The first thing that is striking at the three Michelin stars
L'Arnsbourg is it's location. The restaurant and the K hotel (owned
by the Klein family) are hidden in the Black Forest. It is a little
fairy tale like- when you arrive in the early evening, the night is
beginning to fall and the Black Forest becomes even blacker and more
mysterious... (Thanks goodness for the GPS system as without
surprise- this place cannot be found easily.)Then there is the
cutting edge design K Hotel which was the first thing that caught my
eye in the Relais § Châteaux book one year or so ago. It is built in
the way that the forest is "present" even when you open your eyes in
the morning- huge windows won't let you forget that you are in the
middle of nature.
L'Arnsbourg
Jean-Georges Klein, the chef of L'Arnsbourg shows his generosity
from the first 5 minutes you sit in his restaurant - you are
"showered" with amuse bouches. I don't remember the components of
each of them but the ones I do remember were something you just cant
forget.
Especially the melting in your mouth rouille and bouillabaisse
macarons (the first and third from the left). They tasted exactly
how rouille and bouillabaisse .
Or like the paper thin pizza - crispy but also moist thanks to the
fresh tomatoes.
Watermelon brochettes with basil.
Parmesan cheese sandwiches ( parmesan crisps and parmesan cream). I
found the watermelon brochettes and the parmesan sandwiches the
least interesting from all the amuse bouches. The watermelon
brochettes were basic, while the parmesan sandwiches tasted like
parmesan and nothing else.
But the "tastes boredom" didn't last for long as then the "Air,
Earth and Sea " (from right to left) amuse bouches arrived". The
"Air" kingdom was represented by pigeon liver mousse and crispy
bacon. I don't recount of what exactly "Earth" and "Sea" were made
of though... So many amuse bouches its not easy to remember!
The oyster with grapefruits flesh... You had to eat it at once...
The main courses..
"Découpe de Langoustine, Granny Smith, Curry Vert et Aloe Vera
Confit"
"Classics revisited". The langoustine carpaccio with apples and aloe
vera. Let's say, the least interesting dish of all the main courses,
but without question, excellent...
"L'Oeuf 62°C, aux parfums de nos Sous Bois".
The egg was cooked for 48 hours in 62°C temperature. It was not
simply a boiled egg- the texture was very soft and interesting.
"Emulsion de Pommes de Terre et Truffe"
The potatoes emulsion was so fine that it was almost like mousse.
Too bad it is not the truffles season now as with fresh black
truffles it would been more than perfection as it was already a
perfection.
One more amuse bouche- if I remember correctly, it was caviar of
olives in crunchy caramelized cup.
"Loup de Mer au Fenouil"
The sea bass was baked in salt and then flambé with anise liquor in
front of you.I just loved the conviviality of this dish which is
rare in three Michelin stars restaurants. It was served with potatoe
purée "like nowhere else". (Much lighter but as "buttery" as Joel
Robuchon's purée"),risotto, vegetables and beurre blanc sauce. In a
way it was a simple dish - you can find sea bass baked in salt in
many decent seafood restaurants in France,but i do give a credit for
the flawless execution.
The petit fours...
And the dessert. "Forêt Noire" cake revisited.
Was the dinner in L'Arnsbourg was worth all U turns made in order to
get there? Absolutely yes- i had a very pleasant evening. The only
default I noticed is that the food is not really consistent. For
example, some amuse bouches were very creative, some should have been
left out... L'Arnsbourg is not Troisgros and probably will never be,
but I think the chef has enough fantasy to keep his third star for
the future...
