L'Astrance

[Felice]

45€ is a great deal for lunch at L'astrance...

As far as I know, they only have one lunch "menu", so it must be the surprise menu you had there...

I agree, if we had the 45 € menu, it was a great deal.

I only felt bad because I had specifically said it was 29 € and my boss said "lets go, my treat". I would hate to think that she spent 100 bucks taking me out to lunch.

I think they had another menu as well for 130 €, which the entire table had to order. I'm just hoping that's not what we had.

[BackwardsHat]

45€ is a great deal for lunch at L'astrance...

As far as I know, they only have one lunch "menu", so it must be the surprise menu you had there...

I agree, if we had the 45 € menu, it was a great deal.

I only felt bad because I had specifically said it was 29 € and my boss said "lets go, my treat". I would hate to think that she spent 100 bucks taking me out to lunch.

I think they had another menu as well for 130 €, which the entire table had to order. I'm just hoping that's not what we had.

No, I don't believe you had the 130 euro menu... That's the surprise dinner menu, which consists of many more courses than you described.. I will post a followup post right after this one with a description of the 130 euro menu, I had it a few weeks ago for dinner...

45 euro and 29 euro is only a 16 euro difference, not that big of a deal, I wouldn't sweat it

[BackwardsHat]

130 euro menu as of early april:

Amuse - Saffron creme mousse, pea mousse, and lemon mousse in a chilled shot glass.

Entree #1 - The specialty of the house, the avocado with crab and almond oil

Entree #2 - Duck fois gras, 2 layers sandwiched 3 layers of mushroom, lemon sauce on the side and mint on the side as well.

Entree #3 - Scallop w/ cucumbre, cucombre sauce, flowers, and thin radish slices

Entree #4 - Puree chorizo in yellow whipped sauce w/ green peas and onion

Lemongrass & pepper shot of sorbee served in between Entree #4 and Plat #1

Plat #1 - Sole fish fillet, raw oyster, caviar, caviar in jelly, endive, all with dark green parsely sauce

Plat #2 - Loire valley fillet, asparagus, mushrooms

Mystery Soup was served in between Plat #2 and #3

Plat #3 - Lamb dish (sooooooo good!!!) with cheese sauce, onion, peas, and carrots

Dessert #1 - Strawberry, cream, biscuit with ice cream

Dessert #2 - Chocolat & praline with praline sauce on side

[Felice]

Merci beaucoup for the info! I feel very relieved that we didn't have the 130€ and for 45€ it's still a great deal.

[Kenny]

April 21 and had the 100 Euro "Seasonal Menu".

This was possibly the best meal I have ever encountered - every course was perfectly executed, and the service was spot on.

Amuse: Green peas, layered with foaming oregano and saffron.

Avocado & crab lasagne - so simple but stupendous.

Langoustines grilled on tomato skin sauce and foaming rocket emulsion.

Baby peas with chorizo sauce and baby leeks. Bizarre, but absolutely inspired.

Monkfish with fried tomme d'Auvergne, morels and green asparagus. This was my favourite course of the menu, and left the entire table fumbling for superlatives.

Amuse: Oxtail topped with carrot and petals.

Duck breast, duck leg stack, with asparagus spears, shards of eggplant marinated in miso, baby carrots and snowpeas.

Chilli & lemongrass sorbet - incredible balance!

Strawberries on short bread with vanilla bean ice cream.

The wine list was good, and we were very pleased with a 2001 Boillot Savigny-Les-Beaune 1er Cru white that was as good as most 1er cru Meursaults, and was perfect with the crab, langoustine and monkfish courses. We followed this with a very good (but safe) Jadot Volnay "Clos de la Barre" that was a great match for the duck course.

I will definitely be back. Thankfully my Brother's secretary made the reservation, and encountered little difficuly 6 weeks out for a Wednesday lunch.

Cheers,

Kenny

[lxt]

…So Les Ambassadeurs was awarded a second star, a justified promotion; so was L’Astrance, which raised such waves of both support and disagreement that it sparked my interest to go back a year ago (to May 2004) and review my own experience.

There is probably no other restaurant that has provoked such disparate opinions as L’Astrance since the time it attracted public attention by gaining one Michelin star only months after its opening, and further so, after it was awarded a second star in the current 2005 guide. Some diners seemed to be irritated by what they saw as Barbot’s superficial modernity unconstrained by the rules of classic tradition while others raved about the harmony of his style, progressive yet sufficiently restrained, without far-reaching efforts at reform.

In effect, Barbot created a specific milieu, a proto-bohemian zone outside the walls of today’s standards – a self-conscious and deliberate separation from the classic complexities, an attempt to constitute yet another intermediate space between the orthodoxies of nouvelle and the unconventionalities of post-nouvelle cuisines – which was eagerly endorsed by the public in anticipation of the next Gagnaire, Passard or perhaps a more conservative version of their own French “Adria.” Indeed, it is more difficult to get a dinner reservation at L’Astrance than at Gagnaire, L’Arpege or even L’Ambrosie.

Barbot, having spent five years in Passard’s kitchen, inherited Passard’s form reductionism on the plate, but didn’t adopt his model of intensifying ingredients’ inner intricacies. In other words, where Passard applies sophisticated, labor-intensive technique, modifying the flavor concentration and textural pattern of each ingredient in such a manner that no matter whether bay leaf or scallop it would stand on their own (complexities of their characters to be enjoyed either in isolation or in relationships with one another), extended technical elaboration has no place in Barbot’s scheme, his intervention limited to preserving the native flavor, a leitmotif of the dominant ingredient while the chorus of other elements on the plate stays in the shade and performs a supporting, auxiliary role. Barbot attempts to condense Passard’s Minimalism by excluding elements’ inherent complexities, while still continuing making the concept of “less is more” a foundation of his cuisine.

Whether Barbot consciously assumed an adversarial role, rebelling against his previous background, or simply attempted to differentiate himself by creating a new style, his cuisine lacks Passard’s symphonic multitude, revealing a more primitive, shy, chamber character. Most of the time, you won’t see techniques associated with hours of slow cooking on top of the stove, nor will you find reliance of ingredients on their accompanying sauces. A limited number of autonomous ingredients, minimally manipulated – more typical of the Spanish movement than of the classic-French approach – along with the chef’s vision of presenting dishes in the flow of a predefined tasting menu, which became the only available option at dinner in 2004 (perhaps as a result of Barbot’s trip to the Basque country, where he spent some time at Mugaritz), represent a style that bounces from primitivism to “New Objectivity” (Neue Sachlichkeit), replacing elaborate complexity with simplicity and almost clinical observation of detail.

The question lies in whether Barbot’s style hasn’t already reached its potential, and whether the static nature of its naturalism/primitivism will prevent his cuisine from advancing – forever staying at the level of perfection within its own parameters, though never exceeding the one-and-a-half star performance I experienced during my meal there in May 2004. Despite my having enjoyed our meal at L’Astrance, I wonder whether, just as the German “New Objectivity” movement in art had a short life, this style may prove to be too inflexible to allow Barbot to advance toward performing at a higher level.

Barbot’s signature crab and avocado "ravioli" dish probably would be the most representative of his style. It is not that the avocado and crabmeat combination was a revolutionary idea when Barbot created this dish – the avocado and crabmeat marriage has stirred the imagination of cooks ranging from housewives, making simple avocado-crabmeat salad for weekend parties, to well-known chefs, designing elaborate crab and avocado in tomato soup, as in Gordon Ramsay, or a delightful crab and avocado with pistachio, as in Lucas Carton, for years – it is that L’Astrance’s version became the standard, the benchmark against which other crab-avocado dishes were judged, and which inspired other chefs to explore this combination further, like Robuchon’s crab and avocado “millefeuille,” a tribute to L’Astrance’s signature dish.

Finely shredded crabmeat, mixed with tiny chives (almost undetectable), in between two large avocado sheets carved as leaves, a sprinkle of coarse fleur de sel, lime and orange zest on the pinnacle and a drop of warm almond oil wouldn’t necessarily comprise a perfect dish, if not for the essential characteristics of these ingredients along with their carefully chosen amounts. In other words, it is not that the avocado had to be just ripe; it is that the level of its ripeness had to be such as to provide a buttery smoothness, yet still be firm, so that it would mingle with the crabmeat, buffering its gentle sweetness, yet not easily disintegrate in the mouth, overpowering the taste of the crab and altering its texture. Every detail in this composition, large or small, was crucial in achieving the desired balance. Barbot didn’t throw himself enthusiastically into the grandiloquent style of brilliance and power: this sonorously radiant appetizer was hardly comprised of a number of ingredients exceeding the necessary minimum, yet it conveyed a certain lyricism, touching everything lightly, not dramatically. On our visit, this appetizer was not served with the shot glass of yogurt, previously criticized on this board as an unnecessary addition.

One of the topics we discussed with Barbot (a charming man, full of sincere and kind attitude) at the end of our meal was the foie gras and Paris (button) mushrooms, served as the initial appetizer, which traditionally would be considered a slightly more robust dish than the avocado-crabmeat signature dish following it. Surprisingly, however, such an approach proved to be quite bold and original, caring the taste percepts to their culmination gradually, from the mild and muted buttery foie gras terrine to the bright avocado-crabmeat dish. In fact, Barbot changed the order of these dishes relatively recently, the decision possibly influenced by his visit to Mugaritz. Indeed the Maître d’ at Mugaritz, during our visit to San Sebastian, made sure to note that grilled foie gras, cooked slowly for 45 minutes to preserve its fat, possessed enough lightness not to distract from the tuna dish following it.

The foie gras, served at a perfect temperature, fully exposing its buttery characteristic, positioned on a thin layer of a slightly sweet puff pastry, was layered with Paris mushrooms cut thinly. Though neutral in taste, the mushrooms brought a textural counterbalance to the smoothness of the foie gras, adding a perky and almost crunchy effect to each bite. A lemon-zest purée, accompanying this appetizer, its sweetness merged with the foie gras, added just a gentle note of acidity, which at the same time neutralized the light bitterness of the hazelnut oil. The last touch, of mushroom powder – mushrooms roasted in the oven at a very high temperature until brown and then turned into a powder – completed the composition, whose theme of primal, barely manipulated components, with distinct contours, though not fully free of all bonds, survived once again on the carefully balanced combination of almost bare ingredients and their amounts.

I’m not sure whether I, being brought up on French and Russian classics (interwoven through the threads of commonality over the centuries of mutual acceptance and wars) could be identified as a Francophile, but there was a feel of something intrinsically close to my background that made me feel so comfortable in Paris whether in restaurants or on the streets. L’Astrance has a reputation of having somewhat distant and cold service, which some claim to be directed specifically toward Americans. However, we received the most warm and professional welcome from Christophe Rohat, a co-owner and Maître d’, who built his career at L’Arpege alongside Barbot, but the real ice was broken when I noted the most wonderful bread served at the table, something rarely noted by diners. It was as if the spark of light pierced M. Rohat’s eyes upon my inquiry, and enthusiastically he started his saga about the famous Jean-Luc Poujauran, who, unexpectedly, in his pursuit to bake only bread, sold his name and boulangerie, originally located on Rue Jean Nicot 75007, about two years ago, moving to the building next door to his old bakery where he continued to bake and sell bread only to several restaurants, among which was L’Astrance. M. Rohat’s kindly suggested that if we were to attempt to buy the bread directly from M. Poujauran, we could use his name as a reference, but time constraints didn’t allow us to explore this opportunity.

No matter how hard Barbot tries to break away from Passard’s style, once in a while, he goes back to his roots, and monkfish, cooked slowly in the oven for two hours at a very low temperature, is created, showing off Barbot’s technical proficiency, which I would’ve enjoyed experiencing more often in his cuisine. The fish was marvelous! Retaining a springy and firm texture when the flesh was lightly pressed, it revealed tender flakes and a mild, somewhat briny flavor. The accompaniments included one asparagus spear (an excellent specimen, sweet and crispy, sprinkled with orange powder), girolles (very lightly sautéed with parsley so that their firm texture wasn’t compromised, but surprisingly, a less harmonious addition); and bizarrely, some mild grilled cheese (Tomme d’Auvergne), which, nonetheless, quite nicely matched the fish. Still, Barbot didn’t seem to have found a medium to bring all elements of this dish together in the same intuitive manner as is usually done by Passard, or, in other words, there was some element of artificial deliberation in the overall design, the relative success of which rested purely on the quality and execution of the monkfish.

The last savory course, saddle of l'agneau de Lozère , lost points on the quality of the three-month old lamb. Lozère lamb is generally slaughtered before it turns 130 days old, and its flavors are much more pronounced, compared to l'agneau de lait (suckling lamb), whose age is never greater than two months. The difference in flavor intensity between the two kinds, however, is not so much based on the difference in age, as on the feeding practices. While l’agneau de lait is milk-fed exclusively, which results in the light color of the meat, exceptional tenderness, and gentle flavor, l'agneau de Lozère, though still fed by their mothers, are also grass-fed, the result of which is a strong, gamy flavor similar to l'agneau d'herbe (grass-fed lamb), while retaining the relative tenderness of l'agneau de lait. If the lamb is a pure breed, its meat is denser with almost no fat, which didn’t seem to be the case at l’Astrance – the saddle had a sufficiently large layer of fat between the skin and meat. The meat, dark-red and wonderfully flavorful, was moist but soggy and tougher than I expected, requiring excessive chewing effort – an unfortunate presentation, reminding us of how ingredient-dependent Barbot’s cuisine was. Bright-yellow, thick Parmesan cheese fondue, of a mousse consistency, accompanying the meat, was gentle enough not to overshadow the gaminess of the lamb, adding a smooth counterbalance. Miso-and-caramel glazed aubergine, another condiment, wasn’t offensive, but didn’t seem to interact with the Parmesan fondue well, relating better directly to the meat.

As much as I like Barbot and appreciate his sincere enthusiasm, I’m not sure whether his reluctance to use a more time-honored approach will not hold him back in the future – not only from the perspective of his own achievements and creativity, but also from decreased public appreciation, when such a rendition might no longer justify increasing prices – and whether in his pursuit of individuality, his cuisine may turn out to be too weightless, so that his talent in balancing flavors, assembling piquant, witty and delicately colored tastes, savoring the ensembles that make the contrasting simultaneous, and a sense of clarity and perspicacity, will not be suppressed by the prosaic limitations of his current style, which, based on his own words, is oriented toward small portions, elimination of sauces as binding elements, minimal treatment of ingredients and offering only a chef’s menu – a style characteristic of the current Spanish movement. In other words, even though the ingredient relations on Barbot’s plates constitute a composition of a good order, more often than not, the general effect is in the nature of decoration when it comes to auxiliary elements, whose role is just that of detached accompaniments rather than active ingredients, which would enhance the main ingredient’s essential flavor and merge together into one organic whole. However, given his technical proficiency and ability, I look forward to the next steps in his evolution.

[Bux]

We had an exceptional lunch at l'Astrance in September of last year. Compared to the dinner of several years back, the dishes seemed almost conservative. I remember a monkfish dish because I though it was the least successful of the courses we were served in spite of the fact that the cooking of the fish itself was near perfection. That was memorable because only a few days before, I had monkfish that didn't please me on any account. I noted my objections to the captain and the chef came out to explain that the texture was the desired on and resulted from marinating the monkfish in red wine. It's probably not a good idea to soak monkfish in such a liquid is all I can say. At l'Astrance however, I felt the dish needed something more than the minimalism is was shown -- a touch of sauce perhaps. Nevertheless, what struck me most was the relative lack of the overt innovation we found in the previous meal there. It's interesting that you speak of the influence of Mugaritz. I didn't not look for that when I was there, and don't know Mugaritz that well after only one meal, but I can understand the reference. Between the time he worked for Passard and the time he returned to Paris to open l'Astrance, I believe Barbot worked in New Zealand, or is it Australia.

[Louisa Chu]

Australia.

[lxt]

Bux, I don’t think Passard is influenced by Aduriz’s cuisine per se (Aduriz is more interested in working with infusions), but he certainly seems to be looking in the direction of Spain. I think it is not so much Spanish modernism that attracts Barbot as much as the Spanish long-standing tradition of the very light treatment of the ingredients and plate reductionism. In fact, if I were to compare Barbot’s inspirations to any of the Spanish chefs, Arzak would be a better example, even though Elena’s cuisine is more complex with all ingredients presented as the pieces of puzzle, carefully collected into one harmonious form.

You reminded me of one other very good dish, which I skipped in my description of the meal, since it was completely uncharacteristic of Barbot’s style as he himself described it. Langoustines in a viscous tomato skin/orange purée and rocket sauce, a classic dish, looked and tasted as if it came out of Pacaud’s kitchen. The impression of the meal was that of Barbot trying too hard to fit every dish into his predefined stylistic brackets, instead of loosening up and letting himself run free, which resulted in some uncertainty and a lack of clear message through the whole meal. He seems to be fascinated with the concept of primitivism, looking into the primordial times for answers on what was the first dish tried by a man on earth to introduce it as the first appetizer on his menu, according to the interview he gave to Libération in November. I sincerely hope he’ll break away from such strict constraints.

Perhaps gaining another star will result in the change of clientele at L’Astrance, including more mature public who are not as forgiving as a younger, more informal crowd, which will force Barbot to adjust his current approach. With slightly more reductionism, L’Astrance will become (stylistically, not from the perspective of execution) a version of Collichio’s Craft, only with subtle flavors.

Barbot spent some time in Sydney, Australia after Arpege (I see Louisa beat me to it.)

[ahr]

Surely you meant, "I don't think Barbot is influenced by Aduriz's cuisine..." And Per Se is in New York.

Bux, I don’t think Passard is influenced by Aduriz’s cuisine per se (Aduriz is more interested in working with infusions), but he certainly seems to be looking in the direction of Spain.

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[docsconz]

On our first full day in paris we had lunch at l’Astrance not too far from the Eiffel Tower. It was superb. We were perfectly comfortable there with our three boys including our well behaved 6y/o. He is extremely well behaved in restaurants, especially if he likes the food. Fortunaly at L’Astrance he did – very much. Actually, we all did – very much. This was undoubtedly our best meal in Paris.

We had the Menu Dejeuner Surprise.

It opened with an amuse of a cream on spoons that I unfortunately do not specifically remember

This ws followed by what I initially thought was the avocado with crab. Instead it was a cucumbur based liquid. Good, but the party wasn’t really started yet.

The next dish was my single favorite one from our Paris trip. It was langoustine with coulee de peau detomato broth and jus e roquette – Wow!

Rouget with mussels andsaveurs de curry, papaye et mangue verte was excellent as well. The mussels with curry sauce was my 6y/o’s favorite.

The main course was veal with zucchini flower and vegetables, also excellent.

Our desserts came from the yoghurt constellation. These were legion and quite lovely.

Unfortunately my photos of an exquisite fruit platter and petit fours did not come out well enough to publish.

Lunch came out to a total of 405Euros including wine and drinks for the kids. All in all I would say this was well worth it. The Menu Surprise was considerably less expensive than the ala carte alternatives even though the plates all came from the ala carte menu. There was more than sufficient food for all of us.

[Bux]

On our first full day in paris we had lunch at l’Astrance not too far from the Eiffel Tower. It was superb. We were perfectly comfortable there with our three boys including our well behaved 6y/o. He is extremely well behaved in restaurants, especially if he likes the food. Fortunaly at L’Astrance he did – very much.  . . . .

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What's not to like. They've really pulled back from the creative position they took when they first opened, but the meals show no less sign of deep talent. 405 € seems exceptionally inexpensive for five meals like that and a bottle of wine. Did the kids all have the tasting menu? I believe we paid about 305 € for a shorter menu with one nice bottle of wine last year at this time. The courses were a bit larger and then again, we had two glasses of very nice champagne. I recall them bringing our tab up quite a bit.

[molto e]

Doc,

That looked like a tasty meal. What was in the eggs?

Molto E

[docsconz]

All five of us had the tasting menu. The courses were by no means small.

The eggs had a jasmine egg nog in them. It was quite tasty.

My son also tells me that the spoons contained parmesan cream and the glasses contained radish, cucumbur and yoghurt. Ah, the memory of youth

[milla]

Doc,

nice photos. L'Astrance has come a long way it the few years it has been opened. It is certainly taking on a maturity, all for the good.

It is one of my all time faves in Paris and I am happy to hear on several fronts that it is continuing to perform well.

Was there a special bread, perhaps a brioche that is served with the cream in the spoons for the amuse? Sort of a chaser for the cream?

Edited September 11, 2005 by milla (log)

[docsconz]

Doc,

nice photos.  L'Astrance has come a long way it the few years it has been opened.  It is certainly taking on a maturity, all for the good.

It is one of my all time faves in Paris and I am happy to hear on several fronts that it is continuing to perform well.

Was there a special bread, perhaps a brioche that is served with the cream in the spoons for the amuse?  Sort of a chaser for the cream?

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Thanks, David. One of these days I hope to take some photos and do a little tasting at Chez Vous!

Actually, there wasn't any special bread with the Parmesan cream. It was a solo act. Of course therre was bread served, though none with a particular indication relating to this amuse.

[little ms foodie]

those are beautiful photos!!

Rouget? Is that Orange Roughy?

[docsconz]

those are beautiful photos!!

Rouget? Is that Orange Roughy?

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No. I can't think of the English name, but I believe that it is a Mediterranean fish - perhaps Sea Bream?

[nimzo]

Red mullet?

[alexhills]

yep - rouget is red mullet. had a particularly juicy piece of it at troisgros, yum...

bream is dorade btw

Edited September 12, 2005 by alexhills (log)

[docsconz]

yep - rouget is red mullet. had a particularly juicy piece of it at troisgros, yum...

bream is dorade btw

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Yes, thank you for the correction. I should have known better.

[little ms foodie]

of course! I remember that now. thanks!!

[alexhills]

yep - rouget is red mullet. had a particularly juicy piece of it at troisgros, yum...

bream is dorade btw

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Yes, thank you for the correction. I should have known better.

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trust me - outside menus my French is NOT so hot.... If only the school french curriculum had stuck to exotic food items!!

[getxo]

Doc,

My last experience at L'Astrance a few years ago (2002) was only satisfactory.

I felt the scene at the restaurant was definitely not happening. Perhaps, things have picked up as it seems you had a hopping good time.

Even with the dollar back then, I felt the prices (dinner fixed price tasting menu and wine) were a bit high for the cuisine (not loaded with expensive materials relative to other tables in town) that was more international than the french (albeit new french). It reminded me of SanFrancisco, than Paris.

What wine did you have with your meal?

What did you think of the wine list (quality /price)?

Appreciate your comments.

Henry

Edited September 13, 2005 by getxo (log)

[docsconz]

Henry, to be honest we had wines by the glass offered to us by the wine steward. Although he told us what they were, I unfortunately don't remember them other than they were quite nice with the meal and not too expensive. I did this since it was a Menu Surprise and didn't know what we would be having for lunch. I didn't even look at the wine list - I know, heresy

As for the restaurant being a "happening place", it filled up quickly. I know we had a great time. Our meal was a bargain. Ordering ala carte would have been much less of one.