Items Selected:
La Moussiere Sancerre…read moreBeet Dusted Comte, Jerusalem Artichoke in Spanish Spices, Foie Gras Tart
Cornbread, Olive Baton, White Wine Raisin Bread with Salted and Unsalted Butter
"Jamon et Beurre"
Foie Gras from the Landes - Roasted and smoked in Bergamot, Tuberous Creamy Chervil, Ice Cold Salsify, Duck Jus perfumed with Buddha's Hand
Scallops with Goose Barnacles, Carrots, Squash, Passion Fruit Puree
Suckling Pig with Quinoa, Rutabaga, Truffles and Mushrooms
Saint Nectaire Tart - Cashew Crust, Poached Pear Sorbet
Coconut Cream, Pineapple, Apple, Pear Sorbet
Crunchy Biscuit with Kalamansi - Burned Coffee and Celery Stalk Sorbet
Madelines, Chocolate, Lemon, Nuts
Canceling lunch at Joel Robuchon on the recommendation of none other than Michel Guerard who assured me that The Restaurant at Le Saint James was "a very special place," my last meal in France was hosted in the small town of Bouliac where the a gorgeous room and resort awaited, the service every bit deserving of its Michelin Starred status while much of the food warranted two or three.
Set high on a hilltop with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a privileged vantage of the cities and towns below, the Relais & Chateaux recommended Saint-James features the culinary talents of Nicolas Magie and with a stunning pedigree plus passionate sourcing from the regions best producers a number of menus are offered to those taking a seat at the table, many steeped in resort classics while those more daring are encouraged to opt for Magie's "Mood of the Day."
No doubt operating on a level above that of the region's other starred spots, the giving spirit and superlative service all the more intriguing as several staff members are students-in-training at a small school visible from the street, the meal begins long before a menu is selected and with a dry white wine joining a trio of canapes the chef's style immediately becomes evident, complex herbs and aromatics used in delicious and innovative ways.
Taking pride in resources, the purveyors proudly presented on the menu in a very "American" way, bread from a local artisan Boulangerie is served alongside salted and unsalted cow's butter, the corn and olive versions setting a high standard that the sweet wine rolls pocketed with raisins still managed to surpass.
Happily saucing all savories following the amuse tableside, a whimsical take on the ham and butter sandwich light as a cloud with a brioche antenna pointing high, the first course featured a sizable slice of liver smoked and seared with bergamot, its creaminess mirrored by the vegetal medley next to it while a broth of duck jus accented in citrus helped adjoin each to a compote of apple and onion above.
At times taking inspiration from the a la carte menu, but otherwise working on well trained whims, course two offered a daily take on Saint-Jacques, each buttery jewel as sweet as can be expected while briny barnacles proved a perfect counterpart to passionfruit atop an autumnal puree as smooth as silk.
Inquiring as to whether seafood or meat struck my fancy as a finale, the latter suggested as something special from the market that day, it is difficult to determine whether the cube of suckling pig was sous-vide or confit given considering how supple was the texture, but suffice it to say that it is hard to name a better piece of pork in recent memory with umami magnified significantly by the textures of mushroom and rutabaga all around.
Pleasantly surprised by a plated cheese course that saw Saint Nectaire mousse married to pears with a rim of toasty nuts, the palate was cleansed by an elegant sorbet before moving onward, the flavors of lime and coffee somehow finding themselves together as dance partners alongside lightly sweetened celery sorbet.
Served in just under two hours, the pace of the meal leisurely though certainly never dull, it was with mini-Madelines made for dipping that the dining itself concluded, a tour of the property offered by the Maitre d' of whom both M. Guerard and the and his counterpart at Les Pres d'Eugenie had spoken very highly of.
