The first of these 'bistronomic' meals was at Le Comptoir, one of the more famous of these types of restaurants. The chef there, Yves Camdeborde, was one of the pioneers of this movement, opening the now-legendary La Regalade in 1992, which became the model for these 'bistronomic' restaurants. Joel Robuchon himself said that La Regalade wouldn't work when it opened, but after eating at Le Comptoir, you quickly see that Camdeborde is not only a great chef, but a great businessman.
Reservations for the dining room at Le Comptoir are very hard to come by during the week, when Camdeborde himself is in working the line and choosing the courses for the 45 euro tasting menu. Everyone in the dining room gets the menu. Sadly, we couldn't get a reservation for dining room (harder to get than many 3-Michelin star...around 3 months wait right now). However, Le Comptoir has an extensive a la carte selection that shows the range of Camdeborde's skills.
The appetizers are divided into a small section of two or three soups, and larger selection of charcuterie, pates, and foie gras preparations. They range from 9 to 16 euros, running a little higher than most 'bistronomic' places. Here lies part of the genius behind these business plans. Since most of the appetizers require very little work on the line (since soups and charcuterie are obviously made earlier in the day), Camdeborde doesn't need to hire as many cooks. Also, while the food is extremely refined, the presentations aren't ornate or ostentatious.
My brother's cream of artichoke soup was poured tableside, in a bowl containing chunks of sauteed foie gras, tiny tapioca pearls, and broken croutons. There was also foie gras pureed in the soup, which managed to remain incredibly light despite its creaminess. Absolutely wonderful, and the little tapioca pearls added a nice surprising dimension.
My pressed foie gras and confit pears turned out to be a huge slab from a terrine of foie gras, confit pears, and bacon. The foie was as smooth as any I've had in fine dining restaurants, though it was packed a little dense. Still, just the value of that portion was too good to be true. The confit pear and bacon added the requisite sweet and salty notes to the foie, but the real star of the dish was the little sad of toasted pine nuts, pears and chives served on the side. Well, maybe not the star, but the tour de force.
The real culinary tour de force of the evening was in the main course, their famed suckling pig dish. I'm usually pretty comfortable identifying the methods behind a dish, but this one was baffling. From what I can tell, they had boned the whole animal, made a roulade, kind of like a porchetta, and then poached it til tender. Afterwards, they had placed a round of pig skin on the slice of roulade, and seared and roasted it. Now when I say it was tender, I'm not doing it justice. Tender is a word reserved for top notch barbecue, or braised meat. This went beyond that. As soon as I touched it with my fork, it fell apart. Seriously, the resistance of jello, but it still retained the integrity of meat, in a way that's often lost in sous-vide cooking (which is why I scratched that option). It was served on top of lentille du puy with bacon in an intense pork broth subtly seasoned with espelette pepper. One of the best things I've ever eaten.
My brother's dish was the only low note of the night. It was a tuna 'a la plancha' with baby vegetables and provencal tastes. The seasoning and execution were good, but the dish lacked inspiration. I wish I could have convinced him to order something more on the offal side.
We skipped dessert as we were sitting outside and the heat lamps couldn't do much to combat the December cold. However, I have to note that the wine, a light 2004 bordeaux from the St-Emilion area, was a bargain at 25 euros. Fruity and complex, it was suprisingly well-paired with all of our food. (However, I don't think it's useful to compare wine prices in France to those in the US. Wine is just generally cheaper in France, as the market for it is entirely different.)
Camdeborde's food at Le Comptoir is good combination of rustic and modern. Presentations are simple, but the technique behind most of the food is excellent. The foie terrine, for example, was one of the best I've ever had, and could have held its own in any fine dining restaurant. And that suckling pig. Absolutely amazing. There were no flaws in seasoning and execution in any of the dishes, and most importantly, the dishes all had a lot of soul.
What was fascinating, in the end, is seeing how revolutionary Camdeborde's business model is. Reservations at Le Comptoir can have a 7 month waiting time, according to some. Yet he keeps prices low, the food is excellent, and the atmosphere populaire. If only we could have had the tasting menu, a steal at 45 euros.
Le Comptoir du Relai
5, Carrefour de l'Odéon
75006 Paris
And here's an article on Camdeborde in English.
1 comments:
I would of been all over the offal offerings ;-)
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