Thursday, 28 July 2011
Ratings
I have reviewed and changed some of my previous restaurant ratings - the more reviews I wrote the more did I struggle to apply fair ratings. What I have tried now is to apply ratings that reflect the positioning of a restaurant in it's appropriate segment - for example, Mikuni, a Sushi & Izakaya type restaurant, deserves a 9/10 because it offers great quality and value for money in this category; The Bengal Lounge is the best Indian Restaurant I have been to and probably deserves an even higher score in that category (I will know for sure when I have sampled a few more comparable restaurants), and so on.
Food Review: La Grenouillère
La Grenouillière is a modern French restaurant just outside Montreuil-sur-Mer, a coastal town about 70km south of Calais. Which makes it the perfect destination for a casual lunch if you live in the London area. You might disagree given the myriads of good restaurants one can enjoy in London, but London is London, and France is France! Yesterday was the second time I made the trip with a friend and fellow gourmand and it was just as enjoyable as the first time around, although quite different in some regards.
La Grenouillière dares to be different. Sometimes a little too much so, as I will point out in this review, but mostly in a pleasant and entertaining way. We were curious about what we might expect this time around because last year we had been presented with some truly inspired food experiences such as a little heap of smouldering fresh juniper branches with a lobster tail hidden within (great fresh smoky flavour), a scoop of grass-green ice cream inside a crystal-clear sugar glass ball thrown on to your plate where it would shatter into pieces or, with coffee, a hammer and chisel taken to what looked like a piece of lava rock left as decoration on the dining table and what was really a Turkish Delight-like substance dyed grey through the use of squid ink. In addition, the restaurant had closed earlier this year for a major refurbishment so we were curious what it would look like.
As we arrived we went to sit in the lounge for a drink (G&T at and a glass of Champagne at a rather steep price of €15 each to find the cozy little area mostly unchanged. While we had our drinks we were presented with the menu in form of a crumpled up piece of flimsy A4 paper (one of the less inspired attempts at being different), an idea which was continued in the presentation of the wine list which was printed on the same flimsy paper and folded in half as a collection of loose sheets. While nibbling on some complimentary bread with herb-infused crème fraîche and very young raddish plants (the whole thing, including the still tender leaves - rather pleasant), we decided to go for the 8 course tasting menu for €85 (supplement of €12 for an extra cheese course) and proceeded to the dining area. Last year the restaurant consisted of a number of smaller interconnected dining rooms. This is now replaced by a large open room with a big glass front looking out into the garden, furnished with modern but comfortable light brown leather chairs and ovally shaped tables which also seemed to have a leather top in the same colour. In the middle of the room was a strange contraption which we suspected to be a hoax, or some would perhaps say a piece of modern art. There is also a spaghetti salad of wires hanging under the high ceiling feeding electricity to the small LED point lamps scattered around the room. One corner of the dining hall opened up into the showroom-type kitchen so we could watch the kitchen staff as they prepared our food in a calm and controlled manner, always a good sign I like to believe. The atmosphere of the restaurant has changed significantly since we came last year - a rather traditional French country restaurant (and I mean the premises not the food) has turned into a modern food temple. I have to admit that I preferred the previous setup, so call me old-fashioned!
We ordered a bottle of Pouilly-Fumée Prédilection 2009 from Jonathan Didier Pabiot at €86 and a bottle of Château Soutard Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé 2000 at €124 (both very good wines and normally priced for a Michelin-starred outfit: both wines retail for around 40-50 Euro), the former decanted and placed in an ice-bucket inside a leather-bag that was hung on the wall and the letter just opened and left to breathe in the bottle - an informed choice by the sommelier as we agreed on later. So, without further ado, here comes the food!
Bar, Nectarine - thin slices of raw fish, very thin slices of fresh nectarine, a drizzle of olive oil and a little bit of pepper. Nice, a good start.
Eau de Mer, Avocat - a cube of ripe avocado flesh with a thin slice of raw fish hidden inside and some sea water (I would say it was water flavoured with Wakame algeas, salt and olive oil - then again, maybe it was really sea water). Good, not great.
Courgettes, huîtres - a massive half oyster shell (haven't seen them that big since Hawaii) with a raw fresh oyster inside, a thin slice of courgettes and some other green bits I can't quite remember now... Very good flavours, great presentation, but don't make the mistake we made: we were only given forks or spoons up to this point (and for the rest of the lunch as we realised later on), no knives, so in the effort to be good sportsmen we tried eating with the fork only. While you got away with that until now, you really needed a knife to cut the oyster and courgette at least in half so you can enjoy them together (unless you want to risk choking on them). We reckon that what was until then used as a butter knife (which was unusually sharp and big for that purpose anyway) was meant to be used as our all-purpose knife for the day. That is an attempt at being different that I find rather daft to be honest.
Petit pois - four types of peas: pea gnocchi, pea shoots, pea jus and pea powder (!!). The most inspired dish so far, quite clever!
Saint Pierre, épinard fraise - the latter is a spinach-like plant carrying tiny little berries which look more like raspberries than the strawberries lending their French name. This was cooked very briefly and served with a small filet of John Dory: a very nice, well rounded dish. Unfortunately did the little red fruits provide much more colour than flavour - the eyes were pleased but the palate somewhat disappointed. Therefore a little anti-climatic and not one of my favourites of the day.
Vachette ferrée, salicorne - the only meat dish in the menu was reminiscent of a dish that was served last year, too: then, a plate with many little leaves of different herbs was served (to achieve the "what the f..." effect I suppose), shortly after followed by some flash-grilled thin slice of marbled beef served from a carving board. This year, the herbs were replaced with some samphire, the meat and the presentation were the same. The beef was tasty and cooked rather rare, a good simple dish.
Les fromages - a selection of good cheeses, not the best I have seen, but absolutely fine. No frills (fruit, honey, chutneys, nuts, etc) attached, a little disappointing given the restaurant's ambitions.
Marjolaine, citron - lemon curd, arranged in a cigar-shape on the plate, with lots of marjoram-sprinkled mini-merengue sticking out of it. Original, very yummy, great dish! The best in my opinion since the more you tasted it, the more you wanted to have more of it!
Pêche, lait de vache - wonderfully sweet and aromatic peach wedges with a milk based cream, milk powder and some whipped cream on the side. A seemingly simple but rather clever combination of best quality fruit and varied textures of rich milky flavours. Right up there in my top three dishes of the day.
"Deux Espresso et deux Cognac" (each coffee charged at €5.50 and each Cognac at €18) were accompanied by some slightly different petit-four: one being absolutely brilliant, little fresh rhubarb sticks covered in and served sticking out of a bowl full of crushed almond dragées, and a quite overpowering generous portion of what looked like tiramisu but was really rather rubbery chocolate-streaked marshmallow...
All in all a great day out, a nice lunch but in comparison to last year less ingenious and occasionally even a little pretentious at what seemed to be noticeably increased prices (I believe then menu last year offered ten courses at just under €80 and drinks seemed quite a bit less pricey, too). Maybe La Grenouillière was listed a little too early in the Top 100 Restaurants of the World (ranking at 78)...
I find it difficult to apply my rating - last year it was certainly a 9/10, with mostly lovely food, brilliant ideas, a great atmosphere and providing very good value for money. This year I must take it down a notch. 8/10, mostly still that high because of the very friendly and charming service.
La Grenouillière dares to be different. Sometimes a little too much so, as I will point out in this review, but mostly in a pleasant and entertaining way. We were curious about what we might expect this time around because last year we had been presented with some truly inspired food experiences such as a little heap of smouldering fresh juniper branches with a lobster tail hidden within (great fresh smoky flavour), a scoop of grass-green ice cream inside a crystal-clear sugar glass ball thrown on to your plate where it would shatter into pieces or, with coffee, a hammer and chisel taken to what looked like a piece of lava rock left as decoration on the dining table and what was really a Turkish Delight-like substance dyed grey through the use of squid ink. In addition, the restaurant had closed earlier this year for a major refurbishment so we were curious what it would look like.
As we arrived we went to sit in the lounge for a drink (G&T at and a glass of Champagne at a rather steep price of €15 each to find the cozy little area mostly unchanged. While we had our drinks we were presented with the menu in form of a crumpled up piece of flimsy A4 paper (one of the less inspired attempts at being different), an idea which was continued in the presentation of the wine list which was printed on the same flimsy paper and folded in half as a collection of loose sheets. While nibbling on some complimentary bread with herb-infused crème fraîche and very young raddish plants (the whole thing, including the still tender leaves - rather pleasant), we decided to go for the 8 course tasting menu for €85 (supplement of €12 for an extra cheese course) and proceeded to the dining area. Last year the restaurant consisted of a number of smaller interconnected dining rooms. This is now replaced by a large open room with a big glass front looking out into the garden, furnished with modern but comfortable light brown leather chairs and ovally shaped tables which also seemed to have a leather top in the same colour. In the middle of the room was a strange contraption which we suspected to be a hoax, or some would perhaps say a piece of modern art. There is also a spaghetti salad of wires hanging under the high ceiling feeding electricity to the small LED point lamps scattered around the room. One corner of the dining hall opened up into the showroom-type kitchen so we could watch the kitchen staff as they prepared our food in a calm and controlled manner, always a good sign I like to believe. The atmosphere of the restaurant has changed significantly since we came last year - a rather traditional French country restaurant (and I mean the premises not the food) has turned into a modern food temple. I have to admit that I preferred the previous setup, so call me old-fashioned!
We ordered a bottle of Pouilly-Fumée Prédilection 2009 from Jonathan Didier Pabiot at €86 and a bottle of Château Soutard Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé 2000 at €124 (both very good wines and normally priced for a Michelin-starred outfit: both wines retail for around 40-50 Euro), the former decanted and placed in an ice-bucket inside a leather-bag that was hung on the wall and the letter just opened and left to breathe in the bottle - an informed choice by the sommelier as we agreed on later. So, without further ado, here comes the food!
Bar, Nectarine - thin slices of raw fish, very thin slices of fresh nectarine, a drizzle of olive oil and a little bit of pepper. Nice, a good start.
Eau de Mer, Avocat - a cube of ripe avocado flesh with a thin slice of raw fish hidden inside and some sea water (I would say it was water flavoured with Wakame algeas, salt and olive oil - then again, maybe it was really sea water). Good, not great.
Courgettes, huîtres - a massive half oyster shell (haven't seen them that big since Hawaii) with a raw fresh oyster inside, a thin slice of courgettes and some other green bits I can't quite remember now... Very good flavours, great presentation, but don't make the mistake we made: we were only given forks or spoons up to this point (and for the rest of the lunch as we realised later on), no knives, so in the effort to be good sportsmen we tried eating with the fork only. While you got away with that until now, you really needed a knife to cut the oyster and courgette at least in half so you can enjoy them together (unless you want to risk choking on them). We reckon that what was until then used as a butter knife (which was unusually sharp and big for that purpose anyway) was meant to be used as our all-purpose knife for the day. That is an attempt at being different that I find rather daft to be honest.
Petit pois - four types of peas: pea gnocchi, pea shoots, pea jus and pea powder (!!). The most inspired dish so far, quite clever!
Saint Pierre, épinard fraise - the latter is a spinach-like plant carrying tiny little berries which look more like raspberries than the strawberries lending their French name. This was cooked very briefly and served with a small filet of John Dory: a very nice, well rounded dish. Unfortunately did the little red fruits provide much more colour than flavour - the eyes were pleased but the palate somewhat disappointed. Therefore a little anti-climatic and not one of my favourites of the day.
Vachette ferrée, salicorne - the only meat dish in the menu was reminiscent of a dish that was served last year, too: then, a plate with many little leaves of different herbs was served (to achieve the "what the f..." effect I suppose), shortly after followed by some flash-grilled thin slice of marbled beef served from a carving board. This year, the herbs were replaced with some samphire, the meat and the presentation were the same. The beef was tasty and cooked rather rare, a good simple dish.
Les fromages - a selection of good cheeses, not the best I have seen, but absolutely fine. No frills (fruit, honey, chutneys, nuts, etc) attached, a little disappointing given the restaurant's ambitions.
Marjolaine, citron - lemon curd, arranged in a cigar-shape on the plate, with lots of marjoram-sprinkled mini-merengue sticking out of it. Original, very yummy, great dish! The best in my opinion since the more you tasted it, the more you wanted to have more of it!
Pêche, lait de vache - wonderfully sweet and aromatic peach wedges with a milk based cream, milk powder and some whipped cream on the side. A seemingly simple but rather clever combination of best quality fruit and varied textures of rich milky flavours. Right up there in my top three dishes of the day.
"Deux Espresso et deux Cognac" (each coffee charged at €5.50 and each Cognac at €18) were accompanied by some slightly different petit-four: one being absolutely brilliant, little fresh rhubarb sticks covered in and served sticking out of a bowl full of crushed almond dragées, and a quite overpowering generous portion of what looked like tiramisu but was really rather rubbery chocolate-streaked marshmallow...
All in all a great day out, a nice lunch but in comparison to last year less ingenious and occasionally even a little pretentious at what seemed to be noticeably increased prices (I believe then menu last year offered ten courses at just under €80 and drinks seemed quite a bit less pricey, too). Maybe La Grenouillière was listed a little too early in the Top 100 Restaurants of the World (ranking at 78)...
I find it difficult to apply my rating - last year it was certainly a 9/10, with mostly lovely food, brilliant ideas, a great atmosphere and providing very good value for money. This year I must take it down a notch. 8/10, mostly still that high because of the very friendly and charming service.
Location:Montreuil-sur-Mer, France
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Film Review: Mad Men (Seasons 1-4) Blu-Ray
OK, I admit it - at first I didn't get the whole hype about Mad Men. I watched a few episodes of Season 1 last year and, fair enough, the reviews were right in that the show was very stylish. But every single character on the programme was somehow... well, kind of horrible. And the whole idea of a programme about a marketing agency just seems alien, unless it would be done by Ricky Gervais. So after three episodes or so I gave up.
And then a few days ago I started over. And gave it a bit more time. And as the first season progressed it was getting better. The show looks great, the production value is fantastic and the USA of the early 60s come to life on your television like never before in a contemporary programme. But that's not it - the weird thing is that the apparently horrible characters over time just prove to be damaged people, flawed, weak, sad and sometimes just misled. And that is what makes these characters real - behind the façade of the smart creative director, his beautiful wife and so many other characters you discover people who you can't help but care for, not despite of but because of all their faults. The show has a few funny moments which are not very obvious and not laugh-out-loud funny, but it's mostly serious drama you're in for. An investment worth making though, stay with it into the second season and you will be hooked, too. 9/10
And then a few days ago I started over. And gave it a bit more time. And as the first season progressed it was getting better. The show looks great, the production value is fantastic and the USA of the early 60s come to life on your television like never before in a contemporary programme. But that's not it - the weird thing is that the apparently horrible characters over time just prove to be damaged people, flawed, weak, sad and sometimes just misled. And that is what makes these characters real - behind the façade of the smart creative director, his beautiful wife and so many other characters you discover people who you can't help but care for, not despite of but because of all their faults. The show has a few funny moments which are not very obvious and not laugh-out-loud funny, but it's mostly serious drama you're in for. An investment worth making though, stay with it into the second season and you will be hooked, too. 9/10
Monday, 18 July 2011
Film Review: Unknown (Blu-Ray) - and The Tourist, in one half sentence
Unknown is everything what The Tourist probably tried to be: It's elegant, suspenseful and filmed 50 years earlier could have fit in seamlessly with the best of Hitchcock's thrillers. Liam Neeson leads the cast as Dr. Martin Harris, a Biologist visiting a conference in Berlin with his wife (rising star January Jones from Mad Men and X-Men: First Class). After an accident he loses his short-term memory and nothing is the same anymore. The whole film takes place in Berlin and was shot on location and in the Babelsberg studios. It manages to keep you interested at all times and moves at a good pace while keeping you guessing what is actually going on. Other than Neeson and Jones, the cast includes the German actors Diane Kruger (playing a woman from Bosnia - you may remember her from Inglorious Basterds, the two National Treasure flicks, Troy and The Piano Player), Bruno Ganz (actually Swiss, but led the cast in many German films from Wim Wenders' classic The American Friend to Downfall - Der Untergang) and Sebastian Koch (The Loves of Others) as well as Aidan Quinn and Frank Langhella. The film is reminiscent of some of Hitchcock's work such as North by Northwest or Torn Curtain, but in a modern packaging. 7/10
Film Review: Eat Pray Love (Blu-Ray)
I'll be brief - very much unlike this film: Eat Pray Love was the first film in quite a while that I didn't finish watching. After about an hour I gave up. And even then did I make it through the last 30 minutes or so merely hoping that Javier Bardem may finally appear in a desperate attempt to save the film - he never showed (well, not within the first hour anyway). I wonder whether part of the problem was the casting - Julia Roberts does not fit into the role of the somewhat annoying high maintenance lead character. Julianne Moore or Julia Dreyfuss could have given this film a different perspective, the former with a much more edgy presence, the latter with her trademark sardonic sense of humour. Don't get me wrong - I love Julia Roberts in films such as Erin Brokovich, but this one doesn't work. Give it a miss. 3/10
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