I realized I still hadn't posted these from my visit last winter. This was my first truly awesome sushi dinner. I wish I opted for some of the optional pieces as well.
Flounder
Sea Bream
Striped Jack
Striped Mackerel
Sockeye Salmon
New Zealand King Salmon
Albacore
Akami
Otoro
Chutoro
Seared King Salmon Belly
Geoduck
Herring
Mackerel
Uni
Smoked Mackerel
Seared Hokkaido Scallop
Otoro Handroll
Unagi
Tamago
I arrived a bit early today but this was the final day of the 20th anniversary menu. I was able to spectate the kitchen preparing and plating some of the dishes. I have personally never seen such a massive team working in a restaurant until this visit. It was spectacular. This is also my first 3 Michelin star meal and I am thinking I chose something wonderful.
I arrived around 6:30pm and was able to relax and take things in aome of the views from above the garden before starting the experience. We did started the evening in the garden. there are views of the Cote d'azur without a cloud in the sky.
It was explained to me that the 20th anniversary menu is not exclusively dishes from Mirazur, but also dishes from El Bulli, dishes from "graduates" of El Bulli, and some modern takes on some of the great classical French chefs of the 20th century.
Tonight I decided on a glass of champagne to start. That ended up being a glass of Laherte Freres Ultradition Extra Brut.
There were 30 dishes in total. A very substantial amount of food and variety at play. The first five dishes were in the garden and as we were toured around the property. Since I can only put 20 pictures in the main post I will add an Imgur album right here.
The first dish is a take on an El Bulli classic. The sphere-ified olive served as a gin martini with gin and vermouth spray. My first time trying this classic with a Mirazur twist to it.
Second is a rose champagne out of a rose. A fresh rose with the center taken out and filled with champagne. The roses come in fresh every day. The team takes out the middle of the rose and coats everything with a food-safe wax. It is then filled with Laurent Perrier champagne rose and I was told to smell as I drink.
Dish three was a milk meringue with sturgeon caviar from Madagascar. That meringue is so incredibly light. I have never had a caviar that is this light in color. Its incredibly lovely and the salt with the milk notes is spectacular. Very buttery. I honestly had no idea that they made caviar in Madagascar until this moment.
Goat cheese and violet frozen meringue topped with toasted hazelnuts was the fourth dish in the garden. Very floral with a nice bit of tang. Nice and light with some needed crunch from the hazelnuts.
This is the second dish that features molecular gastronomy techniques. The marigold cocktail cooked on liquid nitrogen. Marigold custard and marigold flowers. I might have eaten it a bit early as it stuck to the roof of my mouth. No matter. Very lovely. The only thing they said that I shouldnt eat id the stem of the marigold flower.
Now we find ourselves visiting the kitchen. This serious of three dishes was oyster three ways. The first was the oyster leaf, the second the oyster broth, and the final was a whole oyster. The leaf has some wonderful briny and salty notes accompanied by the shallots. The broth is wonderful with all of the lovely flavors and scents of fresh oyster. For the whole oyster I was told that I should try to eat it in one bite. Lovely. Far more meaty than most oysters. Very lovely. The Oyster was apparently three years old and the shells definitely show that age.
At this point I moved upstairs to the dining room. At this point I decided on a bottle of wine. I chose a 2013 Coche Dury Monthelie from Burgundy. This was a very light and sappy Pinot from an lesser known appellation. Very interesting and very mineral focused.
The first dish in the dining room was a carpaccio of asparagus, artichoke and fava beans with a consommé of tomato water and oil topped with a bowl of flowers from the garden. Very potent aromatics from the flowers. Lovely vegetable flavors. Mint. The herbs are quite lovely mixed in and the Monthelie surprisingly did not conflict with this dish at all.
The next dish is a classic Mirazur dish from 2008. Beetroot carpaccio with creme and caviar. That beet is amazing. No earthy notes. Served warm. Apparently the beet is salt roasted. It is hard to go wrong with creme and caviar as well. Apparently these beetroot get to 5kg. The caviar pairs quite well with thr beetroot. The beetroot is uprooted and overwintered in a cave before being replanted in the spring and harvested in its second fall.
Vanilla, Fennel, kiwi, dill. Whatever it is, it is beautiful. Dill oil. Peas (lactic ferment?) Very tart and lively acidity. Peas in a vanilla pod. Very strong vanilla note. Never had vanilla bean straight. It is very woody and almost a bit bitter. But the aromatics are ever present.
Smoked peas. I dont even know. Its smoked peas. The pod is smoked and it is then stuffed with peas and topped with a pea based sauce.
A tart served almost as a taco. Citronella de menton. Black truffle. Violet artichoke. The pastry melts away. Very strong flavors. Very lovely.
Bianchetti, baitfish like anchovies served raw and as a cracker. Slight crunch to the raw fish. Very clean flavor. First japan inspired dish. The cracker is quite lovely. Crunchy, salty, no fishy-ness. Some much needed moisture comes from the caviar.
Prawns disassembled. Broken down into several different parts. The body, the head, the brain, the eggs and the feet. Try the prawn part by part and then try the prawn all together. I believe the only cooked portion of the prawn is the feet. Surprisingly firm even though the shrimp is raw. I love the brains. Very fatty and buttery. The feet provide a crunch while the brain provides a richness. To be honest I lost the eggs in everything but they did have a nice color.
The squid. Shabu-shabu calamari. Boiled for 3 seconds in a dashi. Reminicent of an El Bulli dish but with a Japanese twist. Really citrus driven. The squid is stuffed with citrus. Very tart. Fresh lemons or fingerlimes. Very surprising citrus. The fried quid is almost like a rice puff. Nice crunch but retains some lovely texture. A very light amount of spice (paprika) and a slight seaweed characteristic to it.
Nanakusa-no-sekku. Seventeen leaves. Shiso with asparagus and many other herbs and leaves. Lovely green notes. A slightly cooked asparagus note. Quite lovely. Everything is in harmony with some lovely textures at work. Spectacular.
Uni in a rice matcha broth. A nori and daikon sandwich. The uni was quite nice. Not my favorite unusual course I have had but quite lovely. Texture is interesting. Very firm. Slight fishyness. This sandwich kind of fell flat for me aswell. Not my favorite course. The flavors didnt quite mesh with me. Not bad but not my taste. The uni ravioli was interesting but again, there was something that I wasn't a fan of with the uni that was used.
"The Mystery Box". The staff would not tell me what it was until it was ready to be eaten. It looks like some kind of biscuit with shallots or ice. The thing that looked like shallots (sounded like ice) was put in a cheesecloth over whatever the biscuit looking thing is. Turns out it is fois gras with an anchovies salt infusion. Very fatty. Slight briny and salty notes. Weirdly sweet. Very interesting and very delicious. Redeeming after the prior course for me.
Pine nut chawanmushi and a pine nut cotton candy. Very nutty and roasty chawanmoushi. Simple and no frills. Comfort food. The cotton candy is substantial. Sticks to your teeth. A pine nut filling. Interesting but very straight forward.
Sea cucumber and pigeon. What on earth. This is my first time having sea cucumber in any form so i am a bit apprehensive. The meeting of the sea and the land. Pigeon broth. Roasty notes. Dried pigeon? Very rich. A bit of chew but not in a bad way. Is this what I was warned about? Almost liver-esque flavor. Iron. I love yhe richness in the dish. Tapioca pearls add some texture. The sea cucumber is actually quite meaty and I quite liked it in this context.
Bone marrow with two different caviars. Caviar from sturgeon and beluga lentils. The caviar is lightly smoked. Wow. That bone marrow. Super creamy and rich but not overwhelmingly so. The lentils show up quite predominately. Very rich. Gelatinous in a good way. The sauce is very rich as well. I could just drink that sauce.
Spaghetti with elderflower juice, eucalyptus, parmesean and cassis powder. Stunning presentation. Perfectly al dente. Very rich and nutty. The cassis provides some nice lift to the dish. One of my favorites of the night.
Another dish they did not want to tell me the name of or what was in it. Texturally it is like a heavily spiced warm chocolate pudding. Sesame seeds. Its definitely a mole. I can't tell if it there are any peanuts. Pepper and chocolate. There was some kind of flavor hiding at the bottom of the dish but I could not place it. Very hard to go wrong.
Citrus and fruits. All served insidd of shellfish shells. Mandarin in the mussel, yuzu granita in the clam and grapefruit in another clam. Mandarin with sake and some small strawberries. The Mandarin in the mussel was absolutely spectacular. Tart but sweet. That grapefruit is powerful. Very tart. Wakes you up. The mandarin with sake is awesome. Beautiful fruity flavors and the melon notes from the sake balance out quite well with the mandarin. Very happy with the fruit desserts.
Orange blossom with a saffron mille fouille-like pastry. Beautiful dessert. I love how light it is with some wonderful texture.
Cotton candy with yuzu sorbet. The yuzu sorbet is inside of the cotton candy.
A box of chocolate box. Look at all the chocolate. Too many different chocolates to describe. I could not eat them all.
I was properly embarrassed. They brought out a birthday cake and other diners started singing to me as they rhought it ws my birthday. I was the first in and the first to get to the desserts so they didnt quite realize it was foing to happen to them as well. Lemon cake. Its jellied and absolutely delicious.
As with most meals like this I ordered a double espresso to finish the night. It was quite delicious and did not require anything to be added like milk or sugar. Also really loved the cup it was served in.
This was an amazing experience and I would say it was worth the price of admission. I am curious to come back another time and try a more "normal" menu from Mirazur or maybe some of the restaurants from the El Bulli chef tree like Disfrutar.
This is a village level wine from Monthelie which is located between Auxey-Duresses and Volnay. This is my first time having a Coche Dury much less their red wine. Coche Durey definitely more well known for their whites wines and in particular their Mersault bottlings.
The color is a very light garnet.
The nose has some strawberry, spice notes, and a bit of garrigue. Very interesting nose. I do know that Coche Dury tends to focus on minerality with their whites.
The palate is on the lighter side of medium bodied. Stemmy. Strawberry, spice and leather. A bit stone-y. A very interesting wine but doesn't have a lot of depth. Almost a sappy note on the palate.
Definitely an interesting wine. I wasn't quite certain what I was getting with this bottle and I welcomed the chance to try something like this from a somewhat forgotten appellation in Burgundy.
Just some of the courses and nigiri from last night at L'Abyss Monte Carlo in Monaco.
1 is some Otoro sashimi with shallots, matcha tea leaves and a yuzu ponzu.
2 is Cuttlefish
3 is Mackerel
4 is a longoustine which is cooked wrapped around a Sakura flower and topped with radish
5 is sea bream
6 is hamachi
7 is Scorpionfish
8 is Ebi
9 is John Dory
10 is torched Red Mullet
Last but not least there is a massive piece of Otoro which u had to eat in 3 bites
This visit was a very interesting stop as I have never been to Monaco. I had no idea what to expect as the whole afternoon in Monaco was very hectic eith the Formula E race coming up.
Firstly, the interior is exquisite. I was sat at the counter and was able to enjoy watching almost every dish being put together as well as every piece of nigiri. Every movement of the staff was precise. Everything had its place.
Of note, I was the first diner for the evening so I was able to chat with most of the staff without interfering in others experience. The strangest thing for me was that I was the first by nearly 30 minutes, so I had 6 different waiters constantly checking on me. Even after other groups started to arrive, thestaff stayed attentive and made sure that everything was acceptable.
Like my visit to Mere Brazier I opted for three glasses of wine instead of a pairing or a bottle. This first a glass of champagne, the second an Sylvaner from Alsace and third a Sauternes. In between the Sylvaner and the Sauternes they did bring me a glass of sake as I still had several more courses before dessert.
The champagne was a Benoit-Lahaye Rose of Maceration. Lovepy red fruits such as cherry and strawberry with a bit of apple skin. Medium bodied. Beautifully elegant mousse with very fine bubbles. Even with its body it is still quite mineral focused.
The Sylvaner was the 2020 Bollenberg from Valentin Zusslin. Very fruit forward with plenty of riper stone fruit notes. Lovely weight and body with some decent texture. A fair bit less acidity than the champagne.
The Sautenres was a glass of 2007 Château de Fargues. I haven't had a saiternes in a good while so it is welcomed, especially for dessert. An absolutely lovely wine. Saffron, mango and pineapple. Very tropical and very rich. Hints of those well known botrytis mushroom notes.
There were two amuse bouche tonight. The first amuse had teo parts. On the right side is a plankton meringue. Thr flavors at play and concentration were absolutely mouth watering. Beautiful and bright. On the left is an amberjack roe and smoked mackeral. Light citrus notes and some wonderful fish flavors. Hard to go wrong. Beautiful colors.
The second amuse was a saffron brioche with katsuobushi filling and a spicy honey mayo. Texturally it is very similar to a bao bun. Fluffy and rich. The mayo has a slight kick but not too significant. Lovely flavors although the bonito flakes are a bit lost with everything else going on.
The first course was an oyster. There was a whole oyster and an oyster tartare. Oh man. It is lovely. Soft flavors and really emphasizes the briny notes of both the caviar and the Oyster. The sauce also uses the liquid of tbe oyster. The flavors linger on the palate for quite some time.
To follow the oyster course they presented a white asparagus "pasta" with razor clam and white asparagus broth. The textures and flavors really threw me for a loop. Brughy citrus notes. Lovely combination of clams and crunchier asparagus "noodles".
Spiny artichoke steamed in seaweed served with an algae mayo made with no eggs. The color of the mayo is quite extraordinary. Vibrant purple with the lovely crunch of fried seaweed. Flavor whise it is very reminiscentof furikake. Very fresh flavors and lovely presentation
This next course they called Sea Animals. It is the fresh catch of the day boiled in sea water topped with caviar and a foam from the cooking process. I was told all of the seafood had to be caught bare-handed for this dish so it is mostly shellfish. Very rich. Chawanmoushi-esque texture. The caviar accompanies the flavors quite well. Flavors harken back to the crab dish at Mere Brazier, but decidedly different.
The last course before some nigiri is an otoro sashimi with marinated shallots, matcha tea leaves and yuzu marinade. This is heaven to me. Rich, fatty. Wonderful flavors and a lovely crunch. I love the marinated shallots with the tuna. Very hard to go wrong.
On to the first round of nigiri
Sea bass (didnt take a picture)
Cuttlefish
Lean bluefin tuna
Blefin tuna tartare (no picture)
(Saba) mackeral
After that round of nigiri there was a couple more dishes serving as an intermission. The fjrst was a Langoustine cooked around a Sakura flower. Lacto-fermented as well. Served with radish. That is a lovely dish. A dish that just makes me smile. Bright fresh flavors. Love the ferment notes. Slight spice. Lovely.
Then we had a palate cleanser. Dashi broth and a pesto. The herbs were frozen and had a lovely crunch and pop to them. Very rich and fortified dashi. The pesto is presented as a sorbet. The greens have an absolutely lovely flavor and pop to them.
Sea bream
Hamachi
Scorpionfish
Sweet shrimp
Torched red mullet
Otoro piece with shiso leaf. This one was recommended to be eaten in 2-3 bites as it is quite large.
Now that the nigiri is done we are starting to wrap things up. There was a rockfish (bottom feeders) consommé with kombu and marjoram. Very nice change of pace after all of the nigiri. Doesnt feel too heavy and has some wonderful flavors.
Next there was a mochi made with kombu. Lemongrass verbena. Pineapple and ginger flavors. Freeze dried flowers and sugar add a lively crunch. Really interesting and cerebral. Very tropical.
Rice pudding with foam, ice cream, puffed buckwheat and yuzu. Very savory and very nutty. Light but with some wonderful crunch. Beautiful appearance and I love the little flowers.
The staff did not tell me what this dessert dish was. They wanted me to guess. There is a very gelatinous part the staff kept referring to as the sashimi. I guessed some kind of cactus or suculent. Soms other flsvors present wete strawberry or raspberry and lime or yuzu. I have had too much to drink for this to be guessing all of this.
It turns out that the sashimi was Aloe Vera marinated in strawberry with a yuzu jelly. It really is interesting. I did get the strawberry and yuzu jelly though so I am quite happy.
The last dessert was a cold brew with caramelized nori puff pastry and salted whipped cream. It was not super sweet. Quite salty dessert. The cold brew is not heavy but it is quite concentrated and provides a bitterness to the experience. Chocolate like mouthfeel to the coffee. It cuts the caramel flavor quite nicely.
To wrap things up I ordered a double espresso and they gave me some chocolates made with flaxseed. Very similar to a crunch bar but far less sweet as there was no added sugar to the chocolate. All of the sweetness came from the flaxseed.
All in all, this was a very interesting dining experience. Only 27 courses/dishes. I loved the nigiri and some of the dishes were truly exceptional. I also quite enjoyed the different textures at play in some of those dishes as well.
There will be a comment with the other images that won't fit in the main post.
Thus is my first visit yo a Michelin Star restaurant since the spring of 2019 so it has been a while. My visit to Mere Brazier was for lunch.
Mere Brazier has four menus for lunch service. The first is an a la carte menu. The second is a set lunch tasting menu. The third being the Eugenie Brazier menu and the last was a full tasting menu. I opted for the Eugenie Brazier menu.
As I was dining solo I decided on having glasses of wine instead of the wine pairing or a bottle. My first glass was a blanc de blanc Champagne from Girard Bonnet. My second glass was a Condrieu from Yves Cuilleron. This wine was quite young but possessed some wonderful flavors without being to heavy or oily as many viognier can get. My third and final glass for the lunch was a glass of Chorey les Beaune from Tollot-Beaut. This wine was absurdly fresh and was drinking like it was just bottled showing wonderful cherry and strawberry notes.
The service is quite traditional. One of the more interesting things for me is that the atmosphere was quite a bit more relaxed than I was originally expecting.
The opener was a chicken Pate en crout with cherries. This is a traditional dish from when Eugenie Brazier was running the show.
To follow up the Pâté en Croûte we had some bread. Thrre was a country bread made from rye and a white bread. Both were served with a butter from Brittany and oil from Provence.
Shirtly after the breads arrival we have the amuse bouche. This dish is a mackeral with coconut milk, avocado, radish and beans with a chili oil. The Mackerel was absolutely lovely. I was informed that the sauce and flavors were inspired by flavors from Peru.
Following the amuse bouche we have the first course. I opted for the spider and brown crab with caviar. A solution lovely. On my first taste I simply smiled . The slight briny and salt notes of the caviar with the soft and rich crab was spectacular. And the sauce it was served in just helped those flavors shine.
My second dish was the artichoke and Fois Gras. It has been an absurd amount of time since I had Fois and it didnt dissappint. The fois by itself has such a ridiculously good flavor. There was also an almond and pistachio crust to the fois which helped bring some texture. The artichoke was no joke either with fried artichoke pieces for texture as well. Absolutely spectacular.
Thr third dish I opted for was a crispy pike mouse with Brittany blue lobster in a Nantua sauce. Normally this dish would have crayfish but there was not delivery that morning so they opted for lobster. The lobster nantua sauce is spectacular. Like a lobster bisque but even more concentrated. Toasty, nutty flavors. There was a jelly that I couldn't place the flavor of but was quite interesting. When I asked they said it was a Vin Jaune jelly. Lovely combination of textures and punchy flavors.
Dish four was an interesting one. I settled on the milk fed lamb with stuffed tripe. Incredibly soft lamb. I dont think I have ever had lamb that soft. The stuffed tripe was the best experience I have had with tripe (which isn't saying much). Crispy and I believe filled with a lamb sausage. The Vera pepper in the sauce stood out quite well against the rest of the course although it didnt play too well with my pinot noir choice.
Before we got to dessert the staff brought out a palate cleanser. It was an olive oil biscuit with raspberry, passion fruit parfait and some royal icing. That passion fruit ice cream was something else. Such a strong fruity flavor that leaves you wanting more. Add in some mint and some raspberry is other worldly. I could just eat that and be a happy camper. Light and full of flavor. Extremely fresh raspberries.
Dessert was a bit of a doozy. I decided I wanted to stay seasonal and went with the vanilla and rhubarb souffle. I didnt realize all that would come out with that choice. There was the souffle which was quite light and packed with flavor. That is the lightest souffle I have ever had. Beautiful vanilla bean flavor. Nice tartness from the rhubarb. It was just cooked through and held its shape when eating it. But there was so much more that came with it.
There was a second plate that came out with some poached rhubarb and a rhubarb coulis. That one was quite tart and was a welcome wake up from the sweetness of the souffle. The rhubarb with the cream was a delightful combo. Cut the tartness quite nicely.
Also brought to the table was an almond pastry with rhubarb parfait. Another way to showcase some lovely rhubarb. At this point I was feeling the sheer volume of food I had eaten by that point.
Lastly there was some smaller bites. Of which there were two varieties. The first was a rhubarb, white chocolate and olive oil biscuit. The second was hazelnuts and blackberry sesame. I feared that after all the other desserts that I would be struggling to the end but I was surprised how light almost all of the desserts were. Black sesame though is absolutely spectacular as well but bit as fresh and light as the rhubarb.
To wrap things uo there was a little coffee service with some Madeleine, caramels, and nougat. A wonderful way to wrap up the afternoon.
Next time i find myself in Lyon I will have to stop by again.
Today was my second full day in Lyon. After a rough night's sleep I decided to go do something relatively unplanned. With that being said I settled on going to this restaurant for lunch. With an hour walk I was the last person in for the day.
I settled on doing the tasting menu which ran €58 for 7 courses which to me was a screaming deal for local seasonal fare.
The first course was a salmon ceviche with a coconut milk and ginger sauce. There was also kumquat, carrot, mint and fried onions.
Course number two was focused on peas and duck. Specifically gravlax de canard, peas, pea shoots, a basil pesto and citrus jelly.
The third course was not listed on their menu and was a beef tartare served with mustard ice cream and a mustard whipped cream.
Course four was sea bass served with shiitake mushrooms,white asparagus and trout roe marinated in Chablis.
The fifth course was featured asparagus but this time it was green asparagus. Accompanying the asparagus was Iberian ham, pickled shiitake mushrooms, a bearnaise, and roasted hazelnuts.
The final two dishes were both desserts. The first of which was focused on rhubarb, sorrel and hibiscus. The sorrel was served as an ice cream and the hibiscus was mixed into a white chocolate ganache.
The second dessert and final course was chocolate and caramel. Namely a chocolate brownie, mousse, and biscuits, a caramel sauce and a tonka bean ice cream.
When all is said and done this was a great meal with some lively fresh ingredients that I dont get to try everyday.