Planning a trip to France--Gagnaire and Troisgros

[ajay]

I have just confirmed plane tickets for March 15 to Paris.

I've been considering two to three blow-out dining experiences.  Based on information gleaned on these boards and other places, I am thinking that i would like to eat at Gagnaire Troisgros and Arpege (alas, bras and veryat are  closed until april).  Are there alternatives others would reccomend?

 However, one member of the party is a vegetarian--would this be a problem at any of these establishments?  The vegetarian refuses to eat any meat or seafood (dairy products are ok).  Is one place better suited for her than others?  

Second, none of the members of the party speak french.  Will communications with the staff, and ordering present a problem?

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what is the appropriate process for making reservations?  SHould one phone first (even though i don't speak french) or e-mail?  WOuld staying in the inn at Troisgros improve the odds of acquiring a table?  Also, is it possible to commute between Troisgros and Lyon in a day, or is that pushing it?

Thanks for the speedy replies

[cabrales]

ajay -- Troisgros and Arpege are the way to go.  I would put in a strong word for L'Astrance (16th) -- which takes reservations exactly 1 month in advance (i.e., you still have an opportunity based on your trip start date).  At L'Astrance, the prices are wonderfully suppressed. You should consider calling (by phone) each place soon. :)  Not speaking French will not be a problem at these three restaurants.

I would recommend against Gagnaire, but that is a subjective call.  

Having a vegetarian diner will not be a problem at Arpege, where vegetables are prominent.  However, there is a tasting menu, included on the menu, that is generally offered only to the whole table, and you should consider how to handle the related issues (perhaps an inquiry of the dining room team after being seated).  Same issue at L'Astrance, which has a wonderful surprise menu called Menu L'Astrance.  L'Astrance has fewer vegetarian dishes, though.

As for Troisgros, when I went there in 4Q 2001, the menu was as posted on the website currently.  There were only two potential vegetarian appetizers, and no vegetarian entrees.  

L’aubergine en gelée fraîche au citron vert, une pincée de cumin (aubergine in a green lemon gelee, a bit of cumin; this is a very interesting dish)

La raviole de potimarron aux amandes douces, huile de menthe (ravioli filled with pumpkin-like item with almonds and mint oil)

The rooms at Troisgros are worth it, and begin at 900 FF (less than 150 euros) or lower.  Modern and attractive, just like the restaurant.  Booking a room would guarantee a reservation, but the rooms need to be booked in advance too.  If you have not already viewed, see "Kobe beef" and "Frozen Truffles" under "Cooking".  Steve P reported he was happy with his meals at Troisgros (see his post on his year in food) and Arpege.  There is a direct train between one of the two Lyons train stations (Pardieu, Perrache, sic) and Roanne.  The Troisgros restaurant is directly opposite the Roanne train station; the train ride should be no more than 2 hours. (Note: There is a TGV between Paris and Lyons).

Veyrat's Auberge de l'Eridan near Annecy (sic) is closed because his whole team is at Ferme de Mon Pere, in Megeve (around the same general area).  Ferme is open.  The closest train station to Megeve is Sallanches, which has a direct TGV from Paris.  From Sallanches, a bus can be taken to Megeve.  Veyrat's rooms are very expensive.  Based on my meals at Auberge, I prefer the cuisine of Veyrat's pupil, Loubet (Moulin de Loumarin in Southern France) to Veyrat's. However, some of Veyrat's dishes were objectively interesting (e.g., involving the utilization of mountain herbs), and they tasted fairly good in general.  If you order his lengthier tasting menu "Symphony" (240 euros p.p.), you will get to taste at least 60-70% of the dishes on his a la carte menu (taking into account freebies thrown in from the latter menu).  However, the Symphony menu will contain many things your vegetarian friend cannot take.  Note the pricing a la carte is very expensive relative to either the menu Symphony or the lower-price tasting menu "Sonata".  I reviewed the sample menu for Ferme from the below website, and the two vegetarian dishes were (unclear if appetizers or entrees):

 

Purée de rates de l'albanais aux truffes fraîches  122 €  (note high a la carte prices; Potato puree with truffles)

Le bocal de légumes oubliés (une envolée de saveurs) 106 €

("Forgotten", i.e., lesser known, vegetables)

http://www.marcveyrat.com/index.htm

Certain diners at Ferme reportedly can view chicken (yes, A Balic!), cows and other animals during their meal.  A possibility for your trip, but with a lot of wasted time to commute to/from Megeve.  I would recommend Troisgros over Veyrat.

[Bux]

It's hard to argue with cabrales, but unless you are sure you share her subjective tastes, I would argue for both Gagnaire and Arpège with maybe a more classic chef or restaurant thrown in for good measure. How long is your trip, how many times have you been to France, what else do you want to do and see and is budget a factor at all? I am out of breath at cabrales' cross country (I know it's not the US) runs for lunch. It's a lot of commuting.

A lack of French should not be a problem in the top places in France, especially in Paris. Cabrales has pointed out the problem of tasting menus with a vegetarian at the table. Often the tasting menu is only available to the entire table. I've never eaten at a top European restaurant with a vegetarian, but I have eaten with someone allergic to fish and seafood. The tastiing menu at El Bulli (in Catalunya) is about as long and complex as any and usually overwhelmingly seafood or fish. When we reserved our table for six, we mentioned our friend's allergy and asked about the tasting meu. When we arrived, the waiter asked if we wanted the tating menu, we replied that one of us couldn't eat fish. The waiter said they were aware and prepared to serve alternative courses. We were all impressed and our tablemate ate as well as we did with a vegetable or meat replacement for every seafood dish we had. I'm not sure most restaurants can or will be as accommodating. I've not heard great reports from vegetarians dining in haute cuisine restaurants in France. If you're interested in doing a tasting menu, by all means follow our example and give them prior notice. How strict is your friend? Will it be a problem if the vegetables are cooked in veal stock? Can cabrales tell us if meat stock or jus comes into play in Passard's vegetable dishes?

It's been a long time since I've been in Roanne, but the Troisgros "inn" can probably best be described as a city hotel if I recall correctly.

I've recommended L'Astrance here and on my site earlier and others have mentioned it here as well.

La Regaglde also comes up all the time in people's favorite bistros.

[cabrales]

It's been a long time since I've been in Roanne, but the Troisgros "inn" can probably best be described as a city hotel if I recall correctly.

The Troisgros hotel is very modern, both in design and with respect to amenities.  The colors, both in the common areas and in the rooms, are vibrant (e.g., burgundy, olive, white). Patterns and textures are appropriately utilized.  There are multiple seating areas that are comfortable and beautiful (e.g., gastronomic library with burgundy, "cushy" sofas; bar/seating area on the ground floor). Even my 900 FF room had a seating area.  If you like Jardin des Sens' decor (which I do, although not the Pourcels' food), Troisgros will appeal.  

See the smaller pictures in the below site for an example of the hotel's decor:

http://www.relaischateaux.com/site/us/Fich...cCode=troisgros

The food is outstanding, especially if you like little sour touches like vinegar or lemon peel.  Troisgros is currently closed; you might want to check it will have reopened by the time you arrive in France.

[ajay]

Given the information on tasting menus, which I would very much like to try, I'd love to tell the vegetarian to take a hike, but alas, I cannot do that to my mother.

My budget is large for this trip, but my time is short--I will be in France for a total of seven days, but figure that we will need to allocate at least one day for jet lag, leaving only six days.  

My time has tenatively been apportioned as follows: three days and nights in Lyon and vicinity and the remainder in Paris.  We have no problem in taking long trips in search of meals--I'm wondering if a trip from the Lyons area to either Georges Blanc or Jean Michel Lorraine ( i don't know the name of the establishment) would be in order.

I've been to Paris once before,  but have never eaten haute cuisine in France before.  I have read the post on Arpege with interest, but without any information on Gagnaire, it's difficult to decide which i would prefer.  

I tend to prefer innovative cuisine, but i think that's because I define all of the haute cuisine that I have enjoyed in New York (primarily ADNY Lespinasse J-G Cafe Boloud and GT) as innovative and not classically oriented.

Earlier this afternoon i attempted to call Troisgros but got a busy signal...am i too late to reserve places other than l'astrance and gagnaire??

Any other sage advice is welcome.

[cabrales]

ajay -- I could post on Gagnaire if you do not receive information from members who like his cuisine.  The key to reservations is to just try -- there's no harm to a rejection.  To maximize your chances, call the restaurants without the 30-day policy very shortly.  Call Troisgros during the daytime, when you might have a better chance.

Also, bear in mind the days of the week different restaurants in Paris are available to maximize your meal opportunities.  As an example, Gagnaire is open Sunday nights, unlike all other three stars in Paris; Lucas-Carton and L'Ambroisie (which might be more classical choices) are the only three stars in Paris open on Saturday nights; L'Ambroisie is open for Saturday lunch as well. L'Astrance is open all four meals during weekends.

Georges Blanc -- I have not had particularly good experiences at, with respect to food.  See Steve P's year in food thread, where less-than-fond memories of Blanc's cuisine are described by Steve P and by me. I wouldn't want to put up any mental barriers for you with respect to any restaurant, however (Gagnaire included).  You might have very different preferences from mine.  I would recommend Lorain at La Cote Saint-Jacques in Joigny (less than 2.5 hours from Paris by TGV; access from Lyons by train not yet explored) over Georges Blanc and over Marc Meneau at L'Esperance.  I liked a recent meal at Joigny quite a bit.  See the appetizer described under "What are vegetarians missing" in "General".  If you are interested in sampling Blanc's general approach, an inexpensive way is to visit his bistro-like establishment in Lyons itself.  The name eludes me at the moment, but it is directly opposite one of the Bocuse bistros.  There, you would not have the flexibility to sample the range of Bocuse's Bresse chicken dishes (including a salt preparation for two people, and the G7 style with foie gras sauce).  However, there is Bresse chicken in a cream sauce. This might be a possibility for your "jet-lagged" period when you have just arrived in Lyons.

As you may know, the other three stars (NB: Lorain and Meneau are recent demotees, but, as Steven Shaw noted in his article on Lorain, I would not place weight on Lorain's demotion) accessible from Lyons are (1) Paul Bocuse -- actually in Lyons; the food was somewhat disappointing (but the chef is significant to French culinary history); (2) Lameloise in Chagny; and (3) Bernard Loiseau's La Cote d'Or in Saulieu.  I would recommend Lorain over the other restaurants mentioned in this paragraph.  

Tasting menus are a good way to sample a restaurant's cuisine for the first time.  If you do not like the particular tasting menu offered, it becomes a delicate question whether you can ask the restaurant to, for example, split two appetizers among two diners so each can have his own plate and hot items will not lose their appropriate temperature in the event of "plate swapping" (I would appreciate other members' input on whether that should not be undertaken).

[ajay]

I take it then that Steve P, Bux and Cabrales would dispute the fat guy's characterization of Arpege's food:

As for the food, I've not been impressed by what I've tried, much of which had the consistency of baby food without any of the explosive flavors that the three-star promise requires. [from ]http://www.fat-guy.com/article/articleview/88/]

I read Steve P's description of his meal with interest, but the fat guy has me feeling a little uneasy with the choice of Arpege...

[pcloguda]

We did not enjoy either Gagnaire nor Arpege, leaving us in the minority

I suspect.

 We very much enjoyed Meneau on 2 visits but found the menu a bit off

on our last visit. Our evenings at Lorain/Joigny and Loiseau were very good.

Lameloise was memorable.

[cabrales]

ajay -- A recent meal at L'Ambroisie was not as impressive as previous experience with the restaurant (even then, I had not liked the langoustines with curry appetizer).  From the Winter menu (there are no tasting menus at L'Ambroisie), I chose:

Huitres "speciales" chaudes au caviar, sabayon au cresson (hot oysters with caviar and watercress sabayon)

Viennoise d'oeufs de poule mollets, mouillettes a la truffe (a boiled egg with a molten yolk and breadcrumbs surrounding the egg; the egg was placed on an edible flat, bread-based stand amidst an intense truffle sauce; however, breadcrumb part could have been better prepared with respect to deep-frying?)

Blanc de turbot braise aux deux celeris, julienne de truffe (turbot with celery, truffle effects; this dish was ever-so-slightly overcooked, and underseasoned for my tastes)

(Also note I tend to be quirky when it comes to food generally, so take my negative comments on a place with a grain of salt.)

If you like ADNY (with which I was not particularly impressed, when I went a number of months ago), have you considered Plaza Athenee?  Or would you consider that a suboptimal use of a meal, given you have already tried a Ducasse establishment? I find comparisons, including among restaurants supervised by the same chef, quite engaging.  I am not eager to visit Ducasse establishments, so other members would have to provide input comparing the menus at ADNY and Plaza Athenee.

[cabrales]

We very much enjoyed Meneau on 2 visits but found the menu a bit off on our last visit.

pcloguda -- The limited number of people who have commented recently on relevant restaurants could not be a majority :)  

On Meneau, I liked his oysters in gelee quite a bit.  What was noteworthy about the menu you saw?  Some of his more recent appetizer creations could have been a bit "off".  See "Argan Oil" under "Cooking"; "White Truffles; Woodcock" under "United Kingdom and Ireland".

[Bux]

It's my experience that everyone's quirky when it comes to food. My quirk may well be curiosity. I can enjoy a far broader range of chefs than many people. For me, the first meal at least, is for the collection. Just to know and understand that chef's work and broaden my experience. I guess part of my appreciation of food is cold and abstract. Even earlier in our travels, my wife would ask why I would order certain dishes when she knew I didn't like the main ingredient. My response was often along the lines of "it's a traditional dish of the region" or "I want to know how this preparation tastes." Bear in mind that I'm stressing one aspect and in relationship to restaurants I don't manage to patronize all that frequently. I do enjoy eating just for the pleasure most of the time and in NY, return to favorite restaurants.

Anyway, in Paris it's been a few year since we at Gagnaire. It was soon after he opened and dinner at Arpege was a few years earlier. Both were two stars when we ate at them. I was paying for my daughter's college tuition and beer when we ate at Arpège and more able to let Gagnaire pull out the stops a few years later. It's not a fair comparison, but Gagnaire was the more fantastic meal for us--at least until desserts. They were inedible. Passard seemed cerebral then and more so as I've read about him since. So I'd go there with similar anticipation.

It's not so much that I had a better meal at the Plaza Athenée, but that it was more intense than the one at AD/NY.

There's so much to speak to in this fast moving thread. I'd adivse not restriciting all meals to two and three star restaurants. I wish I could give good advise or even information on how a vegetarian could get the most out of some haute cusine temples whose food is so meat and fish driven.

[robert brown]

Nothing I have heard or read about in the past fours years, which coincide with a hiatus in the many visits I made in the stretch from Joigny to Chagny since 1974, indicates that the three-star (or former three-star) have regained their lustre. Maybe Troisgros is an exception. Blanc has never been a genius chef; Bocuse hasn't been special since the 1980s; Loiseau doesn't use butter and it shows. I found my meals there unexciting, but still with impeccable products. Not bad, but not great. Chapel is gone; Meneau was never great; Lorain I never was enthralled by; Pic was never great, although his daughter as gotten some good press, but in France that usually doesn't mean anyrhing, nor does it necessarily if Patricia Welles likes something (although sometimes it can). All this to say that the one "sleeper" in the area which I have always enjoyed and found to be consistent and both overlooked and unpretentious is Lameloise. I have had two or three really good meals; nothing crazy over-the-top, but delicious, sober dishes.

Another restaurant you may want to consider for a real classic Burgundy meal is Greuze in Tournus. I don't know if it has held up, but I know that Steve Plotnicki may drop in in several days. I hope so because I need a fresh report and I trust his palate.

Don't take any of this at face value; the info. is rather old. I believe most of what I wrote still holds. It's meant to be somethings like a side-by-side double axel.

[cabrales]

Another restaurant you may want to consider for a real classic Burgundy meal is Greuze in Tournus. I don't know if it has held up . . .

Robert -- I have thought vaguely about going to Greuze, after hearing that one of the established dishes there is "pâté en croûte Alexandre Dumaine" (pate in a crust, Alexandre Dumaine).  That interested me because Dumaine is often described as having had fewer disciples to carry on his work (particularly relative to F. Point), and the appropriate weight, in the evaluation of a chef, to be accorded to legacy and training of other chefs was raised in "Chef of the Century" under "General".

http://www.relaischateaux.com/site/fr/Fich...t?RcCode=greuze (one of the pictures appears to be of the pate)

The only other dish I know of that is named after Alexandre Dumaine is Loiseau's dish "Poularde de Bresse à la vapeur 'Alexandre Dumaine' au riz truffé"  (steamed Bresse chicken, Alexandre Dumaine, with truffled rice).  Loiseau did not apprentice under Dumaine; he acquired La Cote d'Or in Saulieu, the former facility of Dumaine.  There is an Alexandre Dumaine dining room right next to the reception area for the hotel, with certain old menus and press clippings from Dumaine.  It seems to be used frequently for breakfast.

http://www.bernard-loiseau.com/uk/indexsommaire.htm

(select "The Restaurants", then "In Saulieu --> The Chicken Alexandre Dumaine")

I agree with Robert that Loiseau's cuisine is not inspired; but then, there are not that many chefs whose cuisine is.

[Bux]

My taste and appreciation for haute cuisine continues to develop and it's been some years since we ate at La Côte d'Or, but I have to say we enjoyed that dinner immensely. I sometimes wonder if current star status accorded to chefs and the focus on creativity doesn't burn out chefs too quickly. If it's true, I'm not sure if it's the public or the chefs themselves who are most to blame.

[vivin]

Ajay,

I have never been to any of these restaurants but I have experience at other similar places.

1) Fax or call work for reservations. call as far in advance as possible. you can always cancel. Not speaking French  is not a problem when getting reservations OR while there.

2) I love doing tasting menus at places I have never been to before because it gives me a chance to try out a lot of different things. That is the best way to experience French haute cuisine, in my opinion.

3) Having a vegetarian at the table, they might not let you do the tasting menu. At Guy Savoy, they were able to substitute dishes for my wife (who was then vegetarian). She turned after tasting his dishes (unlikely to happen with your mom given what I know about Indian mothers). no harm in asking.

4) I am going again this Friday and going to Arpege on Monday just to taste his vegetarian concoctions. So I will let you know about that when I come back in a week and a half.

cheers..

vivin

[Bux]

Although I've browsed the Relais & Châteaux site before, I hadn't realized you could download their guide. I miss the regional maps that are useful for finding a place to stay in a particular area and wish the guide were in html format rather than pdf, but it's still a neat way to get the lastest edition. The French section was less than a one minute download with my relatively slow dsl connection. Of course with a broadband connection, the advantage of having the database on my hard drive is nil.

[magnolia]

My quick two (European) cents...and a bit of a catch-all response/addition to several of the above posts:

I have been to Arpège three times in the last year, most recently in November 2001, and have loved it each time. Twice I had the tasting menu and once I ordered à la carte. I am not a vegetarian and secretly, I don't have much patience for them but I didn't feel the meals lacked flavour or pizazz or interest...However, I have to say I at all consider whether it tasted two star, three star, whatever...I haven't done enough of a survey to be able to do that :-) I just judged it on its own merits and thought it was a great experience, good food, nice atmosphere, congenial and professional service, worth the cost, etc.

Also...this  "all vegetable" menu concept has really been distorted. The menu not meant for strict vegetarians either...it simply doesn't contain red meat. Something to bear in mind for your mom unless, like El Bulli, they are quite assiduous about providing alternatives. There were a lot of seafood & dairy "elements" - and possibly poultry though I can't remember, that may well have been what I had when I ordered à la carte - on the tasting menu, and again, depending on how strict she is, some of the non seafood & non-dairy items may well have been cooked in shellfish broth or essence. But I'll bet Arpège would be more than able to cope.  

As for l'Ambroisie, where I last ate in December 2001 again - judging solely on its own merits: absolutely wonderful food, gorgeous, grand setting. Service: super-professional, almost robot-like; and atmosphere: cold, cold, cold. NO 'joie de servir/manger'. No 'personality'. The waiters (and other diners, present party excluded) were like silent automatons. So if you and your companions are the kind who make your own fun, as we do, then you'll have a good time - which we did. Would I go back? If invited, yes. But not if I were to choose the destination.

La Cote D'Or, on the other hand...and maybe it has the same number of stars as L'Ambroisie? I've no idea...was fabulous on all counts, and a totally different experience from L'Ambroisie, at similar prices. I was there in late August, and the room was lively, the service engaging and fun, and gracious when one of our party inadvertently 'insulted' the sommellier by saying - in his inimitable understated way - that the wine the sommellier had chosen was 'not bad, not bad at all' (which, coming from this person, is actually a huge rave but there was no way the French sommellier could have picked up the Brit's intended inflection). The other diners were dressed casually and seemed very comfortable and were clearly having a good old time.

Anyway, Ajay, go and enjoy! And let us know how you make out...including the vegetarian aspect, as I am often in the same position of trying to accommodate and please a testy palate...

[Bux]

My meal at l'Ambroisie was also very somber. I wrote it off as possibly due to a house full of English, American and Japanese diners, and I wondered if Parisians don't go out for a big lunch on Saturday afternoon. It seems more of a tourist thing to do. Everyone seemed so serious. The mood was as hushed as at a funeral. The food was perfection, but excitement came only from the absolute flawlesslness of the dishes.

[cabrales]

ajay -- A quick example of a Gagnaire dish.

Dorade royale au sel de Maldon; figue seche, noissette, citron confit et papaya rapee (sea bream with salt; dried figs, hazelnuts, lemon confit and grated papaya) -- This is indicative of Gagnaire's unwarranted complexity.  Note the number of ingredients, many of which are redundant.  Also note that not included in the menu description of the dish was a single haricot vert placed on top of the fish, and a very lengthy piece of leek added presumably for purported artistic effect. Sillier was the way the salt was added -- a dining room team came by each diner with a round salt squeezer.  The grated papaya tasted like green apple.  The fish itself was quite good, but it was accompanied by so many different ingredients (leaving aside other spices and seasonings).  

Have you made progress on reservations?

[ajay]

I'm faced with a conundrum: during our time in the provinces, it is realistically only possible to visit either troisgros or veryat in megeve.  Given the fact that the party inlcudes a vegetarian, and cost of the meal (though the same doesn't apply to logging) is no object, some reccomendations would be much appreciated.

I have read the kobe beef (though no one in the party eats beef, for religious reasons) and frozen truffle threads, but would like anymore information on Troisgros and haven't been successful in finding much on Veryat.

A table has been requested at Gagnaire and a reservation obtained (over the phone) at Arpege...tomorrow i try my luck at l'astrance...

[cabrales]

ajay -- I was at Ferme de Mon Pere recently -- see A Balic bio.  Here are the Sonata and Symphony tasting menus translated, as Veyrat does not offer the translation from his website (do you have specific questions about dishes I had?  the menus collectively contain more than 80-90% of the items on the a la carte; apologies for rough translations):

Menu Sonata  (152 euros; not taken):

Contraste de foie gras, le froid mi-cuit à la purée de figues et d'oranges, le chaud à la prunelle sauvage (two types of foie gras; cold with a fig/orange puree; hot with wild "prunelle" -- quite acidic in taste, but not in a bad way)

Soupe tiède de courge au lard virtuel (pumpkin was substituted as the principal soup ingredient, coupled with a light, tasty emulsion above of bacon)

Le bocal de légumes oubliés (une envolée de saveurs) ("forgotten" vegetables)

La folie du milieu

Dorade à l'étouffée de sciure d'épicéa, baies de genièvre frais, piqûre de serpolet des Aravis (sea bream with various special herbs/spices)

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, polente et ananas, cristalline de fruits secs (scallops with polenta and pineapple, with a wafer of dried fruit -- not bad; subdued use of pineapple)

Nuggets savoyards de poulet à la reine-des-prés, canette, arôme de cacahuète (I ordered this a la carte in a later meal; nuggets of chicken with a special herb; duckling with aroma of peanut; chicken was coupled with peanut sauce when served to me, duckling was coupled with an overly sweetened black truffle sauce)

l'ercheu des fromages (various cheeses)

les desserts de ma fille Carine (many desserts: 3-5 plate-full)

Symphony Menu (taken, with Bienvenue Batard-Montrachet; 1/2 bottle of decent Gev. Chambertin; food itself is 240 euros on website; I cannot recollect whether the prices has increased to 270 euros)

Contraste de foie gras, le froid mi-cuit  à la purée de figues et d'oranges, le chaud à la prunelle sauvage (if no description, see Sonata menu above)

L'œuf seringué à la muscade, écume de maïs (this egg dish is described in A Balic)

Soupe tiède de courge au lard virtuel

Soupe bouillon de poule, Sorbet glacé de foie gras,

tagliatelles (sans farine ni œuf) (see A Balic)

Dorade à l'étouffée de sciure d'épicéa, baies de genièvre frais piqûre de serpolet des Aravis (this was not served to me; the tasting menu has changed slightly relative to the website)

Coquilles Saint-Jacques, polente et ananas, cristalline de fruits secs

Langoustines juste poêlées en morceaux, bonbons aux sept épices (see A Balic)

La folie du milieu

Purée de rates de l'albanais aux truffes fraîches (instead of this, I receive a plate of three truffle-themed items -- (1) with potato puree, (2) with forgotten vegetables in a little glass storage cannister, and (3) "en croute", in a pastry shell with a truffled sauce)

Bœuf rôti, piqûre d'oxalis (herbe très amère, préférée des chevreuils), émulsion de berce, frites sans graisse (beef with wood sorrel and another ingredient, "oilless" fries; currently, the beef is served with two sauces -- somewhat minty "berce" and black truffles)

OR Nuggets savoyards de poulet à la reine-des-prés,

canette, arôme de cacahuète (no longer available on the Symphony)

Chevreuil, cornet de panais, yaourt émulsionné (venison with parsnip and yoghurt -- on the current tasting menu, this is a substitute for the beef and not an additional dish)

L'ercheu des fromages

Les desserts de ma fille Carine

I have never been particularly impressed with Veyrat's food, although the utilization of herbs from the Haute Savoie is something I would be curious about, had I never visited.  The place will be very expensive if your having a vegetarian with you means you cannot order the Symphony or Sonata tasting menus.  Prices get more challenging if you stay in one of the four rooms which were completed less than 1 month ago.  (The room I was in was beautiful, however, and the breakfast I had had at L'Auberge previously was the largest anybody has ever served me in a non-buffet context, with smoked salmon, local ham, scrambled eggs, 3-4 different cheeses, three different fruit juices, and more -- all served in a cradle-like item)  Megeve has less expensive accomodation close to the Ferme.  The Ferme setting is in the middle of snow-clad territory, and has a different feel from Troisgros.  Have you determined how long it would take you to get to Megeve from Lyons?

I like Troisgros' cuisine, and would recommend that restaurant.  It has a stronger and more reasonably priced (in a relative sense) wine list.  Also, the rooms are considerably cheaper, and even more to my liking than Veyrat's very nice ones.  If you are staying for 3 meals or more, Troisgros has a less formal venue called Le Centrale that might be worth a visit.  If you like certain winter sports, however, Megeve does offer opportunities not available in Roanne (although recovery from Veyrat's meals may preclude most other endeavors; also, the environment at the Ferme is so nice that allocating time to other endeavors would be inadvisable).  

Hope this helps  

[cabrales]

ajay -- Is L'Astrance on break during this period?

[Beachfan]

Ajay

I'd love to hear how it went, especially from the vegetarian's perspective.