Before leaving the United States we watched a lot of TV shows about Paris, and we especially enjoyed a couple of Anthony Bourdain episodes, including one that highlighted a gentleman named Iñaki Aizpitarte, head chef at "Le Chateaubriand". If you read my last blog post you already know that this restaurant is one of the items on my "Leaving Paris To-Do List", so I made a late night reservation.
Although the restaurant has a Michelin star, and was once on the short list of "Best Restaurants in the World", the interior is decidedly unpretentious, more like a noisy diner than a purveyor of fancy haute cuisine.
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| Our reservation was at 10:30 PM, but we arrived a little early |
We were waiting to place our orders when I remarked to Melanie, "You know, every time we come to a restaurant because of some chef we've seen on TV we find out that they don't actually cook there anymore..." I had barely finished my thought when Iñaki Aizpitarte walked past me. I think I was a little starstruck and it took me several minutes to stop smiling.
A few minutes later a perky waitress arrived at our table with a bounce and explained that they offer a multi-course set menu. Then she asked a very strange question, "Do you want us to tell you about the food before or after you eat it?" My first thought was, "Errr... what?" My second thought was, "Wait, why do you even need to ASK a question like that???" But Melanie and I have clearly gotten adventurous in our old age, so we both looked at each other and said in unison, "After!" (We would soon learn why they ask that question.)
Melanie ordered a nice glass of wine, while I went with the wine pairings. My first drink, actually, was an apple cider to accompany our cheese puffs. They were very good.
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| Delicate cheese puffs with poppy seeds |
After the puffs I was given a shot of some strange liquor and told to pound it immediately after pounding our first appetizer. Well, this meal had certainly gotten off to an entertaining start!
The waitress delivered these little glass bowls with a reddish liquid inside. She explained that it was a ceviche with avocado juice, ginger, lime, and a bunch of other ingredients. I followed her instructions and WOW! What an explosion of flavors! There was so much going on it would be hard to describe it all, but this thing made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Really really good!
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| Red onion ceviche with an onion flower floating on top |
Next, a different waitress brought out two pieces of tempura and I thought I heard her say the word "veal". Melanie made a face because she HATES "eating babies". I was a little miffed because I thought our courses were going to be kept a surprise. Oh well, Melanie was a trooper and she ate her piece.
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| I thought the waitress said "Tempura Veal", with grated horseradish |
The fried outside was nice and crunchy, but the interior was soft and gooey... I figured I must have misheard the waitress... perhaps this was tempura cheese. To be honest, it didn't taste like cheese, though... in fact, it didn't really have a lot of flavor at all, though I did enjoy the contrast between the crispy outside and creamy inside.
We cleaned our plates and when the waitress came by to pick them up Melanie asked, "So was that a tempura cheese?" The reply was -- and I'm not even slightly kidding here -- "No madame, that was veal brains!"
SAY WHAT NOW???
Yep, last night Melanie and I ate baby cow brains. My wife will never let me take her picture, but trust me when I say that her face looked like this for about three straight minutes:
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| Melanie's face after learning she just ate calf brains |
Trying to lighten the mood I said gently, "Hey, maybe eating brains makes you smarter!" She jokingly shot back, "Yeah, smart enough to never to eat here again!"
Our remaining courses were decidedly less adventurous, with one small surprise towards the end.
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| Raw oyster with pickles, cream with sorrel, and cucumbers |
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| An outstanding cold tomato soup with olive oil and red currant (sorry for the blurry pic) |
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| Skate wing with roasted fennel, raw fennel, fennel juice and thyme |
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| Red tuna and pickled onions in a Japanese fish head sauce |
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| Sous-vide chicken with almonds, sesame seeds, and white asparagus |
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| Fresh cherries, cherry sorbet, and capers |
When one of the waiters delivered our final dessert course he said, "I can't tell you what this is..."
Uh oh.
The dish looked really good, though, so we ate it all in one bite. Turns out the orange thing on top was a caramelized raw egg yolk! We had already eaten brains, so this was no big deal. Besides, it was absolutely delicious!
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| Caramelized egg yolk on a bed of meringue and sea salt |
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| Fresh apricots with candied Indian spices (an after dinner palate cleanser) |
This was absolutely one of our favorite meals in Paris, though I think Melanie and I enjoyed our dinners at Frenchie a little more. That said, the menu at "Le Chateaubriand" changes all the time, so we may go back and give it another try before we leave France.
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