I chuckled when I read in The Age that diners in Melbourne are lining up for hours at some of the more well known restaurants. Ironically, The Age and a particular TV show seem to be the very reason why eating out in Melbourne could feel more like planning a holiday with a friend to Europe. The idea of a ‘state-media’ source of information is not appetizing. In contrast, would you believe that we had not made a reservation and ate at the 9th best restaurant on the S.Pellegrino list? Le Chateaubriand has one seating for reservations and a second one, depending on their capacity for walk-in diners. We waited in line for just under 2 hours to be seated, though the first few in line were seated in about 1 hour. As the first seating started to clear, we took their tables. The line was far shorter than the one outside Mamasita or Pho Chu The.
This is Paris. People here seem not to care where is the ‘in’ place to eat. I was able to make a reservation for dinner at L’Atelier by Joel Robuchon at Saint-Germain for roughly 2 weeks in advance. The casual, fine dining restaurant has 2 Michelin stars and is again high up on the S.Pellegrino’s list. A friend of mine managed to reserve a late lunch on a Sunday by calling on the same day. Try that with Movida on a Sunday and have the reception staff think you are either joking or obviously a tourist.
There were about 15 people in the que. The chef came outside at about 9:30 and counted the numbers and told the last few people that they wont be able to get a seat.
Waiter outside having a smoke. How French.
Let’s talk about Le Chateaubriand. Inaki Aizparte is a self-taught chef who often serves up dishes with few, contrasting and sometimes challenging ingredients. If eating is seen as art, then his food is post-modern art. Art doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing or technically flawless to leave an impact. A classical Dutch landscape is soothing but the melting clock in the Persistence of Memory by Dali has more impact. By the same analogy, the S.Pellegrino’s list is not about the best tasting food in the world. Chefs, food writers, critics from around the world vote on what is ‘best’ and not who serves up the most expensive truffle. On that basis, restaurants that push boundaries, leave diners with exciting memories and perhaps challenge our perceptions will get noticed. If there wasn’t progression, we would all be eating potatoes thinly sliced and fried in foaming butter and garlic (our recent demonstration at school) – not that there is anything not tasty about that!
So, forget the reviews that say “food was horrible, cold, tiny and expensive” or “for a restaurant placed 9th, it served up inedible food”. One comes prepared to have their conceptions challenged. Throw away the stuffy, traditional French setting and sit in a relaxing, warm dining hall with a wine bar. This is what we had on the Thursday 22nd of September. Five amuse bouches, 3 mains, a cheese plate or 2 sweet dishes. Judge for yourself.
Amuse bouche - choux pastry with cheese, ceviche shot and fried fish.
Beans and parsley. Clean and not overpowering.
Consomme, radish, foie gras and coffee beans.
Herring (I think), carrots, physalis (a yellow fruit resembling a small tomato but with a very concentrated tomato and mildly tart flavour)
Sea bream, celery, pourpier, manzanilla - a mixed salad of unusual leaves with a slightly grassy taste and succulent texture.
Milk fed lamb, artichokes, anchovies, burnt lemon. Multiple cuts and textures of lamb, including sweetbread and kidney.
Cheese or dessert - Fourme d'Amber (a blue resembling Roquefort), Brillat Saverin (a wonderful soft cheese with a very floral and light bitterness), Ossau Iraty (a firm sheep milk cheese)
Lait Ribot (a white milk based sorbet like fromage blanc), herbs, brown butter.
Chocolate and mushrooms. Very good quality melted chocolate with a fruity and earthy note that is dragged on by the mushrooms. It's a concept dish. Most people who recently wrote about the restaurant was not impressed with this one. I liked it. But then again, I did not think this was a dessert in the traditional sense.
At the end of the meal, the cheerful man from Peru who we met while queuing up summed it up. He looked very happy from the wine he had enjoyed. Gesturing with his finger in rapid movements across his chest:
“It was a such an experience. The food was like pa! pa! pa! pa!”
