focused on appearance and uninterested in good food. It's true that his desserts suck. But I would support a higher rating as I don't think that anyone does what he does better than he does it.

Game is his great specialties and here is his game menu for this fall: http://picasaweb.google.fr/ZeJulot/GRardBe...882892129402834

The next picture in the gallery is the lunch menu -- 48eur without dessert.

Edited October 11, 2008 by julot-les-pinceaux (log)