Alain Ducasse à l'hôtel Plaza Athenée - Paris

Lunch at Alain Ducasse on October 22, 2010. Easily one of the top meals of my life . . .


Alain Ducasse à l'hôtel Plaza Athenée - 25 Avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris, France - 01 53 67 65 00



Duo of Amuses
House-cured bacon and trout on house-baked toast points.



Bread Cart
The variety and quality of breads on this cart would put many bakeries to shame.



Bread Cart
The variety and quality of breads on this cart would put many bakeries to shame. (so nice, I showed it twice)



Mini Baguette
Utterly awesome.



House-churned Unsalted Butter
Really excellent butter . . . needless to say



House-churned Salted Butter
More really excellent butter . . . still needless to say



Pan-roasted Little Shrimpies and Whole Cloves of Garlic
Tender, crispy and light. The 3 of us were served 2 skillets of these.



Toast
This was served with the shrimp. I buttered up my bread, spread some roasted garlic on it, topped it with a shrimp head and popped it in my mouth . . . several times.



Pate Chaud de Perdreau (partridge)



Pate Chaud de Perdreau (partridge)
Hard to say which was better, the pastry or the filling. Both were magnificent.



Cabbage Salad
This tasty and beautiful salad was a "side dish" with the Pate Chaud.



Ecrevisses (crawfish) en Bisque
Luxurious and rich, this was so intense and deeply flavored, I laughed out loud when I tasted it.



Tartare Canapes ?
These were served as a side dish with the bisque. Due to translation issues, I'm honestly not sure what exactly they were but I think they were some sort of tartare, possibly also crawfish. Fantastic!



Langoustines Rafraichies, Caviar
Immaculately fresh flavors, perfect textures . . . one of the greatest dishes I've ever eaten in my life.



Broth
Again, I'm not exactly sure what this was but it was a warm, compelling, seafood-tasting broth that was served with the langoustines and caviar.



Sole Meuniere, Cepes
So simple yet so complex. This dish exemplifies what culinary mastery is all about. Flavors were amazing and everything was cooked perfectly. Look at those golden brown, buttery croutons . . . every single one of them is exactly the same size.



Homard, pommes de mer (lobster, sea apples)
Succulent and tender pieces of delectable lobster. One of the best lobster preparations I've ever enjoyed.



Volaille Albufera, tartufi di Alba (Chicken breast Albufera with white Alba truffles)
Un-fricking believable dish. The chicken was so flavorful and astonishingly moist. The liberal shaving of white truffles, delivered tableside, sent this dish beyond over the top.



Consomme
This was served with the chicken and, of course, included more white truffles.



Consomme
This smelled so incredible I *almost* didn't want to eat it.



Salad with Cepes
A light and refreshing respite between lunch and dessert.



Cheese Cart
Katie bar the door! I was already so full but this assortment of superior cheeses, many made from raw milk, was too tempting to resist.



Cheese Plate
I ended up choosing 5! . . . including an incredible Stilton (back) a muenster and a comte.



Nut & Fruit Bread
More phenomenal bread; this one served with the cheeses.



Brittle
This was brought out with coffee, after the cheese course was over. It was light and despite its appearance, not very sweet at all.



Macarons
This pre-dessert was brought out with the coffee and the brittle pictured above. These were sensational -- as good as any we had in Paris . . . and we had a lot of them.



Fraises, Creme, Meringue
These wild strawberries were so flavorful and really made me lament the quality of berries I typically find at here at home.



Caille de brebis, caramel-poivre (curdled sheep's milk, caramel pepper)
The rich, pungent caille is front/left. Not exactly what the ice cream was but it was delicious and very caramelly.



Chocolate, cafe, brioche
This fantastically addictive pot featured both hot and cold layers, with deep, sweet chocolate, coffee and gold leaf.



Brioche
Basically a toasted brioche and melted, dark chocolate sandwich. Awesome!



Chocolates
These chocolates, filled with a chocolately-hazelnut paste were awesome . . . though we were beyond capacity.



Chocolate Truffles
These were brought out next. They were not at all wafer thin but I had to have one. It was sensational as I let it melt in my mouth.



Infusion Cart
We were so full, we probably should have had one, though we didn't. I've never seen this anywhere else and it's a very cool concept, with the fresh herbs, honey and other elixirs which are custom blended to order.



Candy Cart
This rolled by next, filled with house-made confections like intensely-flavored caramels and gellies. We were just too full but luckily, our friend Louisa Chu -- who used to work making treats for this cart -- informed us that we could ask for a bag of treats to take away . . .



Bag of Candy
. . . so we did. Thanks, Louisa!



The Room
By the end of our relaxing, filling and satisfying 3-hour lunch, we were the only diners left in the room. It was elegant, tasteful and immensely comfortable, with no gaudiness to it at all. There were modern touches throughout, which made it clear that the restaurant was as comtemporary as it was classical. If you look at the supremely comfortable chairs, you'll see retractable shelves in their bases. I didn't have a purse but it was an ideal perch for my camera. Talk about a perfect room in which every detail had been considered!

This really was a ground-breaking meal for me. I was so pleased -- though not really surprised -- by the superior level of every aspect of the experience. Service was incredibly polished, yet friendly, helpful and warm. The ingredients were so amazing, I marvelled at their quality. The preparations were, in a word, perfect. Thinking about it, as I have over and over in the 2 weeks since it happened, it was one of the culinary highlights of my life. I can only hope that the future holds other meals that even begin to approach the rare area occupied in my memory and imagination by this one.

=R=

Beautiful pictures Ronnie, and I'm glad you were as thrilled with your meal as I was when I dined there a few years ago. That meal, and one of my meals at Alinea, are tied for the best meal of my life even though the two could not be more different. But the flavors and execution I enjoyed at Alain Ducasse were at levels I had never before experienced.

Unbelievable, thank your for that post! What I want to know is, what did you do for dinner that night? Was there dinner?

jesteinf wrote:Unbelievable, thank your for that post! What I want to know is, what did you do for dinner that night? Was there dinner?

Yes, there was dinner -- at Chez Josephine Dumonet -- though I regret not being able to eat more at that dinner because the food was astonishingly good. I think chef Dumonet -- who watched his dining room like a hawk -- was a bit concerned that we didn't like our food until we apologized to him and explained that we'd had a huge lunch at Ducasse. At that point, his eyes lit up and he practically embraced us. Not only did he no longer seem concerned about our apparent lack of appetite, he actually seemed bemused that we would even attempt such a combination.

I have to say that I really regret not being able to eat more in general during our stay in Paris. On 2 other occasions huge lunches convinced us to cancel our dinner reservations. I deeply regret not being able to try those other 2 restaurants (Passage 53, Tan Dinh) and still wonder how they might have been. I really thought that between all my "training" and the immense amount of walking we did (nearly 5 miles on a couple of the days), that I would have been able to eat (aka experience) more of Paris. Happily, the trade show I was attending takes place every 2 years, so I foresee another trip to Paris in 2012.

=R=

Those pictures are beautiful. Your description only makes me wonder why the heck I haven't been back to Paris in so so long.

What a fantastic experience for Lucas, he's also a great kid.

Thanks for sharing,

You know, after 35 years of sitting in a lab testing blood and body fluids, I'm beginning to wonder why I never got a job where you could go to a trade show in Paris! Maybe when I retire in Feb. I can re-invent myself and find such a job! Anyway, thank you for sharing. I may never get to Paris. I may never eat a meal like that. However, it is always wonderful to know it is there and to have hope!

O.K. so the first thing I did after seeing those pics was to search Expedia for cheap flights to Paris. What type of lead time did you need for that reservation?

I in no way mean the following comments to detract from the overwhelming majority of reviews posted on LTH, most of which (including my own) rely on words with some pictures. Ron's post has done the opposite: heavy reliance on pictures with minimal commentary.

And I find it one of the most thought-provoking reviews I think I've ever read here. The pictures are so exquisite as to take one's breath away. Indeed, breathtaking isn't even an adequate word to describe these photographs. And because they are so extraordinary, I find that they force me to think about everything they encompass from ingredients to presentation to taste to the whole experience of having a meal. Coming on the heels of a very disappointing meal in Vancouver, these photographs illustrated just how absolutely extra-ordinary and mind-boggling a single meal can be.

Thanks, Ron, for your art and for sharing that gift with us.

Thanks everyone, for the kind comments. This really was a case of having to let the pictures do the talking because I don't speak French and it wasn't possible to have a detailed conversation with the restaurant staff about the food or its preparation. I still managed to learn quite a bit from the experience, though not in the way I typically do.

thaiobsessed wrote:What type of lead time did you need for that reservation?

A little over a week, with our concierge's assistance. I wasn't able to book very far in advance (even though I knew about the trip for months) because my work schedule wasn't entirely squared away until about a week before our trip . . . and work was ultimately the reason for the trip.

Lunch reservations are easier to land than dinner. At this lunch, which was on a Friday, the room was never full. I'm not sure if that was by design or if additional capacity was available.

=R=

Gypsy Boy wrote:Thanks, Ron, for your art and for sharing that gift with us.

Eyepopping, thought provoking, amazingly evocative. Oddly, what attracts me most in Ronnie's series of pictures is the bread and butter. Perfect crusty bread and butter so rich it should be wearing gold cuff links make me light headed.

G Wiv wrote:

Gypsy Boy wrote:Thanks, Ron, for your art and for sharing that gift with us.

Eyepopping, thought provoking, amazingly evocative. Oddly, what attracts me most in Ronnie's series of pictures is the bread and butter. Perfect crusty bread and butter so rich it should be wearing gold cuff links make me light headed.

I was hoping (again) that the pics would speak for themselves but the breads and butters were nothing short of spectacular. These were really some of the finest examples of both that I've ever tasted. The butter was rich and creamy with a subtle and restrained tanginess to it. The breads were all amazing but that baguette was so perfect -- crusty on the outside with a tender and uneven crumb on the inside. It threw off such a beautiful aroma, it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. The pieces of toast were amazingly complex and immensely satisfying. All the breads had a complexity of flavor that developed and evolved throughout the chew. I think I could have made a meal out of them alone (and actually did eat bread and butter alone on a couple of other occasions during the trip).

=R=

Wonderful report, thanks Ron.

thaiobsessed wrote:O.K. so the first thing I did after seeing those pics was to search Expedia for cheap flights to Paris.

My impression is that it's always expensive to fly to CDG, but thanks to it being "off-season" I was just able to book ORD-CDG for $40 + 20k FF miles each way. On previous visits to Paris we've flown open-jaw (In: Frankfurt, Out: Paris and In: Paris, Out: Milan) to save on airfare and see a bit more of the country. I don't know if I'd ever have fallen in love with Lyon or the Vosges Mountain regions (or experienced perhaps the best meal of my life at L'Arnsbourg) if not for trying to find cheap(er) airfare in and out of Paris.

Ronnie-
Was there any reaction to your camera, or have French restaurants become as used to food photographers as ones here have?

-Will

WillG wrote:Was there any reaction to your camera, or have French restaurants become as used to food photographers as ones here have?

Of course, I asked first if I could take pictures of my food. I was told, with a smile, that I was welcome to "take pictures of anything." A couple other diners were also taking pictures at Ducasse.

=R=

Stunning. I can't think of a better set of LTH eyes to have at this meal.

Thanks for putting one in the bank. I know I'll come back often to re-visit this meal.

I know certain gastronauts around the globe slightly sneer at Alain Ducasse. Obviously, unlike most of the other 3 Star places, AD is not personally orchestrating the diner's meals, and that by nature puts some off. Moreover, this may be modern cuisine but it is not, by a long shot, modern cuisine. There was nothing deconstructed. Did I miss it, or were there any dishes in quotes? Foam? Gelees? Levitating dishes. I'm not personally making a value judgment, but I know others ding Ducasse because he is not on the intellectual vanguard.

Of course, I could make my own value judgments, and all things being equal, someone filling my bank account with loose change, this is exactly how I'd want to spend it. This report only making it even more.

I do have two questions: First, no baba, the signature Ducasse dessert? Second, I am slightly interested/concerned about all that bread. How did you treat it without treating it as filler. A few of those mini-baguettes (and believe me I would have wanted thole whole bread cart), how could you have an appetite for the rest of lunch?

Vital Information wrote:Thanks for putting one in the bank. I know I'll come back often to re-visit this meal.

I know certain gastronauts around the globe slightly sneer at Alain Ducasse. Obviously, unlike most of the other 3 Star places, AD is not personally orchestrating the diner's meals, and that by nature puts some off. Moreover, this may be modern cuisine but it is not, by a long shot, modern cuisine. There was nothing deconstructed. Did I miss it, or were there any dishes in quotes? Foam? Gelees? Levitating dishes. I'm not personally making a value judgment, but I know others ding Ducasse because he is not on the intellectual vanguard.

Of course, I could make my own value judgments, and all things being equal, someone filling my bank account with loose change, this is exactly how I'd want to spend it. This report only making it even more.

I do have two questions: First, no baba, the signature Ducasse dessert? Second, I am slightly interested/concerned about all that bread. How did you treat it without treating it as filler. A few of those mini-baguettes (and believe me I would have wanted thole whole bread cart), how could you have an appetite for the rest of lunch?

Rob,

I think that maybe those who sneer at Ducasse are just more worldly than I am. I thought it was a brilliant meal and long ago divorced myself from believing that "the chef" must be in the restaurant in order for a meal to be successful. We also ate at Pierre Gagnaire (report to follow) on a night when he was not only in-house but even saw us to our cab. The meal was unquestionably brilliant and provocative but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as this meal at Ducasse.

As for the bread, we loved it and tasted it all but didn't eat a lot of it. We definitely knew that doing so would limit our capacity to enjoy other parts of the meal. For example, those were mini baguettes and between the 3 of us, we barely finished one. I felt bad leaving it behind but I knew better.

As for the baba, it was a casualty of family negotiations. Of course, I would have loved to have experienced it. But Julie and Lucas were very committed to their dessert choices and I felt like chocolate had to be part of the meal. Had I known just how much off-menu chocolate was going to be served, I certainly would have baba'd. Oh well, next time.

=R=

Thanks, Ron. Terrific stuff. Makes me regret not visiting his place in Monte Carlo a few years back...

You know, Ducasse was very close to having the restaurants and kitchen at the Trump here in Chicago. Fell through for various reasons.

I LOVE the expressions on Lucas's face - and his post-lunch body language is too hilarious! Thank you so much Ron for the gorgeous photos - as always.

My favorite thing about your posts of these meals is that we get to experience not just the wonderful food and ambience but a little of the effect it had on you and your family. Thank you.

I will forever be in awe that you have a 13 year old son who will wear a jacket and order duck confit!!!! Seriously, what a wonderful experience to share together--and he'll be especially grateful when, in a few years, he's on a date and gets to drop "so when I had dinner at Alain Ducasse a few years ago..." Priceless!

I was just idly reviewing your epic pix (as I've done several times today) and I wondered how you found the muenster (if it's too hard to recall, and it may very well be, disregard).

David Hammond wrote:I was just idly reviewing your epic pix (as I've done several times today) and I wondered how you found the muenster (if it's too hard to recall, and it may very well be, disregard).

It was great . . . creamy with a hefty, funky nose. It reminded me a lot of the muenster Gerome that was served at the Mulfefoot dinner at Blackbird back in October of 2008.

=R=

What a fabulous post and great pictures. The only thing I would say is that I'd love to have that experience someday. Unfortunately I could not eat but probably a small taste of each of the foods offered as my eating capacity has diminished with age.

Ronnie, I'm curious: I've got no opinion one way or another on taking pictures in fine-dining restaurants, but I know it is an issue with some. Did you feel at all inhibited about taking pictures at Alain Ducasse? Did you ask permission? I note that the place was pretty much empty by the time you finished your meal, so I presume no fellow diners were bothered. Just wondering how you handled this.

Katie wrote:Ronnie, I'm curious: I've got no opinion one way or another on taking pictures in fine-dining restaurants, but I know it is an issue with some. Did you feel at all inhibited about taking pictures at Alain Ducasse? Did you ask permission? I note that the place was pretty much empty by the time you finished your meal, so I presume no fellow diners were bothered. Just wondering how you handled this.

Addressed.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

WillG wrote:Was there any reaction to your camera, or have French restaurants become as used to food photographers as ones here have?

Of course, I asked first if I could take pictures of my food. I was told, with a smile, that I was welcome to "take pictures of anything." A couple other diners were also taking pictures at Ducasse.

=R=

Thanks. Sorry I missed that.

Hi there

We're heading to paris in about 3 weeks for a week and would love to try this place. How much was lunch? Any idea how much it cost for dinner as well?

WE've already got reservations for Frenchie and Spring so looking to round out our 5 nights in Paris!

trs23 wrote:We're heading to paris in about 3 weeks for a week and would love to try this place. How much was lunch? Any idea how much it cost for dinner as well?

WE've already got reservations for Frenchie and Spring so looking to round out our 5 nights in Paris!

These are both places about which I've heard a lot of good things. They were on our short list but we only had so many days. I really hope you'll report back on all your Paris food experiences.

For the most part, main courses ranged from 70€-160€; fixed-price menus -- there are a few different ones -- ranged from 260€-360€.

Enjoy!

=R=