Text 6804, 135 rader
Skriven 2006-10-21 16:29:26 av Ian Hoare (1:275/311)
Ärende: 3 blobs at Laguiole
===========================
Hi all,

I don't know how long this is going to be, but it's a report of a meal out
at our nearest 3 star Michelin restaurant, Michel Bras at Laguiole in the
Aveyron about 100 miles south by east of us here. 

The restaurant has the MOST pretentious web site of any place I've ever
seen, and if it, and the menus were all I'd had to go by, we'd never have
gone. (www.bras.fr) However, several trusted friends have come back with an
enthusiastic recommendation to go, and so, with my brother coming to stay
for a week, I decided the time had come. We tried to book but in fact they
were full until they were due to close at the end of the month. However,
they put us on their waiting list and finally, contacted us on Wednesday to
say they had had a cancellation for Thursday noon. So off we set. 

These are their menus (forgive the French, but in my "blow by blow" I give a
sort of translation of what we had).

====================
Evasion et Terre
100

du nord & du sud :
la soupe blanche aux pommes de terre - Institut de Beauvais - ; crème
fouettée aux truffes noires d'ici & huile d'olive.

une pêche de jour de Saint jean-de-Luz
la dorade royale juste cuite, assaisonnée comme chez Nous ; côtes et
feuilles .de moutarde, jus de moule, des tagettes.

cueillis dans la hêtraie toute proche :
la poêlée de cèpes & la purée de panais : en fraîcheur, céleri, pommes et
butternut, du jus.

du plateau d'Aubrac;
la pièce de cerf rotie à la braise ; purée de coing au citron & des
topinambours ; des trompettes & le jus tout simple.

clin d'oeil à l'histoire d'Aubrac ;
l'aligot.
Les fromages de l'Aveyron & d'à côté.
fruit & légume..
le butternut confit & le biscuit aux amandes mi-cuit ; italienne au café &
une crème dite vierge à la vanille.

canailleries : picoti-picota; billes glacées, canard... crunch.

Découverte & nature 160

Aujourd'hui "classique" :

Le gargouillou de jeunes légumes ; graines & herbes, une huile au serpolet.
Les Toutes Premières ;

les noix de saint jacques poêlées :
coing .& radis glaçon, jus de fruits & estragon du Mexique.

Une certaine idée du voyage :
la tranche de foie gras de canard grillée ; pomme ahane, jus de muscat,
touche acide/sucré & canelle de Magellan.

Une autre façon de mener la râpée :
céleri-branche, céleri-rave, cèpe & du butternut ; une huile de noix traitée
comme une crème, truffes.

d'origine Aveyronnaise,
la selle d'agneau Allaiton rôtie sur os, légumes tout en couleur ; comme un
lait aux chataîgnes fumées, le jus perlé à l'huile de noix.

Les fromages de l'Aveyron & d'à côté.

sur une interprétation du coulant, originel de 81 ;
le biscuit tiède coulant au potimarron ; -crème glacée aux amandes
grillées.
roulé dans une feuille de nougatine à l'orange,
la poire william pochée au beurre/noisette ; crème glacée & agrumes.

chaud-froid de textures :
orge, citron & sarrasin.

canailleries : picoti-picota, billes glacées, canard... crunch.
============

French speakers will perhaps see why I was more than a little dubious about
whether the place was really as pretentious as the menu suggested. However
we'd been assured it wasn't.

So, on to the report - complete with links to photos, if you're interested.

Here's the restaurant as it looks driving up from Laguiole.

http://cjoint.com/?kusqPGUK8M

That's enough of that (Ed.) Let's get on with the serious business in hand.

With our aperitif of a sparkling Gaillac wine, made from the Mauzac grape
and very very slightly cloudy, they served two very substantial nibbles. The
first consisted of a very soft poached egg, flavoured with parsley oil and
accompanied by some kind of fried sesame seed bread "soldiers". I was the
only one who didn't find this too rich as an aperitif. The seasoning was
perfect and the parsley oil which was hidden in the depth is of the egg
really complemented it. 

(Some of the photos are in black and white - I was experimenting with
various settings on my camera to try to be able to take close ups without
flash and failed to spot that the "copy" setting was monochrome)

http://cjoint.com/?kupBlRKjLi

The other nibble was a small slice of a cepe tart. This was simply divine.
The cepes were cut thin and arranged over a tart base, seasoned, brushed
with melted butter and baked. The mushrooms were juicy, but the tart wasn't
soggy. Perfection.

http://cjoint.com/?kupJJuHlcH

By the time we'd exclaimed over these, read the menus and the humongous wine
list, decided what to have, ordered it and finished our wines and powdered
our noses, we were the only ones left in the lounge - which by the way is
resolutely modern and with the most phenomenal views 

http://cjoint.com/?kupRwotfXr

and so we made our way to the dining room. This is again modern, a long
room, with a corridor all along the length, separating it from the kitchen.
A stream runs down just inside the wall, and access is via slightly bowed
bridges at every table. Lots of granite and basalt make up the decor which
is stunning. 

To be continued

Bon appetit
Ian in Forges
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