Even if we are not particularly known in the restaurant, we found both the welcome and initial exchange with the staff to be optimum. Neither laid back, nor stuffy, friendly but professional at the same time, the service at Meurice is exactly what we expect at a gastronomic temple like this. Clearly Monsieur
Alléno inspires confidence, and we do hope that we will meet again the gracious and attentive Monsieur Eric Merlet who was at the helm in the dining room the day we visited and who took our orders. We also became fond of the “sommelier,” whose name we did not note down (because when one is ecstatic, it is hard to think about the article on the road), who paired very good glasses with our meal. I normally don’t trust sommeliers to do this and choose my own bottles, but in this case my confidence was well placed.
The high standards were evident from the very beginning. While sipping our Gosset Grands Reserve Rose Champagnes, three amuses were placed on the table. An excellent caramelized brioche with smoked duck breast, a zesty variation on tomatoes served in a cocktail glass, and an interesting bay scallop amuse. The “declinaison de tomates” featured a blanc manger at the bottom of the glass and tomatoes in various textures. This dish was clean and precise without being overcomplicated. The bay scallop dish, on the other hand, featured both fresh scallop and a sausage (boudin) of scallop, topped by a frothy beurre blanc infused by vin de jura and decorated with baby spinach leaves and matchstick truffles. While each amuse was very good in its own terms, the overall balance in terms of texture and taste was also just right.
The meal got off to a stunning start with an Alléno classic, the shellfish gelée. It is one of these dishes where aesthetic concerns do not come at the expense of delicious taste.
Alléno prepares an outstanding
gelée of sea urchins, and he places them on thin cucumbers (slighly acidulated) which serve as the base. The sea snails (bulots) are also braised in sea urchin stock, and large sea urchin (from Brittany) tongues are placed alongside, with the bulots. They serve a seaweed chip to cleanse the palate before you attack the main dish, and a rice foam subtly flavored by sea urchin helps to soothe the palate.
The whole dish is a textbook study on balance, textural contrast, and rigor. The balance between sweetness and acidity is exemplary. It has just the right touch of acidity, unlike many dishes concocted by some other three star Chefs, like Troisgros, who are inspired by Asian cuisine. The crunchy cucumber and soft
gelée make a welcome and refreshing textural contrast, but also they are complimentary in taste as the very fresh cucumber imparts an element of “coolness” which soothes the palate. The dish is also very rigorous because, apart from the Carthesian preciseness in the presentation, the interaction between the subsidiary and main elements are well thought out. Clearly, the conceptualization process must have taken a long time, and great French Chefs do not usually include a dish on the menu when the idea first crosses their minds! One is suspicious that a long and laborious process and many trials and errors in execution must have preceded the inclusion of such an entrée in the menu. What a contrast with the avant garde Chefs a la Adrià (and many of his followers) who “wow” the inexperienced diner with an array of half-baked concepts and misguided taste experiments.
Of course, if the raw material is not perfect, the whole effort may still flounder. The menu says that the shellfish served is “wild” (sauvage). It does not say how fresh it is, and especially oursin (sea urchin) is a very delicate creature as it can get iodized over time and then turns bitter. Make this dish with a few days old sea urchins, even good quality ones, and the result will be a disaster, as the delicate balance will be upset. But, at least on the day we have tried it, it was perfect.
And the matching with wine was perfect. Personally I was a bit concerned about having a “Sake-Kamoshibito Kuheiji Junmai Ginzo” with the dish, but the Sake worked perfectly well with the dish, emphasizing its sweetness and not detracting from its complexity.
Our taste buds were awakened, and we were now ready for
Alléno’s second masterpiece, his take on truffles. This dish was once again a textbook example of the various qualities to which I have alluded.
Alléno, not unlike other truly great Chefs, is able to create a complex dish from a few ingredients which shine both on their own, and as
an ensemble. In this dish the elements were: black truffles (Melanosporum), young leeks, and lard (bacon, but this is lardo from Colonnata—where they age the lard in the caves near Carrara from where the world’s best quality marble comes).
The dish is also beautifully presented. You are served a transparent and upside down ceramic bowl which seems to be tailor designed for this dish. On top, you have a “black truffle and winter salad” portion. This includes some mesclun and baby leek
gelée, together with truffle slices and some crisp deep fried croquettes. The croquettes turned out to be pain de mie colored by squid ink, and filled with lardo cream. The whole black and green combination is sensational but, more importantly, the coloring of the fried “croquette” serves a culinary function in imparting some sweet taste to the smoky, rich and fat taste of the lardo.
Once you eat the salad, you lift the cover. Underneath lays a bowl with diced truffles and very thinly cut slices of lardo di colonnata. They immediately pour a hot
consommé (of veal I believe) on top which heats the truffles and bring out the taste. The whole thing is well thought out, delicious, and the quality of the
consommé and the interaction between the three elements of the dish makes one dizzy with pleasure.
The last element of the dish which comes after you finish the
consommé is a young leek tart. It is filled with truffle purée and served with crisp lardo and a side of truffle vinaigrette. Not only is the construction of the leek tart stunningly beautiful, but the dish is very apt to both cleanse and re-awaken the palate following the rich
consommé.
Overall the interaction between the mineraly-smoky truffles, fat and smoky bacon. and various crunchy-sharp greens is genial. And the sommelier did justice to this outstanding dish by serving, first a Gaillard Condrieu Les Terraced de Palet (2002) which contrasted well with the nutty-smoky truffles, followed by 1999 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve Personnelle, which had developed the “petrol” aroma on the nose and went well with the crisp and fat elements.
It is hard to conceive of a dish to follow the first two sublime dishes, and
Alléno could not quite do this. His “scallop” dish was good, actually quite good, but a letdown after the superlatives. He pan fried two scallops, to get a crisp skin and juicy interior, which was perfect to my wife’s taste and a tad overcooked to my taste. He served them with a frothy beurre blanc flavored by mussel jus. He placed the scallops on top of thinly cut leeks and potatoes and some diced truffles. I thought this to be repetitive, and even though the potatoes were good, they did not have the ethereal qualities that are brought out when you have them with “turbot” at Ledoyen or in comparison with nouvelle potatoes with “lobster” at L’Ambroisie. The wine matching was again successful. 2002 Hautes Cotes de Nuits “Clos Saint Philibert” from Meo Camuzet was lean but penetrating, clean, and focused. It brought out the
nuttiness of scallops caught in rocky surroundings.
We returned back to the realm of “sublime” dishes with the final course. I am, admittedly, quite partial to squab. I love its “gamey” and “tender” taste, which is unique. At the same time, I am rarely impressed by squab courses. It has to be neither over- and nor under-aged, has to be cooked rare but not raw, and I love combinations which make use of the squab’s gamey qualities (like Ducasse’s preparation which makes optimum use of internal organs), as well as dishes which contrast the squab with sweet and fruity elements. The version at
Le Meurice will be stuck in my memory as one of the very best examples I have tried.
This is for many reasons. First, the squab from the Loire valley is outstanding. So is the conceptualization and execution. It seems like
Alléno is a “Hegel” fan because he likes the idea of “trinity” in the sense that many of his dishes are comprised of three elements. The first of these, in this dish, was the pink and incredibly tender breast and “wing” (aile), served with truffle jus, braised crunchy white cabbage, and generous slices of truffles. The gamey sauce tasted intense and was possibly flavored by internal organs. Secondly, on a side plate they served: (a) a tartine of squab flavored by its jus and a spread of abats (hearth, liver, kidney), washed with cognac; (b) the thigh which was cooked to perfection; and (c) a mesclun salad. And finally, the third element of the dish was greaseless matchstick fries, the thinnest imaginable.
Such a dish would have been spoiled without a proper wine match. The sommelier poured a 1999 Lynch Bages which had a fine backbone and good fruit-acid balance. It went well with the squab, emphasizing its earthiness and not masking its qualities. I noticed that the bottle was 300 Euro on the regular wine list.
Instead of the cheese tray, we accepted the two cheeses served as part of the menu
dégustation. The first was a “parmesan reggiano—condimente a la mostarda”. The second was “coeur de brie de meau—foisonne a l’huile de truffe.” The sommelier then poured a 2002 Cote de Jura A Labet. This wine, which reminded me of a Vin Jaune, was a good match with the Brie. Actually the Brie was outstanding, ripe, and the truffle oil was very aptly (sparsely!) used. It was also a reasonable match with the three year old reggiano ( I suppose the ideal match would have been with a Comte), but I thought that the reggiano lacked some moisture. It was not at the level you can find in Parma, where aged reggiano can also taste very rich without being dry.
I requested them to go easy with desserts. Nonetheless they still brought some little pre-dessert goodies: lemon sorbet with wild strawberries, little cinnamon tarts, and chocolate praline on top of a crisp biscuit.
From the past, I remembered the desserts being the weakest part of the meal at Meurice. This has unmistakably changed. We had two desserts. First, a “Coeur de Poire Rotie à la Vanille—Tuile a la Feve de Tonka
glacée au caramel au beurre salee”. Then, a “Fuseaux Croustillants au Chocolat Lactee au Citron—Copeaux de Truffe Noire”.
The first dessert was served with a 2004 Jurancon
Moëlleux “Uroulat” which highlighted the nutty element of the dish (I mean the tonka beans). The baked pear, tonka, and salted caramel ice cream combination was well thought out and carefully executed. This was a rich dessert, but it was not cloying.
The second dessert was even more impressive. It was what Italians call a canelli shell, stuffed with milk chocolate mousse and topped by sliced black truffles. The chocolate was extremely light and good quality, and we savored every single bite, reveling the interplay of silky and earthy flavors which danced on the palate and left a very pleasant aftertaste. The wine match was also quite good. One would think that “tawny port” would be a classic match with this dish, and we were served a French version: “Gourmandise Domaine de Viranel”. I am familiar with Banyuls, but this is the first time that I tasted a fortified French wine made from imported Portuguese grapes.
I thought that 130 Euro they charged for wine matching (per person) was very fair.
Le Meurice is recommended without
hesitation.
Gastroville Ranking: 18.5/20 (Vedat Milor. April 2007)
