Gastroville

The preparation consisted of several elements of tomatoes such as small confit tomatoes, some diced tomatoes and a divine jelly of tomato water lightly infused with mint leaves and coriander seeds. The light infusion with some added sugar and Xeres vinegar resulted in a dazzling preparation. Many at the table sensed a hint of a taste they somehow recognised in the perfect jelly that melted almost instantly on the tongue and the taste elevated the tomatoes in the preparation to a new level. - Maybe it is tea, someone said. It was a great dish. Simple, yet sophisticated and it perfectly showed the superb tomatoes and even enhancing them by giving them a new taste angle or a new dimension that complemented the true taste of tomatoes.

The next dish, Huitres creuses en gelée de bettrave fumée was as good even if the taste combination as such was not particularly new to me.

Three poached then cooled Gillardeau oyster, which I initially thought were #3's, but I was later corrected by Michel that they were #2's, sat in another perfect jelly this time made with smoked beet roots that melted on the tongue. The smokiness was just barely traceable. As with most Troisgros dishes today, the beet jelly had a light tanginess to it from some added acidity, that in this dish was perhaps ever so slightly too pronounced for my taste buds, but it was still another great dish. Beets and oysters is a very interesting combination when well executed, especially with the Gillardeau oysters with their long and exceptional taste. The perfect element to enhance this combination even further is truffles. Yes, both white Alba truffles and black melanosporums. For the adventurous, a hint of nutmeg with the oysters, beets and the white truffles can to some be breath taking when rightly calibrated.

A few of the diners got frog’s legs instead of the oysters and while the spicing went well with the cauliflower, the somewhat overcooked frog’s legs were slightly lost in the preparation.

The 1986 Batard Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive served with these dishes brought back great memories from the 1986 vintage and also showed that well stored bottles of great white Burgundy can age for a very long time. The wine was really singing and did not show any sign of age.

Next up on the menu was a pan-fried foie gras and while there was little to say about the cooking of the foie gras, the foie gras was not of the best quality. Maybe it was just an atypical liver but it reminded more both in texture and flavour of cheap supermarket foie gras, which I am sure Michel Troisgros does not serve, so it must have been an odd liver. The acidity element provided by the rhubarb and ginger was quite nice however.

Since the French scallops season has just started, it was of course unthinkable to eat at Troisgros without sampling one dish featuring this fantastic and noble ingredient that still remains relatively modestly priced. The Noix de Saint Jacques poelees & condiment safrane was good but not on par with other scallops preparations of Troisgros. There were some pine nuts in the vinaigrette-like sauce and that complemented nicely the somewhat nutty taste of pan-fried scallops that is to die for. Much better are Troisgros hazelnut and rosemary fried scallops. The scallops were of very good quality even if I tend to think they get a little better later in the season and they and the dish were without a doubt much better than the quite average, or even mediocre dish with scallops served at Regis Marcon a few days earlier.

Michel Troisgros is known for his love of Asian spicing and often find inspiration from Asian cooking and this was displayed in the next dish, Fricassé d'ecrevisses, navet fin, sucs de caisson corsés. When these Asian inspired dishes work, they can be fantastic, but when they do not, the result can be quite average. Even if the crayfish were of exceptional quality, their qualities were completely masked by the spicing. Unfortunately this crayfish dish gave about as much inspiration as food from almost any simple Asian takeaway.

Troisgros is certainly a great place for meat and with the game season just started, Michel Troisgros have lots of produce available that are naturally suited for combinations marked by sweetness and acidity.

The venison was of very good quality and at an aging point that I like. The taste was a nicely developed but balanced taste of game but not too strong or oxidised and not marked by the taste of oxidised meat, like game meat that has been poorly stored or aged for too long, that often is the case. The garnish featuring mirabelles and hazelnuts was virtually perfect. The only objection I would have against the dish would be the slight undercooking of the venison.

The cheese table at Troisgros is superb and offers a great selection surpassed by few. Troisgros uses two local affineurs, most importantly Hervé Mons who certainly ranks among one of the top affineurs in France for certain chesses most notably in my opinion his Camenbert which at a peak affinage can resemble the smell of a great example of an Alba truffle. But as with most affineurs, Hervé Mons has his weak spots, most notably the vieux comté that is not even a pale shadow of the comté of Bernard Antony. The cheese board at Troisgros can offer up to 20 different cheeses all in perfect or close to perfect condition. Having cheese at Troigros is a pure joy and only rivalled by few restaurants.

I think that Troisgros can excel in their desserts. The marriage of lightness, richness, sweetness and often acidity can provide divine results. This time that was not really the case. The first of the two desserts was Louise-bonne à la "Belle Hélène" and it was quite bland. The pear was somewhat diluted in taste and the bitter almond enhanced sauce effectively killed the dish. The Flan au caramel, sablé à la mangue that followed was clearly better but still not really more than an assemblage of some fruits and diary products. It is hard to single out any restaurant that is a match to the almost always near perfect or perfect desserts at Le Louis XV that have perhaps forever spoilt my taste buds.

Another great wine that was tasted during the meal apart from the ones mentioned above was 1993 Chambertin from Rousseau. While no match for the Ponsot, still a great Burgundy that started to show signs of maturity.

Troisgros is a highly recommended restaurant where one can eat absolutely sublime meals at the very top. This meal was very good but due to a bit too many mistakes, it was well below what they are capable of delivering. But it dis show the great flow of a meal at Troisgros and the deep and vast repertoire of Michel Troisgros. Perhaps Michel Troisgros is moving more and more in the direction of the cuisine acidulé and using too much spicing in his dishes with the result that some ingredients are lost. I hope that is not the case. When the acidity element is not in balance, the preparation can easily be anything but joyful to eat in contrast to when it is balanced and the acidity manages to provide a new dimension to a preparation. Since the difference in calibration between the two results is hair thin, it is perhaps too demanding to expect perfection all the time from such a risk-taking chef as Michel Troisgros.

It will be interesting to see what Vedat thinks about the current form of Troisgros as he is having dinner there today.

Gastroville Rating of this meal: 17,5/20
/MJ