Lucky at Le Cinq

It almost seems fitting that my first meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant was in one with three.  That's right, I just skipped over 1 & 2 stars and headed straight for the top.  Maybe it's to coincide with my change in address, now that I've moved from suburbia 15ème to the bustling 9ème next to the Opera Garnier?

Lest you think that I somehow won the lottery and sleep on piles of money, I am still the same student-on-a-student-budget.  The new digs?  Pure luck.  The meal of a lifetime?  Generous friends visiting Paris for the first time.

Le Cinq is headed by Chef Phillipe Legendre and received its 3-star designation in 2003, barely 3 years after opening.  I marveled at the beautiful flower arrangements in the hotel lobby as we headed towards the restaurant.  We were greeted by staff at every turn, gracious and inviting.

It helps that your friends work for the Four Seasons.  8PM reservation at a prime table- I felt like a princess, especially when they brought a little footstool for my purse.  Pretentious?  Perhaps, but a girl needs to be spoiled once in awhile.

When eating at establishments like this, I love eating with people who are as adventurous and carefree as I am.  We headed straight for the last page and decided on the gourmet tasting menu, my style of ordering.  How perfect that it is now truffle season- almost every dish featured the heavenly fungus.

Paired with a 1997 white Bordeaux, the food was outstanding.  The stand-outs included the scallop carpaccio, sparkling flavors and a texture that melted in your mouth.  The poached leeks were served on a porous plate, with a light sauce poured over.  When you finished the leeks, the top plate was removed to reveal a small dish of consommé underneath.  Consommé flavored with truffles that made their way through the porous holes.  I take back every negative thing I've ever said about consommé.

After two desserts, another trolley rolled by with sweets for the picking.  I selected some gelées to balance out the 4 chocolate desserts I had just eaten.  Somehow I don't think they helped reduce the total calorie count for the evening.

And the service?  No silverware was left unchanged, no glass left unfilled, no request refused.  I somehow wheedled my way into a kitchen tour, seeing the cavernous yet oddly silent kitchen.  Past the cold pastry room, past the chef marking the sous vide bags, past the dessert station where the last of the desserts were being plated.  Then it was into the tiny elevator to go into the wine cave, 50,000 beautiful bottles in a cave made of the same stones as the Arc du Triumphe.

In my purse sits the business card of the HR director in charge of stages (internships) at Le Cinq.  Hopefully my luck continues and I can do a stage in this magnificent kitchen.  Is there an expiration date on luck though?  My email yesterday contained a confirmation for El Bulli in April!

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Degustation
The Gourmet Tasting Menu

Glass of Champagne


Amuse-Bouche: Prosciutto or Jambon of some type

Carpaccio de Saint Jacques au
Caviar Oscietre de la mer Caspienne
Scallops Carpaccio with Osietra Caviar
from the Caspienne sea


Tarialini à la Fonduta et à la Truffe d'Alba
Tarialini Pasta à la Fonduta"
with White Truffle from Alba




Poireau Cuit à la Ficelle aux
Saveurs d'Automne et à la Truffe
Poached Leeks in an Autumn Scent & Black Truffle


Homard Breton en Coque Fumé
et Rôti aux Chataigne de Correze
Brittany Lobster Smoked in its Shell,
Roasted with chestnuts from the Correze


Dos de Chevreuil et sa Gogue au Verjus et à la Truffe
Saddle of Venison with Verjus Black Pudding & Truffle




La Selection de nos Maitres Fromagers
Master Cheese Selection


Pre Dessert: Quince Jelly with Foam


Sablé Breton aux Myrtilles et Figues au Naturel
Breton Shortbread Topped with Blueberries & Figs
(with honey ice cream)


Autour du Chocolat
Assorted Chocolate Desserts


Fruit Gelées, Almond Biscuit

Bottle of 1997 White Bordeaux


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Kitchen & Wine Cave Tour:

Le Cinq
Four Seasons Hotel- George V
31 Ave George V
75008 Paris
Tel. 01 49 52 70 00
Métro: George V

Bon Appétit!

Comments

[Melissa]

Congrats on your Stage!
Love your blog!

[ken]

YE GODS!! Christine,
looks gorgeous..
shudder to think of the bill

[mich]

wowwwweeeee! i can't even imagine the yumminess of the meal. my mouth is watering....yummmmmmm....! your luck won't run out in paris...it'll continue! =)

[MrLittlePants]

Does look gorgeous. Especially that venison! I'm curious--how much is the gourmet tasting menu? I can't find a price online.

[Chez Christine]

Thanks for reading Melissa!

Ken and MrLittlePants: yes, the bill was enormous and more than a month's rent. The gourmet tasting menu was either 230 or 250 Euros, I believe. Not including the bottle of wine, my glass of champagne, and espresso at the end!

Mich: I'm hoping my luck won't run out, you'll have to visit soon!

[babs]

Where in the 9th do you live? I lived on the rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette by the place St Georges for five years in the late 1990's -- still my absolute favorite Paris neighborhood. The rue des Martyrs was the best food shopping around and now that I'm back in NY I'd do anything to have even the most ordinary of boulangeries in my neighborhood. I don't understand how Americans do without bread. It's really very strange.

But congratulationson leaving the 15th -- it really deserves to be named the most boring arrondissement! I lived there for three months and hated it!

[Chez Christine]

Babs: I live off of Blvd Madeleine and am loving every minute of it. Things are pricey but this is where comparison shopping kicks in!