The goal of the weekend, besides the anniversary, was to have amazing food and to see Ralph Lauren's car collection at the Louvre. I will start with the food. Being someone who reads food blogs (I know, food nerd) I came across a review of Agape Substance on the Paris by Mouth blog. It was a recent review and glowed about the meal, so I thought I would take a flyer and try to get a reservation. I called the restaurant, left a message and got a fairly prompt reply back. (How un-Parisian!) Reservation secured, we were locked in for Saturday night at a super new 24 seat restaurant. After making the reservation I found out that the restaurant has only been open for about ten days and has been visited by several noted critics,all of whom loved it. So we were pretty excited to go.
Last night was the reservation and it started really well. They were very accommodating and friendly, attentive, but not overbearing. We started off with a couple of glasses of Champagne to celebrate our Anniversary. The chef then started to bring the courses. Agape Substance presents a menu but you do not get to pick from it,which I think may be a bit of a mistake. The chef selects ingredients and then assembles a menu for you at his choice, first checking if you have any food issues. The courses started off in amazing fashion. The food was over the top, bright and vibrant, and technically superb. Unfortunately, had I picked my own menu, a couple of items that wound up on the plates of the patrons on either side of us would have been my first choice. Namely the Chanterelles for me and the chocolate for SWMBO. Even so, the food was amazing. I think my favorite dish was pigeon livers in a fois gras emulsion. Needless to say, SWMBO probably would not agree with that, but surprisingly, she ate it. Although she did give me the pigeon livers and just ate the emulsion. Another surprise was the Oeuf. SWMBO likes her poached eggs cooked to the point of a rubber ball. These were approximately a 3 minute egg. Just poached enough to stay whole for a couple of minutes but not enough for a completely solid white. Shockingly, SWMBO ate that too, and liked it. I think it was the garlic sauce.
I do enjoy going to over the top restaurants like this on occasion. I appreciate the skill that goes into the dishes and the innovation that it requires. Agape Substance definitely hit the notes on those counts, but unfortunately they did miss on others. They misunderstood that SWMBO does not eat fish and that includes all fish, not just shellfish. Additionally, as the restaurant got busier, the quality control went down a bit. This impacted the later patrons more than us but was noticeable in that we are all sitting at one long table.
As creative and tasty as the food was, I cannot imagine eating a place like this more than a couple of times a year. After the meal, we talked more about a meal that we had at a Michelin two star restaurant in Luxembourg that was not nearly as fussy and far more laid back and enjoyable. This is the thing with molecular gastronomy, the biochemist in me marvels at the unique preparation but in the end, it is vibrant flavor with little substance. Give me a well roasted chicken and I am probably happier and certainly more satisfied. It was a nice experience, with some great wine, but only a couple of times a year.
Following up on the late night, we had a leisurely morning. Omelets in a small bistro followed by a walk around the Louvre. The Ralph Lauren car show at the Louvre was the real reason for the trip, besides spending time with my lovely bride (had to put that in) and it did not disappoint. The 1938 Bugatti Atlantic is probably one of the most singularly stunning cars that I have ever seen. It is probably crap to drive, but it is gorgeous to look at. Similarly, the 1930 Mercedes SSK was also a stunner. Both of the cars have beautiful flowing lines and tapered bodies and could never be made today. SWMBO liked the Porsche 550 Spyder. I have it on good authority that she would look "Super Cute" in it. The other two cars that I really liked were the 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and the 1950 Jaguar XK120 Roadster. The Testa had a tapered body that presaged the form of modern F1 cars and just looked like it would make a wonderful noise. The Jag is just impossibly gorgeous and would make a fabulous cottage car (hint to the in-laws for a great 15th Anniversary Gift).
After drooling at cars we will never be able to afford, we wandered Paris a little more. coffee and tea at a cafe. A little sight seeing, etc. The nice thing about having been to Paris many times and living so close, we don't feel as though we have to take it all in at once. This is an incredible luxury, we know. It really makes visiting a city more pleasurable because there is no feeling of missing out. If we don't see something this trip, there is always the next. So our afternoon was essentially, finding quiet neighborhood bistro and sitting down for a leisurely two hour lunch, until we needed to catch a cab to the train station. The Bistro was in a quiet residential section of St. Germain De Pres in the 6th. The food was unfussy, tres correct, and delicious. We finished the meal by sharing a chocolate and hazelnut gateau that was simple and excellent. Proving again that good satisfying food is excellent in its own right.
A very nice weekend.
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