3 star restaurants - history and recommendations

[cabrales]

I have Ma Gastronomie, and would recommend it.

My English version is a translation by Frank Kulla and Patricia Shannon Kulla, with an introduction by Joseph Wechsberg. The publisher is Lyceum Books, copyrighted 1974 with respect to the translated version. Here's the table of contents: (1) Introduction, (2) The Restaurant de la Pyramide, (3) F Point, Restaraunteur, (4) A Day at Chez Point (I like this chapter), (5) La Pyramide Today (i.e., then), (6) The Cellars at La Pyramide, (7) Great Menus From La Pyramide (this is my favorite section; a sample to come later), (8) Fernand Point's Notebook (little captions and observations from the chef's notes), (9) The Golden Book of La Pyramide (observations from certain diners), and (10) Fernand Point's Recipes (extends from p. 81 through p. 180; note Point recipes are concise, so there are typically 2+ per page) -- including, subjective highlights in the chicken section: Stuffed Roast Chicken Aga Khan, Roast Chicken Mado -- This is named after Point's wife, roast Chicken Home-Style, Roast Bressan Chicken Mere Brazier, Roast Chicken Mere Leon, Roast Chicken Sasha Guitry, Roast Chicken In a Bladder Marius Vettard, Spring Chicken in Asparagus Butter, Spring Chicken in Hell's Fire, Spring Chicken Celestine, Spring Chicken Pere Francois, Spring Chicken Fricassee Louhannaise, Broiled Deviled Spring Chicken, Spring Chicken Jean Cocteau, Chicken in Jelly and Tarragon, Chicken Pyramide, Chicken Souvaroff, Chicken Liver Sausage and Light Liver Cake Curnonsky.

Here's a menu from the chapter on special menus:

F Point's Fiftieth Birthday Dinner, February 25, 1947:

Parfaits de Foie Gras Fernand (Foie gras parfait)

Pates Chauds de Becasse (Hot Pates of woodcock)

Les Mousses de Truites du Rhone au Coulis d'Ecrevisses (Mousse of Rhone trout with a crayfish coulis)

Cardons aux Truffes (Truffled vegetable, artichoke-like)

Piece de Boeuf a la Royale (Beef a la Royale)

Les Chauds-Froids de Chapons de Bresse Truffes (Truffled Bresse capons)

Les Fromages de Saint-Marcellin

Sorbets au Citron Marjolaine Corbeilles de Fruits (Lemon sorbet, etc.)

[Bouland]

Bookfinder.com currently lists 45 copies available from $10.95 to $75.00.

[cabrales]

Early this month, Agence France Presse provided the following update:

"Five Paris chefs, including three with three-star rank, will dish out hot mouth-watering bowls of soup **free** of charge in December . . . The weeklong soup fest opens December 2 in the chic 16th district with a steaming offer of soup from Roland Durand of Passiflore who rates a single of the prized Michelin stars. On December 4, at the central Saint-Germain-des-Pres market, three-star chef Alain Passard of L'Arpege will have a velvety soup of fresh mushrooms, sweet onions, purple garlic and crushed peanuts. Others involved in the soup happening ending December 8 are three-star chefs Guy Martin of the Le Grand Vefour [3 stars], Pierre Gagnaire [3 stars]-- whose restaurant carries his name -- and Yves Camdeborde of La Regalade. The free soup is part of a yearly event that began in 1999 called 'fooding' . . . ."

[cabrales]

Hmm, my first violation of a self-imposed two-month ban except with respect to Blue Hill posts. However, free soup from three star chefs is something that I hope members who are in Paris in early December can take advantage of. The November 10 edition of the New York Times included the following in the Travel section:

"As part of a celebration next month called La Semaine du Fooding, some

well-known chefs will serve free soup at outdoor market areas across Paris and

an upscale supermarket will feature 'culinary performances.' The event, which runs from Dec. 2 to 9, is sponsored by a group called Fooding, based in Paris, which aims to 'recapture the attention of the people, to give them a taste without giving them a lesson,' said Alexandre Cammas, a founder of Fooding. Each morning one chef ... will serve a fruit or vegetable soup at locations including the Bon Marche in St.-Germain on the Left Bank and the Palais de Tokyo on the Right Bank. La Semaine du Fooding will also feature 'performances culinaires' in which young chefs from across France will offer cooking demonstrations and tastings. These will be held at Le Bon Marche for one hour, starting at 6:30 p.m, Tuesday through Sunday. Information is available by visiting www.lefooding.com, which is in French only."

For the convenience of members, I have summarized relevant parts of the website. I have provided commentary reflecting my subjective observations. The soup tastings are promising because they all involve three-star chefs (except as noted).

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

* At the Marche Saint-Germain (4-8, Rue Lobineau in the 6th arrondisement): Around 11 am (times are approximate, given an event of this nature), Chef Alain Passard of L'Arpege. Free tastings. Commentary: Not to be missed.

Thursday, December 5, 2002

* At the Marche Saint-Quentin (85 Bis, Bd Magenta; this is short for Boulevard Magenta; in the 10th arrondisement): Around 11 am, Guy Martin of Grand Vefour. Commentary: Interesting potentially because Martin recently published a book dedicated to vegetables, which is apparently the theme of the soup tastings by the chefs.

Friday, December 6, 2002

* At the Marche Saint-Germain (see Wednesday's info): Around 11 am, Jacques and Laurent Pourcel from Jardin des Sens in Montpellier. They also own La Maison Blanche in Paris.

Saturday, December 7, 2002

* At the Marche Saint-Didier (Rues Mesnil et Saint-Didier; meaning the streets Mesnil and Saint-Didier, in the 16th arrondisement): Around 11 am, Pierre Gagnaire.

Sunday, December 8, 2002

-- At the Marche Saint-Quentin (see Thursday's info): Around 11 am, Yves Camdeborde from La Regalade. Commentary: This is not a three-starred restaurant, but potentially also worth attending.

Members contemplating attending should check whether there are changes using the following website (click on the first "o" in the word "fooding"), and then check the applicable date.

http://www.lefooding.com/index2.html

[Miguel Gierbolini]

Thanks Cabrales even though I'll miss this by a couple days. But it is good to know. I now notice that this (almost a week ago) was your first violation of some self-imposed ban on non-Blue Hill posts. Let the record reflect that I am adamantly opposed to this ban.

[Bux]

Let the record reflect that I am adamantly opposed to this ban.  

None of us have been eager to report violations to the authorities either, with but the exception of one dutiful member.

[Orik]

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

* At the Marche Saint-Germain (4-8, Rue Lobineau in the 6th arrondisement): Around 11 am (times are approximate, given an event of this nature), Chef Alain Passard of L'Arpege.  Free tastings.  Commentary: Not to be missed.

Passard was serving cream of mushroom with peanuts and parmesan. Turn out was relatively low (I would guestimate around 100 people overall) and for the most part consisted of elderly French ladies who happened to be doing their shopping. This was a true bargain, as the same soup (with parmesan foam instead of shredded cheese) was served to us the night before for the modest price of €64. I'm not quite sure how cream of mushroom celebrates vegetables, but I guess there has to be some logic behind it...

[cabrales]

Friday, December 6, 2002

* At the Marche Saint-Germain (see Wednesday's info): Around 11 am, Jacques and Laurent Pourcel from Jardin des Sens in Montpellier. They also own La Maison Blanche in Paris

Hmm -- The Canada forum reports that the Pourcels were in Montreal just last night. They must be returning to Paris soon for the described event. The upcoming Gagnaire event appears worthwhile, even though I do not necessarily like Gagnaire's cuisine.

[robert brown]

Last fall Marcus posted the following:

"I was thinking back to first time I looked at the Michelin guide in the mid 60s and I remember clearly that there were 11 3 star restaurants in France pretty closely as follows:

Paris -- Maxim's, La Tour d'Argent, Laperouse, Lasserre

Provinces -- Hotel de la Poste in Avallon, Cote d'Or in Saulieu, Pyramide in Vienne, Auberge Pere Bise in Talloires, Auberges de Noves, Ousteau de Beaumaniere

The 11th may have been the original Lucas Carton in Paris, but I'm not sure.

."

I said to Marcus that I had ordered a copy of the book "Trois Etoiles au Michelin" which would answer his question. I was recently able to retrieve my copy in France and can now list the 1964 Michelin edition's roster of three-star restaurants. They are close to Marcus's list, but remember, Marcus did not "preciser" a year. We will therefore see further on if his list corresponds to 1965 or a bit beyond. Where there is lack of correspondence in 1964 is:

Grand Vefour was a fifth restaurant in Paris to have three stars.

La Mere Brazier that was on the outskirts of Lyon had a third star.

La Cote d'Or in Saulieu lost its third star in the 1964 Guide.

Lucas-Carton had a third star up until 1939, the last year the Guide was published until 1945, and did not regain it until 1986, the year after Alain Senderens took it over. However Senderens' third star came with him from L'Archestrate. Marcus was accurate in the number (11) of three-star restaurants in 1964, the year to which he must have been subconsciously referring.

As for other names that came up in the fall discussion, La Bonne Auberge in Antibes had three stars from 1952-1957. Charles Barrier received his third star in 1968 and lost it in 1979.

In 1965, Paul Bocuse received a third star, making 12 restaurants that were in that category. In 1966 there were no changes. In 1967 Hostellerie de la Poste lost a star and Auberge de L'Ill gained its third star. 1968 and 1969 indicated the gradual take-over of the "Nouvelle Cuisine" chefs: La Mere Brazier, Auberge de Noves and Laperouse lost their third star and Troisgros and Barrier in 1968 won theirs.

Overall, a good job by Marcus.

P.S. La Bonne Auberge regained a third star in 1980 and gave it back in the 1984 Guide.

Edited January 3, 2003 by robert brown (log)

[cabrales]

La Mere Brazier that was on the outskirts of Lyon had a third star.

robert -- Does the book indicate whether Brazier had one restaurant or two operating during the decade? Was only one of her restaurant three-stars at any given point? Somehow, I remember vaguely reading somewhere that the current location of La Mere Brazier is not the original venue where E Brazier worked.

[robert brown]

Cabrales, in 1921 Eugenie Brazier opened La Mere Brazier at 12 rue de la Royale where it is today. For health reasons she moved into a modest house about 20 km. outside of Lyon (col de la Luere) which she turned into her second restaurant in 1932. From 1933-1938, both of her restaurants received three stars, although her son Gaston was running the one in Lyon. There were no three star restaurants from 1940 until the 1951 Guide when the col de la Luere restaurant regained its third star. The Lyon restaurant did not keep its third star in the 1951 Guide, however. In the 1959 Guide the col de la Luere restaurant lost its third star, but won it back in 1963. In 1968 it lost the star again. Eugenie Brazier retired in June of 1974 and from then on there has been only the restaurant in Lyon that is owned and managed by her granddaughter.

Edited January 3, 2003 by robert brown (log)

[VivreManger]

Perhaps your expertise can answer the following? Sometime in July-August of 1956 I ate, I believe, at the Le Chapon Fin in Bourdeaux. It was the major splurge of a month-long drive to France with my mother and younger brother and I thought that at the time the restaurant had two stars. Subsequently I have checked some later Red Guides. I can't find the restaurant in the 1983 issue, though it resurfaced in the 1997 Guide Michelin with one star. Do you know its star-quantity for 1956?

[robert brown]

VM, I left the book at home, but will look it up. It was in the first group of 23 three-star restaurants (1933), however. I can reply this evening.

[Charles Smith]

As for other names that came up in the fall discussion, La Bonne Auberge in Antibes had three stars from 1952-1957.

To this I owe my obsession, as it created my father's obsession- he used to tell a wonderful story about hiking from his ship in Nice to Antibes to eat at La Bonne Auberge- to see what a 3 star restaurant was like- he was an officer on a minesweeper in the Med- wore his dress whites, etc. He was overwhelmed with the experience, fell in love with French cooking, culture, etc. stopped at the opera on the way back to his ship and lives to eat to this day- a quality he passed on to my brother and me.

He took us back there for lunch, (and to Moulin des Mougins that trip)-

thanks for the post- great stuff.

Cheers,

Charles

[robert brown]

Charles, that was a great post. It's quite a hike from Nice Port to La Bonne Auberge. I like stories such as yours.

[cabrales]

robert -- An interesting implied point in your post. I've been surprised in inferring how far (or not) within France members are willing to travel to sample a restaurant. Given the generally broad coverage and efficiency of the French railway systems and most members' ability to drive, why wouldn't a commute of, say, 2-5 hours be justified and wouldn't that type of commute make available many restaurants, relative to any given origination point?

I'm surprised that Lyons is not more frequently accessed from Paris, for example. That's a TGV ride of less than 2 hours! Or take the three-stars in Rheims and Joigny -- each is also within 2 hours by train of Paris.

Edited January 3, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[porkpa]

Cabrales,

Such a trip is relatively inconsequential. I have several friends who make at least one trip a year from North America to France . Their only reason for doing so is to eat at various restaurants.

Porkpa

[cabrales]

I agree. For me, no part of France is inaccessible to visit for a sufficiently interesting restaurant.

[robert brown]

Has anyone tried walking from Paris to Lyon for dinner?

Vivremanger. The Chapon Fin did have two stars when you were there. From 1939 to 1951, the Guide did not award restaurant stars (except for white ones during the difficult years right after WW II just to indicate that you could get a decent meal). The Guide was also not published from 1940-1945. In1951, Michelin believed it was now possible to find great dining again and awarded three stars to seven restaurants. Le Chapon Fin received two stars in 1951 and kept them until 1957. It closed in 1960 and reopened at some point later, but far from its former glory. It was acquired in 1985 by Francis Garcia who has gotten back one of the stars.

[VivreManger]

Many thanks for your research.

I was 11 at the time so the memory is not perfect, but three things I do remember about the Chapon Fin: the elegance of the room and the service, a very fine sole meuniere fileted at the table (I think), and a spectacular crepes suzette (of this I am certain). Although I can claim no madeleine-like recall, at moments I still can almost taste the grand marnier and I still do see the fire in the pan as it flashed in the subdued lighting of the room. I have not had crepes suzette much since then so I trust my thought is pristine.

Does your Michelin survey list the specialities of the two-starred? I am curious to know what they were at the Chapon Fin.

France in the mid-50s was still under gas rationing and the economic recovery was spotty at best. My parents had bought a 1957 DS-19 which had been first produced only in 1955-6. Until 1955 for some twenty years the top of the Citroen line was the classic X. In many parts of the country-side from Paris to Marseilles via the Loire, Royen, Cognac, Lascaux country (the cave was still open), Carcassone, and then on to Beaulieu-sur-Mer before turning back, ours was the first DS ever seen, a rather striking entry card to la France profonde.

[Bux]

To this I owe my obsession, as it created my father's obsession-  he used to tell a wonderful story about hiking from his ship in Nice to Antibes to eat at La Bonne Auberge ...

As others have noted it is a wonderful story. It's a classic tale of those who are able to pass on an obsession and articulate the origin of the obsession for posterity. It's a gem and museum piece as well for it speaks of a time and place. France was an even more special place to eat in those days. As noted, it still draws visitors whose main purpose is to eat, but France's relative place in the world and the world of food has changed. Possibly it's place has changed not so much because France has changed--though it has quite undeniably--but because the rest of the world and particularly the US has changed. I suspect it's people such as your father that brought back from Europe a love of the food that's largely responsible for the changes here.

[Charles Smith]

Thanks to everyone for your comments and for the original post-

It's a story he loved to tell and I hadn't thought of it for a long time.

[robert brown]

Vivremanger, "Trois Etoiles au Michelin" pretty much discusses only the three-star restaurants. There is a chapter on Le Chapon Fine, but it covers just the period to 1939. Do you want to know what the specialties were in its early days?

[cabrales]

Vivremanger -- What period are you interested in getting the specialties for? I have an almost complete set of Michelin guides since the early 1980s, and the guides contain a very few dishes for each restaurant in each year's guide.

[VivreManger]

Many thanks to you both. At the very least I have confirmed my 2-star memory.

I am actually trying to reconstruct what we might have eaten in 1956 so the 1980s Michelin guides would not help much, particularly since the restaurant died and was resurrected in the interval.

I do have some notes, diaries, post cards and other souvenirs from that trip. If I recover anything that might be of general interest I will post it.