L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Chef of the Century

PARIS -- This timely entry is dedicated to the most badass chef around, Anthony Bourdain, who recently aired his 100th episode of No Reservations.  He returns to Paris with Le Bernardin’s Eric Ripert and while eating their way around the city, they meet up with no other than Eric's mentor himself, Mr. Joel Robuchon.  No big deal.

Named “Chef of the Century” by the Gault Milau, holder of 27 Michelin stars (the most, ever.) and a pioneer in his art, you can't help but ask, "What’s this guy all about?"  Robuchon made a name for himself by breaking apart from old-fashioned, boring French cuisine and taking a more modern spin towards cooking based on fresh ingredients and creativity, yet keeping the techniques that made french food  famous in the first place. Lets be real, you can only have so much Duck Confit and Boeuf Bourguignon before you decide to boycott French cuisine and start following Emeril Lagasse.

Hopefully, you'll eat at Joel Robuchon's L’Atelier in Paris before it comes to that.  This is hands down my favouritest restaurant on this planet. True to Robuchon’s esthetic, the restaurant features two U-shaped bars that wrap around an entirely open kitchen, which was surprisingly calm, especially since the only other open kitchen I had seen was Hell's Kitchen.  The chic and informal setting was refreshing after lunching at the rather conservative and old school (not to mention pricier) Joel Robuchon’s La Table in the 16e arrondissement of Paris.

Our a la carte choices: Le Homard Bleu 75€ and Le Crab Royale 60€

The Menu Decouverte (tasting menu) offers 9 dishes at 150€.  Between 2 girls, we ordered one set menu to share, along with a (whole) lobster salad and Le Crab Royale (king crab chunks sandwiched between two thin radish slices).

Aside from the attentive staff and awesome ambiance, the food is simply spectacular and really lives up to any expectations you could possibly have.  I can still remember my first taste of that Langoustine Ravioli and its foie gras truffle sauce mmmm...damn, i'm starving now.


However, this doesn’t come cheap; lunch for two hongray girls (with champagne) came out to around 350€.  (Fyi: the menu doesn't change from lunch to dinner, and neither do the prices.)

First 5 courses:

Caviar on toast with mascapone cheese, Le Crab Royale, Soft Shell Crab on an avocado puree, Langoustine ravioli with a truffle-infused foie gras sauce served with savoy cabbage,  Foie Gras with asparagus, glazed turnips and apricot

Don't get fooled by the small portions, the food is filling and the set menu is plenty for one. 

Girolle mushrooms (Chanterelle)  and bits of foie gras in a foie gras foam, Sole filet in a artichoke sauce, Foie Gras stuffed quail served with truffled mash (personal fav)

If you're still hungry after this, fill up on their specialty breads, or the famous creamy mash potatoes!

 

The only average part of the meal was the dessert:

Chestnut Macaron-like biscuits, Lemon mousse

The most recent restaurant opening by Robuchon was in Taipei, Taiwan in the upscale Bella Vita mall, which I tried a couple weeks back.  Curious? Wait for L'Atelier Part 2 in the next entry..


L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon 
5 rue de Montalembert 
Paris, 75007 
01 42 22 56 56
www.joel-robuchon.com/ 

bisous bisous!

angie.loves.robuchon x