Blais: 17 course degustation, $49, in Atlanta ?

[Marrow Margin]

That's right, 17 courses (really, the kitchen intended to send 16 but I had to try the already infamous foie gras milkshake). Nine of these exercises in wild abandon and almost painfully brilliant restraint appear in print in the "five course" tasting menu, the other 8 just weave around the stationary menu like silken ribbons on a grand Douglas fir in December. The man behind such food cost blasphemy? Richard Blais of the newly opened Blais in Buckhead, Atlanta.

Blais is an unapologetic Achatz/Adria disciple, having worked side by side with both, Achatz at TFL and the Spanish grand master flash as a stagiere at his little known culinary monastery on the Catalan coast. "Yeah, I think of it as a pilgrimmage (haven't heard that before)," Blais says of his spur of the moment and soul searching trek to El Bulli. "All of the 'kids' who were staging there hated the food, hated being there." Apparently, if the first 7 courses of our meal are an indication, El Bulli was a pivotal and important gig for Blais. Like many starry eyed future Kellers who return from Roses with a dream, he finds great intrigue in sleight of hand sight gags, contextual shifts and, the ever maligned foam. But he's no paper tiger. Most of his creations dance the hi wire so attractively that you forget your biases for gimmicks. If it tastes good, it ain't a gimmick.

The restaurant is attractive, if a little dark, each dining room outfitted with a largish plasma television screen that intercuts live shots of the kitchen with Koyaanisquatsi esque racing sunsets, the pulmonary beating of city traffic at night sped up, and new aged/techno distortions that jive with the German based synth riffs on the CD player. Where was Ditter and his dancing sperm? Looking at the kitchen shots one realizes right away Thomas Keller's influence, how all spices are neatly stored in plastic containers visible as a vague collage or techni-color flag in the background, the blue aprons, the Paco Jet, and, uh, the air canisters. The staff was all young (uh, huh, Thomas who?) and appeared to have a common focus as they methodically put together the fruits of Blais' vision. These guys were bending their backs at odd angles just to get the brunoise cut right. That's dedication. You can't teach a guy to hurt himself. If he believes in your schtick as a chef he'll gladly earn that early wheel chair. The brunoise was a testament, if you will, to the philosophy of their leader....

The menu for Feb 2, 2004

Under the heading "Too many gifts from the kitchen." These amuses were verbalized as they were brought out.

Indian Spiced Tea Shot with Meyer Lemon Jellies, Soy Bean Ice Cubes and Micro greens

Grilled and Chilled Asparagus with Parmesan Foam and Caramel (This worked beautifully. The char of the asparagus was the liason between the caramel and parmesan flavors. A very telling walk on the dangerous side pulled off brilliantly. Trust me, if it sucked, I'd tell you.)

Fried Calamari with Smoked Paprika and Harissa Foam

Could have sucked down about 50 of these. Tender tentacles, nice spice, perfect with foam.

Sangria Foam with Macerated Fruit Nah! Time to shift gears. We know you've got the foam thing under control.

OK! One more. Cauliflower foam with Salmon and Salmon Roe. Keller taking an ingredient, redefining it through reduction and refinement (Cauliflower foam), Salmon, seemingly coming from left field but meshing on the palate so seductively I couldn't help but laugh at my cynicism. The salty roe must be some nod to Adria. The eggs burst on your teeth and give the dish a miraculous 4th dimension and bring the whole thing together as the salt opens on the tongue. Simple, well-executed, Michel Bras?

Chicken Skin with Pheasant Veloute and Pickled Collard Greens We're in the south, and dammit if Southerners don't like chicken pot pie. But take what you know about pot pie--the starchy filling laden with Birdseye's finest, the soggy crust, the utter lack of finesse and give to Blais. On a silly yet intellectually tickling over-sized ceramic serving spoon comes a blonde yet evenly crisp chicken rind and a one ounce souffle cup filled with the simplist yet complex chicken veloute and a small sorbet spoon full of grilled and pickled baby collards (at least that's what they looked and tasted like). Just like Keller making Ruhlman crack up out loud at his Dr. Seuss like reinterpretations of American classics, Blais has enough intellect to be able to make that sentiment his own. That chicken skin defied reason. It should have been golden brown and greasy. Very nice dish.

Now we commence with the written portion of the menu

Warm Smoked Hamachi, Cucumber, Radish, and Yuzu Dressing Watch out Ripert, there's a guy in Atlanta who's knocking at your door. Simple, light, all flavors were clean, you have a chaud/froid thing going on...a thinking man's carpaccio.

"Vitello Tonnato" Raw Tuna, Pulled Veal I thought of Soul of a Chef and Keller. An immaculate and obviously quality tube of Bluefin stuffed with (get this) veal salad prepared a la grandma's Chicken of the Sea tuna salad--down to the prepared mayonnaise. A very classy updated nod to a classic, with a Keller garnish line of orange glace drawn on the plate for a new kick. Blais' subtle play with the context of the traditional left over dish worked amazingly well as a one bite symphony. The orange was a brilliant directive.

Caesar Salad Two micro leaves of romaine heart with white anchovies, a perfectly square crouton, reggiano shavings and a tart egg-less vinaigrette served in a sardine tin. This dish didn't work. An awkward jerk from near flawless progression of courses. Flat, insipid.

Pan Roasted Scallops, Edamame Ravioli, Carrots, Soy Butter Thomas Keller taught this young man well, or somebody did. What an intriguing dish. Blais seasons the otherwise bland edamame puree with a faint whif of orange--an echo of the previous course but in a totally different context--and stacks it under the perfectly seared scallop which, when eaten together with the soy butter, beurre monte poached baby carrot and brunoise made me glad to be partaking of this meal. This was absolutely gorgeous stuff. Reminded me of so many great chefs. The presentation was first rate.

At this point, Blais sent out another amuse. This time a blatant Adria nod. "Mushroom" Fettucine with Agar Agar (Seaweed). I didn't get much seaweed but the dish zinged with mushroom butter flavor. I think this was waaaayyyyy over my head but the flavor was decent.

Back to the menu....

Long Island Duck, Vanilla Puree, Turnips, Espresso Flavor The grill guy should have cut the duck thinner. My two segments were about half an inch thick and chewy. The espresso butter was tasty, and the vanilla potato puree was like a Vongrichten/Robuchon hybrid...well done, potatoes saturated with dairy, loose and delicious. There were pommegranate seeds strewn on the plate that served no purpose but to look pretty. The dish wouldn't have suffered without those.

"Dynamic Beef Duo" Short Ribs, Kobe Rib Eye, Rutabaga, Smoked Mashed PotatoesThe ribs were like butter, imagine the livery and intense flavor of onglet but with the texture of a pulled pork sandwich. The rib eye was surprisingly tasteless and tough, even at rare. I've been doing smoked mashed potatoes for 11 years, so of course I started getting upidity about seeing that on the menu but Blais obviously has no idea who I am nor has he the first interest in ripping anyone off. The potatoes were subtle but oh so sexy. They sent out his controversial blue cheese ice cream to accompany the dish...a flavor and contrast that worked for me, but not for my companion. It ain't for the faint at heart, that's for sure.

Foie Milk Shake It's supposed to be a complimentary garnish for Blais' mini version of the DB Burger. I didn't taste foie. I wanted to bath in foie so I was disappointed. Perhaps with the RB Burger it would have worked.

Oozing Chocolate Cake with Black Olive-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream No ooze. The cake was slightly over cooked, at least mine was. The black olive ice cream didn't reveal any olive flavor. There was a perfect cube of beet jelly in the middle of the plate that didn't seem to serve its purpose. It was tasty just perhaps missplaced.

Under the heading "Too Many More Gifts"

Vanilla Egg Foam with Orange Segments NO!!! A non-sweetened vanilla flavored foam with two odd ball pieces of orange sunken at the bottom. It tasted as boring as this description.

Sesame Vanilla Creme Brulee Brilliant. I thought for sure this guy was going to send out something that was redolent of sesame oil. Nah, Blais is smarter than that. Somehow he cooked the truest essence of sesame into the custard and it complimented the vanilla dead on.

TANG. On a small rectangle came two perfectly cut cubes of jelled tang, no acoutrements, nothing. I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair. What a perfect ending to this absurdly enjoyable meal. Blais came out to the table and chatted it up about his pilgrimmage to El Bulli, working with Keller and other culinary topics. He's a class act with an intellect that, given some maturation, will give the gastronomic Mount Rushmore figurines a run for their money. I recommend spending some time with Richard Blais and his team...you may just get the best gut busting laugh you've had in years...and a damn good meal to boot.

Edited February 4, 2004 by Marrow Margin (log)

[KatieLoeb]

MM:

Welcome to eGullet!

Quite the auspicious third post mon frere! You're going to have to live up to yourself after this point.

Great post, wonderful writing, and from the sounds of it, some damn fine eatin' as well. I'm eagerly anticipating your future contributions.

[beans]

Excellent read.

Welcome to eG Marrow Margin.

I look forward to your future posts as well as a chance to get to Atlanta and visit Blais.

[Marrow Margin]

Thanks for that. Tommorrow, I'll review that old workingman's brasserie in the Lenox Square shopping mall named after the former owner/chef of Le Bernadin...Had a great lunch at Brasserie Le Coze this afternoon. Will report mannana.....

[therese]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Blais. We've been twice now, once for the tasting menu (billed as 5-10 courses, but closer to 20 on our visit as well), and are looking forward to a third visit.

FYI, you can do a 31 course dinner, though you have to call ahead by some period of time (two days, I think, but you could check the web site).

[chapeaulong]

Sounds fun, I was trying to get to the website but could'nt find it anywhere.

[davidthomas8779]

http://www.blais-atlanta.com

[Marrow Margin]

Those eclectic influences? Alice Waters, Boulud, Keller, Adria, Charlie P. are all there in his food. Pack the place. I command you.

[adrober]

My roommate and I have the same birthday, and she and I--after reading this review--are headed to Blais on Wednesday. Hope we have as good a time as you did!

[davidthomas8779]

I went to Blais with my parents and wife on Valentine's Day and had a great meal with almost flawlessly prepared food. First I'll rave about the food then I'll get my issues off my chest.

Pros:

1. The food kicked all kinds of ass. If I could eat ever dinner here, I'd come for a month straight.

2. With the exception of the bread thing, the service was impeccable. I needed to be done at 830 (started at 640 or so) because of a babysitting issue. We were done at 829 and didn't feel rushed.

The food:

Amuse

Him: Oyster with cocktail sauce sorbet. This was incredible. Perfect small oyster with a little scoop of cocktail sausce sorbet (yep, cocktail sauce made into sorbet). It woke up the mouth and made me really hungry.

Her: Asparagus/parm. froth. MM described it perfectly above. I'll add nothing execpt my dad was pissed that mom only shared a little bite. I discovered that an inverted fork worked well to get the last of the froth out of the glass.

Course 1

Him: Tuna/veal salad. MM describes it spot on.

Her: Warm smoked barely cooked hamachi with yuzu sauce. Carpaccio of the gods and my second favorite course (my wife and I were doing a lot of sharing which made this a good V-D meal)

Course 2

Him: Edamame cream soup. Captured the essence of edamame perfectly. Wife and fought over this one.

Her: Globe artichoke soup. Also good, but could have tasted more artichokey.

Course 3

Him: Striped wild bass over something (apparently something not memorable)

Her: Turbot served over almond gnocchi (made with almond flour and potato). The gnocchi were my wife's favorite flavor of the evening. After tasting this course, it makes MM's comment that Blais is the next Ripert seem not like exaggeration.

Course 4

Him: Perfectly cooked piece of filet served with smoked potatoes, braised root veggies and blue cheese ice cream. The beef was great, potatoes were done well (but not really interesting), the veggies were astoundingly great (I could have eaten a bowl of them for dinner), the ice cream tasted just like blue cheese. Although the cocktail sauce sorbet worked for me, for some reason the blue cheese ice cream (although it did everything it tried to do) just didn't work for me [my dad loved it].

Her: MM's duck issues have been worked out. Same duck dish he had except the duck was cut to the appropriate thickness and they lost the pom. seeds. [perhaps somebody reads egullet?]

Course 5

Him: This was the best dessert I've eaten in a year. Parsnip cake with pear compote and ginger ice cream. Not too sweet, not too heavy, it was great.

Her: Wife had fruit and an apple wafer. She was happy, but only because she has expectations of dessert because of the wheat thing. Mom had the oozing chocolate thing with some ice cream that was not memorable. It also was served with little red wine gelatin squares that were really tasty. It was a good oozing chocoloate thing, but my dessert was better.

Next Up

Shots of white chocolate and truffle juice foam with microcelery. This was tasty and cleared my mouth up for the final course.

Finale

Tang. MM describes it well. It was really tangy. I liked it. Wife liked it. Dad will eat anything so his vote doesn't count. Mom, not so much. I was surprised that it was a little powdery (like some didn't mix in well enough) but that could be by design to get it to evoke more Tang thoughts.

All in all, I thought the food was extremely well done. I'd have rather had MM's meal because his pushed the edges a little more. I'll go back again to try the tasting menu again.

Cons:

1. The tasting menu is generally $49. They jacked it up to $69 on V-D and nobody mentioned it ahead of time. Also, they were only offering the tasting menus (1 for men, 1 for women) on V-D, so if the 40% price jump bothered you (other than just being irritated at it) you didn't have an option other than exiting.

2. I heard one of the wait staff mentioning that they tried to tone down the "out there" aspect of the food because it was V-D. I made my reservation to enjoy the "out there" so having it toned down bugged me.

3. My wife has a wheat intolerance. They did an almost perfect job dealing with it, except for 2 things. a) even though the waiter told us that he'd make sure that there wasn't an issue, I noticed that there was bread in her soup just before she was going to eat it. They immediately redid the soup without the bread, but she had to eat 5 minutes behind the rest of us (and if I hadn't caught it, would have been in for some issues); b) even though we told them about the wheat thing 2 weeks ahead of time, they didn't think real hard about desert and served her a bowl of fruit. Quite frankly, a small scoop of each of the ice creams that were accompanying the regular deserts would have been much better.

4. My parents both had martinis before dinner. They complained that they tasted watered. I assume that this is because they (martinis not parents) were shaken with smallish ice cubes.

[Marrow Margin]

Valentine's Day is a big time amateur night. You've got to include buzz words into your menus, familiar offerings for the easily confused. Still sounds like Richard ain't working the Applebee's angle however. And that's a comfort. Hit the place on a slow night, like a Monday, call or email ahead that you want the full deal, 31 courses, and I'm sure you'll be singing a different tune about the experience. Asparagus, caramel and parmesan foam?--in a word, sexy.

[therese]

We ate at Blais the night before you, dt8779, and I wouldn't worry too much that they'd dumbed things down for you. I've eaten there now three times, and what you describe is not a dumbed-down version. Plus you got to try some items that we didn't, like the oyster and the almond gnocchi, as the usual tasting menu is the same items for everybody at the table.

Particularly glad to hear that service came off well, as Valentine's can be a service nightmare.

A couple of questions: was your mom's ice cream (with the chocolate cake) the black olive version? I liked mine on Friday night, found it very olive-y. Seems like the first time I (my husband, actually) had the chocolate cake it came with saffron or something else ice cream, okay but not amazing. I like the parsnip cake, but my favorite dessert there (assuming he's still doing it) was a cheese tart, made with parmigiano (but sweet) with lemon and olive oil sorbet sorts of things. Fantastic.

[inventolux]

If these price points begin to pop up elsewhere im out of a job.

[therese]

Thinking back on our pre-Valentine's dinner there were a couple of more interesting things that apparently weren't being done the next night. One was an amuse comprised primarily of tea that included a honey-filled gelatin capsule. Not my favorite means of delivering sweetener, I have to say.

The other was a vapor of orange peel, star anise, and rosemary that accompanied the duck. Very nice, actually.

[Marrow Margin]

Pricepoint? Get em in the door. Build reputation, therefore client base, jack prices ever so slowly. Amateurs fall away. Die hard foodies remain. It's a strategy that sometimes needs to be employeed in the smaller markets. Though Atl. isn't a smaller market, the food Richard is serving is just experimental enough to make it look like a smaller market (smaller patron base). I think it's another edgy, smart move.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Pricepoint? Get em in the door. Build reputation, therefore client base, jack prices ever so slowly. Amateurs fall away. Die hard foodies remain. It's a strategy that sometimes needs to be employeed in the smaller markets. Though Atl. isn't a smaller market, the food Richard is serving is just experimental enough to make it look like a smaller market (smaller patron base). I think it's another edgy, smart move.

On all these points, I heartily concur ... Richard Blais has something unique in its concept here .. in fact, we are having our AtlantaCusine.com Annual Dinner there Sunday next and we are all quite excited, anticipating his "next culinary edgy move" ....

[davidthomas8779]

A couple of questions: was your mom's ice cream (with the chocolate cake) the black olive version? I liked mine on Friday night, found it very olive-y. Seems like the first time I (my husband, actually) had the chocolate cake it came with saffron or something else ice cream, okay but not amazing. I like the parsnip cake, but my favorite dessert there (assuming he's still doing it) was a cheese tart, made with parmigiano (but sweet) with lemon and olive oil sorbet sorts of things. Fantastic.

It was the saffron. It was ok, but didn't make me want to jump up and kiss the pastry chef.

[therese]

Yeah, so the saffron instead of black olive would have been along the lines of dumbing just a wee bit, I suppose. I quite like saffron in creamy things (Indian sweets, basically), but it doesn't really stand up to the chocolate. I'd have done something really predicatable like citrus with the chocolate, though, but then nobody's paying me to cook dinner for them.

[davidthomas8779]

Yeah, so the saffron instead of black olive would have been along the lines of dumbing just a wee bit, I suppose. I quite like saffron in creamy things (Indian sweets, basically), but it doesn't really stand up to the chocolate. I'd have done something really predicatable like citrus with the chocolate, though, but then nobody's paying me to cook dinner for them.

I want someone to make me sumac ice cream or sorbet (or I guess I could just make it myself). I think that it would be an astounding flavor/texture contrast.

[therese]

I want someone to make me sumac ice cream or sorbet (or I guess I could just make it myself). I think that it would be an astounding flavor/texture contrast.

I'll be right over. To taste yours, that is.

[mikeczyz]

i love it. i just found the restaurants website so i came back to egullet to see if anybody had already eaten here. fantastic to see reviews already up. i must go if i'm ever in atlanta.

mike

[adrober]

Well my roommate and I had a wonderful time tonight. I reviewed the meal (including pictures of all 31 courses) on my website. Here's the link below:

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/the_amateur_...day_at_bla.html

Thanks Marrow Margin and everyone else for the great suggestion. Blais was a fantastic experience.

[therese]

Nice site, adrober. I hadn't picked up on the fact that you were the guy who'd written the pee-my-pants funny account of your dinner at Charlie Trotters here on eGullet recently.

Blais pays a lot of attention to what his target audience wants (or at least say it wants), even going so far as to solicit local opinion re everything from napkins to bread and water service before opening late last year. He also pays a lot of attention to who is visiting the restaurant, so his recognizing you (particularly as you'd given advance warning here on eGullet) is not surprising.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your experience. We've not quite gotten it together to do the whole 31 course shebang, but will have to soon, I suppose---keeping up with the Jones and all.

[Dave the Cook]

I had an extraordinary dinner at Blais last night. Since some of my comments would be superfluous, I'll only note where I have something to add. It's interesting that Blais continues to tinker with both the dishes and the menu. Some of this, no doubt is due to sourcing, but much of it also has to be the application of a philosophy of continuous refinement.

*****

Piper Sonoma sparkling brut NV

Chicken skin, country gravy, pickled collards

Iced tea three ways

At first I was not impressed. The solid stuff (Meyer lemon gel and a capsule of honey) stuck at the bottom, ruining the effect. Perhaps I didn't drink it as quickly as I should have. On the other hand, when it was done, I wanted more.

Asparagus in parmesan mousse with caramel topping

Fried calamari with whipped harissa and paprika

I'm not a fan of calamari, but I could have eaten a dozen of these. The harissa was excellent.

Sangria three ways with apple chip: foam/reduced/gel with fruit cubes

A perfect follow-up to the calamari. According to the staff, Blais is an insomniac, and one of the things he does when he's up all night is play random games with a dehydrator. The amazingly thin but flavorful apple chip is one of the pleasant results, as are the dried capers that appear in a couple of other dishes.

Oyster with cocktail sorbet

For me, the most dissapointing dish of the evening. Not that it wasn't good -- it was. This was the tiniest oyster I'd ever seen, with a spot of vermillion sorbet. It was over before I knew it. I don't want to overstate my disappointment -- this was a gift from the kitchen, and what was there was tasty. But perhaps the tasting menu is not the best way to "get" this dish -- you probably need three to five of these things.

Barely-smoked hamachi (carpaccio), cucumber/radish brunoise, yuzu mayonnaise

Muscadet Sevre et Main sur Lie - Chateau de Chasselour ‘01, "Cuvee des Ceps Centenaires"

I'm not overly fond of raw or underdone fish, but this one grew on me. Very subtle. I thought that this was the one mismatched wine of the evening; unfortunately, I didn't write down why in my notes.

Vitello Tonnato: braised pulled veal salad in sushi-style roulade of sashimi tuna, four sauces

Vermentino di Sardegna “Aragosta” ‘02

More raw fish, so it was a surprise for me to realize that I had forgotten to try the wine in my haste to scarf this down. Too bad: based on the one bite I had left, it was an excellent pairing. This is where I discovered the dried capers. Chef Blais should bottle these things and sell them on the way out the door.

Japanese Fluke, almond gnocchi, haricot verts, orange rind, dried capers

Chappelet Old Vine Cuvee Chenin Blanc ‘00

The staff told me that this was one of the most popular dishes on the menu, and I can see why. It struck me as a revision of good old Meuniere, with a nod towards that other standby, Trout Amandine. I lost my taste for crunchy, undone green beans a few years ago, but the way these were done reminded me of why, for some veggies, it's still a good idea, and they were a good textural contrast with the softness of the rest of the dish.

Black Sea Bass, cauliflower two ways, smoked apple, "burnt" foie gras

Gewurztraminer d’Alsace, Domaines Schlumberger “fleur” ‘02

Frankly, it seemed like a random act of plating. But the flavors came together as the consumption progessed, a high tangy note of pickled cauliflower corresponding almost perfectly to the baritone of the foie and accompanying wine reduction, and the salty fish with its crisp skin making a surprise of the sweet, musky apple. How do they do that foie -- on the grill pan that comes with Kitchen Barbie? The tiniest quadrillage you can imagine. The soft pillow was a 1/8 scale repoduction of a half lobe. Very clever.

Pink Duck Breast, Vanilla Reduction, Turnip Puree, with orange-anise-espresso vapor

Pinot Noir, Ninth Island, Tasmania '03

Because I'd been wanting to try this wine, I snuck a taste of it as soon as it was poured. I wasn't impressed, and I was glad that I hadn't spring for a full bottle at the package store. Then the food came, introduced as an homage to Chef Achatz's rosemary vapor. I was dubious. I also think the now-conventional wisdom of cooking duck breast rare is wrong. So this dish came to the table down three strikes already. Now, I still think underdone duck is overrated -- unless it's cooked by Chef Blais, and maybe then only in this dish. But it certainly worked here, and the whole contraption: the awkward plating to accomodate the vapor generation; the at-first odd selection of aroma components (note that they are not expressly duplicative of what's in the food); and the wine selection, were amazing. Each component reinforced the next -- the vanilla reduction, combined with the orange and anise in the vapor, brought out the previously muted overtones of the wine, which helped you catch the espresso, which underscored the bit of gaminess in the duck, which supported the earthiness of the turnips. A triumph.

Dynamic Beef Duo, salsify-bacon puree, porcini, horseradish foam

Madiran, Chateau de Perron '00

Many of my favorite things, all on one plate. The duo was a thickish slice of beef filet roasted perfectly rare, adorned with horseradish; and a chunk of braised short rib in a puddle of demiglace/wine reduction. If you never understood the attraction of one cut of meat over the other, you will after you try this dish, with its swapped garnishes. I appreciated the sides as commentary, but the porcini, while perfectly cooked, lacked the 'shroomy depth that I wanted, and the puree was overpowered by the beef, particularly the short rib. Perhaps my tastebuds had become fatigued. Still, this dish is astounding for the beef and its accoutrements alone. (The Lagouile knife, after the succession of demitasse spoons that mark the early part of the dinner, was a welcome sight, though not really necessary.)

Porto/Tawny, Dow's 10-year

Parsnip Cake with cream cheeses ice cream and pear compote

Oozing chocolate, black olive ice cream, red wine jelly

I don't care for olives, unless they've been pressed into service as oil, but I liked this ice cream. And like several of the savory dishes, the juxtaposition of flavors and textures is intelligent, informative and entertaining.

White chocolate/white truffle milkshake

Yum.

Fudgesicle lollipop

A room-temperature version of the childhood favorite, and dead-on as to flavor and texture. It fell apart.

Tang

This is served in the same deep, elongated dish as the oozing chocolate trio, but a piece of plastic film has been stretched across the rim, then trimmed very carefully, so that the cube of jellied Tang seems to float above the center of the dish, a witty salute to the space program that's typical of Blais' approach. And it's just perfect: that nostalgic acid punch, that slight undissolved grit, the tease of citrus that kept you drinking Tang -- because you always expected that he next glass would really taste orange. Even though I was expecting all of this, it was hard not to smile.

*****

Here's the kicker: including the wine flight and tax, the bill was $107, an incredible bargain. I've paid a lot more for food that wasn't nearly this good -- this is serious, three-star NYC stuff, at one-and-a-half star prices. Go now, before Chef Blais comes to his senses.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Dave the Cook shared the exact same meal as our group from AtlantaCuisine did last evening ... and his impressions are very close to what we, too, perceived.

Blais is a unique dining experience which we will long remember for many of the same reasons: the wit, the creative passion, the culinary abilities of Richard Blais, all combine to give the diner an experience rarely so thoroughly enjoyed ... we all left satiated, both physically as well as sensually!

Bravo to Chef Blais and his entire staff who provided such a unique experience!