My disappointment has nothing to do with
uncomfortable seating and questionable service and the young
teenage staff who can’t answer questions about dishes and
seem intent on turning the seats as quickly as possible. The
problem lies deeper in the way the enterprise is run. It
looks like there are fundamental flaws in their ingredient
sourcing and handling chain. One surmises that a complete
disrespect for ingredients is part of a project of turning
L’Atelier restaurants (which will continue to open up in
major metropoles) into gourmet McDonalds. The correlate of
this project is the necessary standardization of raw
materials and ingredient supplies. One feels that this
restaurant is managed from a purely “market oriented” point
of view where young MBAs are on the constant lookout to find
ever cheaper sources of supplies and are pushing hard their
suppliers for lower prices and most importantly where there
is no quality checkup when the raw materials and ingredients
reaches the restaurant. The concern here seems to be
“scalability” rather than the pursuit of excellence that one
associates with the Robuchon name.
One surprising thing is to see two
ex-Robuchon and two star Michelin Chefs, Messieurs Braun and
Lecerf, supervising the kitchen. In fact both were present
on Monday lunch when I visited the restaurant although it
was Lecerf’s turn to supervise the kitchen.
I have had three small and one big portion
at l’Atelier and since some people recognized us from the
old Jamin, they sent us several desserts, as a courtesy. The
first two portions, a single coquille St. Jacques
and also one single ravioli de langoustine,
a favorite of mine from Jamin, both had problems to do with
inferior products or questionable practices which enable the
restaurant to serve dishes quickly to maximize turnover.
That is, the scallop dish was served in the shell but this
was for decorative purposes. The scallop was de-shelled long
before cooking—or alternatively it was not fresh—as it was
too chewy and not sweet. The apt salted butter infusion and
the rubbery single and thin piece of tasteless and
non-aromatic black truffle (which was either of poor quality
or pre-sliced and stored for a long time, or both) could not
save the dish but perhaps justified the 18 Euro price for
the single scallop.
The langoustine dish was worse. The dough
of the langoustine was technically good, in the sense that
it was thin and feather light. The problem is that the mushy
mess inside had seen better days and the heavy reduction
sauce had acquired a metallic taste from the overdose of
truffle oil. This dish with a single ravioli cost 25 Euro.
Fortunately the other dishes were much
better, if not great. I found the tartine de pied de
porc au parmesan et truffe quite tasty, a nice wine
bar dish which delivered on its promise of gelatinous pork
feet, and perhaps some pieces from the ear and jaw, and it
is hard to resist the deliciousness of the toasted oval
shaped small baguette. I did not need the tasteless rubbery
truffles and the dry parmesan slices to enjoy this dish
which was rustic and tasty and would have been even better
had the restaurant offered higher quality reggiano shaved to
order.
The large portion,
macaronis au
truffe, was actually more like cannelloni in the
sense that the tubular shaped macaronis were stuck together
and filled with a touch of foie gras and then baked in the
oven with a touch of cream. There was nothing wrong with
this dish other than the poor quality truffles, which did
not justify the 35 Euro price tag for the small portion. The
problem was rather the lack of silky, sumptuous mouth feel
one associates with pasta with foie gras. A good Italian
restaurant in San Francisco for instance, restaurant
Acquerello, prepares a home made pasta with a foie gras
sauce which tastes as decadent as it sounds. Part of the
reason for the lack of culinary excitement in this dish may
have been the scant amount of the liver mousse in the pasta,
combined with the use of ready made macaroni.
They also served us a zesty and very refreshing
lime-lemon-basil sorbet. Unlike the pasta, this was a clear
winner, as good as one you can get in a good Italian
trattoria. The fresh fruit compote that came with the sorbet
was also top notch in freshness. They have then served
several classical tarts which were all above average with
the exception of an ethereal cinnamon tart which brought
back cherished memories of the past.
The restaurant also serves several wines
by the glass and, despite hefty prices and slim (3 to 4
ounces) servings, one can find nice wines such as a Condrieu
from Vernay and a 2002 Aloxe Corton from Tollot Beaut.
So why is this restaurant so popular with
tourists? My best guess is that L’Atelier provides a fine
option for solo dining in a city which is not very friendly
to solo diners. It is basically a high end fast food
operation where the waiters try to talk you into ordering
many dishes and the seats are deliberately uncomfortable to
induce you not to linger so that they can maximize turnover.
Indeed they succeed in this and perhaps one reason they
compromise from the quality is that they want to deliver the
food in the shortest possible time after it is ordered. This
may suit a clientele who is used to eating in a hurry just
as well. Presently then L’Atelier may fit the US and London
better than it fits Paris.
Gastroville ranking:
12/20
/ VM
