Ledoyan***

Paris, FR

Our only three star Michelin meal of the trip (we cancelled the other due to time and costs). Following an amazing showing at Le Cinq just a few days before, we were hoping for a repeat performance from a highly regarded establishment.  The vibe here was a completely different experience. The restaurant and complex were very dated, traditional
and old. Given that the hotel was established in 1792, I guess it's a hard thing to avoid. 

Champagne cart

We arrived for the 88 euro fixed price menu, but they got their money back through champagne (26 Euro for one glass of the 2004 Coupe Deutz "Blanc De Blancs") and bottled water (21 Euros).

We were started off with a quartet of amuse bouches, the first being a bubble filled with flavored air. We had never had anything like it, a pretty cool bite.

The next was a small fried cracker carrying seaweed flavor, a very condensed spring roll topped with poppy seeds and our favorite, the sea urchin cracker that was delicious and mellow, not carrying an overwhelming amount of urchin flavor.

 Bread

The bread, while good, had something noticeably missing for Chu-Toro. Seaweed Butter. 

La mise en Bouche

We were then presented with an appetizer, a salad of edamame peas, raw almonds, strawberries and a creamy binding sauce. A very fresh, seasonal crisp salad. 

Asperges Blanches snackees parfumees d'ecume de Parmesan

Asparagus was in season during our visit, so this was the first of many asparagus courses throughout our French meals. This wasn't Chu-Toro's favorite, due to the stringy, fibrous nature of the earthy flavored vegetable.  It tasted fine to be, but not sure that this was worthy of being a dish served at three Michelin starred establishment.

Sardines a crue, eau de tomate a l'huile d'olive

Unlike Chu-Toro's Aspargus, we both enjoyed my sardine crudo. Sardines and anchovies are probably my two least favorite fishes, but on this trip I've had dishes of both that I've really enjoyed and changed my outlook on the salty fishes. To me, if you can make someone change their mind about an ingredient that they don't like, you've made a successful dish.

Effeuille de Cabillaud au vegetal

Chu-Toro's entree of flaked cod with vegetables seemed to be another dish that was far too simple to be a representation of a fine dining restaurant. The fish and vegetables were cooked well, but there was nothing amazing about the flavors. A pretty pedestrian dish overall.

Jambon/Morilles aux spaghettis

My main course was the greatest highlight of the meal, ham and morels in a spaghetti freestanding log. I didn't know what to expect, but upon arrival, I was shocked, confused and intrigued. It was a freestanding rectangle of spaghetti, topped and filled by morels, ham and truffle cream. The flavor was deep, rich and heavy. This is the kind of dish I was hoping for at a traditional French three star establishment. There had to be at least four to five full truffles on the dish. It was excellent, but not overpowering. Even Chu-Toro who is sensitive to too much truffle flavor really enjoyed the course. When asked how it was built, we were told the chef painstakingly individually place noodles in a row to construct the work of art. Simply amazing and easily one of the most impressive courses I've ever had.

Fromages frais et affines

The cheese course was an excellent mixture as recommend by our server, allowing us to appreciate over nine cheeses. The generously portions of fromage were another enjoyable highlight of Ledoyan.

Following our cheese course, we were given another quartet of little bites before our main dessert. A gorgeous presentation. 

"Mara des Bois" en raviole, Coriandre glacee

Crumble en fouette de chocolat blanc

The desserts were equally impressive in regards to presentation, displaying structures that I had only ever seen on tv. In particular the crumble en fouette which held up a freestanding sugar lattice of beauty. Both desserts were enjoyable but I liked the "Mara des Bois," more. I think that Ledoyan must be known for desserts because the table next to us ordered a dessert tasting consisting of a total of six desserts between two people. 

Cafe pur Arabica

We finished with a coffee and a sugary, flaky, dense, biroche pastry. The bun was extremely sweet, rich and delicious. It was really good and I wish we could have taken a couple more home. 

Mignardises

The meal was a mixture of very excellent and pedestrian dishes. It wasn't better than our Le Cinq meal, although it did give us a variety of different amuse bouches and techniques that we'd never seen before. My jambon and morel aux spaghetti is one of the richest, heaviest, tastiest and most memorable entrees I've ever had and that's what I will think about whenever someone mentions Ledoyan.

Rating 7.5/10

May 29th, 2011