In 2006, my daughter and I traveled to France on a short vacation in Paris, Normandy, Brittany and the château country. We went in May and my daughter had a special Mothers Day gift for me. She had booked dinner at Les Élysées du Vernet near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
I had no idea what to expect. She had verified the reservation and informed me that it was a Michelin two star restaurant. The taxi got us to the restaurant just in time for our reservation. The entrance to the hotel was not impressive. But, stepping through the door was like stepping into another world. It was an elegant and secluded escape from the world. Almost like stepping into another time. As soon as it was clear that we had reservations, we were accompanied to the door of the restaurant pictured above. Just taking in the room before me made me wonder and anticipate the kind of meal we were going to have.
We were ushered to the table and my daughter immediately got a flute of champagne as a greeting. She got the menu with the prices and said to order what I wanted. My menu had no prices. I am allergic to crustaceans and quickly eliminated any dishes with shrimp, crabs, lobster or prawns. After ordering, we had a little time to look around the room. I noticed there were many empty tables and Char had a hard time getting a reservation. I am always curious so I asked the waiter when he came back. There was only one seating per evening and the diners arrived at twenty minute intervals. The service was a smooth and well ordered operation.
My appetizer was carpaccio in a vinaigrette. The meat was tender and the vinaigrette was just the right acid counterpoint to the sweet saltness of the beef. My water glass was being refilled before I ever had a chance to empty it. Right after the plates were removed, a little glass of a celery drink arrived. We got an amuse bouche between each course. We had several people attending to our table.
The table next to us finally had their diners arrive. Two men walked in and one had a small Cairn terrier under his arm. I am fine with dogs in restaurants although it is not allowed in the United States. After the diners were seated, one of the waiters brought a silver bowl on a silver platter. When he arrived at the table next to us, he carefully lifted the bowl of water off the platter and served it to the thirsty dog. I just had to laugh.
My daughter had told me the ceiling of the restaurant had been designed by Eiffel. It was so gorgeous that my eyes were drawn to it time and time again.
I had ordered a pigeon dish for the main course. Many of the selections had a shellfish component. The waiter assured me that they were country pigeons and their feet had never touched concrete. It was served in a wine reduction with broccoli. And, it could not have been better. And another amuse bouche before the cheese board.
At this point, I left the restaurant to go to the restroom. When I returned to my table, i sat down with the assistance of the waiter. He removed my used napkin and replaced it with a fresh, warm napkin. Just another moment when I went, this is a new experience.
They had a cheese specialist, a fromager. The board must have had more than thirty cheeses. It was overwhelming. So many choices and so many cheeses I had never seen or heard of before. We made our selections. We had a variety of tastes from sweet to salty. Textures from hard to soft. Cheeses from cows, sheep and goats. It was amazing.
Although we were full, we decided to have a dessert, a baba au rhum. On the menu, it was listed as a dessert for two. How big could it be? It was huge. It was the size of a small watermelon. The sight of it made both of us laugh. I was good to be in a place where the waiters are not trying to rush you out to turn the table. So we waited a bit. And we ate a small part of the very big dessert.
This was an epic meal. It was the kind of meal where you don’t want to sully your mouth with food so the experience will stay with you. The experience has stayed for quite a few years and is still one of my best food experiences.
Marsha in the D 