honeymoon in france (2nd full day)

Second day completed in this beautiful city, and I've got a few pictures to share before I close my eyes for the night. We've already gotten into a comfortable routine of waking very early in the morning to visit sites, coming back to our hotel room for three to four hour naps and heading back out for dinner around nine. It feels very European, and I can't help but question the work ethic of this country (Europe in general sans Germany). We might try to break our established routine tomorrow by heading outside of the city, but no complaints - this schedule has been very accommodating to us thus far...

1. I don't really have anything to say about this pic. I just liked the seat colors (coated in French patriotism) of this particular Metro station. Paris' public transportation system is efficient like every other international city that I've been in, and begs questions, as always, about San Francisco's embarrassing MUNI system.



2. The day's tourist activities were concentrated around Notre Dame Cathedral and Sainte Chapelle. Emmelle tells me that Notre Dame is the largest Catholic church in the world. It is indeed very majestic when you walk into the church, but I can't help but wonder, how much would we (the world) care if Victor Hugo hadn't written Hunchback? The views of the city from the tower are terrific.

As for Sainte Chapelle - wow. Pretty stunning.



3. I recently wrote on the blog that whenever we dine at a high end French or Japanese restaurant, I feel as though I may possibly be encountering my "best meal ever". It's always in play with these two specific cuisines, and I think it makes sense because they share common characteristics unlike any other type of cuisine - precision, delicacy, balance, the utmost care in quality. These similar qualities may have provoked my subconscious to specifically search for a Parisian dining experience that would merge Japanese/French flavor profiles with French/Japanese techniques into one cohesive epicurean adventure. I think we succeeded with Concert de Cuisine (I would hyperlink to the website if only I could actually find it).



I've listed our tasting menu below (5 courses), so let me just say that the foie gras is one of the best dishes I've ever had in my life. The mastermind behind this restaurant decided that foie gras would pair nicely with unagi. I'm not sure I'll ever get to try something like this again, but...wow. It was unbelievable, and even now, reminiscing on our culinary adventure from just hours ago, I am a bit overwhelmed (and emotional). I read online that the uni at times is layered into the foie gras. I hyperventilate just thinking about that.

Additional highlights included a breaded and fried veal dish (Emmelle pointed out possible play on a katsu dish) in a rich miso and cheese sauce, a firm white cheese served during the cheese course that distinctly featured a fermented miso flavor (or perhaps the courses prior drew out those particular flavor components in the cheese?), the cod in yuzu dish during the fish course, both of our desserts. Simply exceptional and a definite recommendation for anyone that asks me where to go in Paris.

I came to France with the expectation that we wouldn't necessarily be trying anything new; French techniques and flavors have inspired pretty much every fine dining experience in the States. Thus, I thought we would really be experiencing a perfect execution of those familiar flavors and dishes. But Concert de Cuisine was a departure into something new and exciting - and I'm really looking forward to the harmonious convergence of French and Japanese fare in San Francisco at some point soon.

Here's all of the things we had (I'm just copying them verbatim from the menu):

Entree (first course)
* Steak de thon mi-cuit au wasabi, salade croquante shisho
* Terrine de foie gras et anguille teriyaki aux epices sansho

Poisson (Fish course)
* Encornet grille teppan-yaki aux legumes saisons
* Cabillaud grille et crevette au yuzu pimente, asperge blanche

Viande (Meat course)
* Entrecote grillee, choux verts, asperge, oignons rouges confits
* Gratine de carre de veau au miso de kyoto (saikyo-miso)

Fromage (Cheese course)

Dessert (um, dessert)
* Fraises en gelee de umeshu, glace miel lavande
* Paris-Kyoto (pate a choux, glace sesame noire, kinako)

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