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Illustrious Pic
VALENCE -- The first time we dined at the illustrious,
longtime Michelin three-star restaurant Pic was in the
1970’s, all part of a gastronomic blitz about France.
Pic was on the schedule for dinner, but that Sunday
morning as we tried to start the engine on our leased
Renault parked near a church in Lyon, flames began to
fly from the engine.
“Incendie!” was the first word that came
from our lips. As a Frenchmen walked out the church
and came to our aid, the first thing he did was correct
our French. This was not an “incendie” but
a ‘petit feu.”
At any rate, we had a car to tow to the repair shop
so did not make our lunch date at the then-renowned
Pyramide in Vienne. Instead, we hopped a train to Valence
to make sure we would be fed at dinner time.
I remember the meal at Pic as glorious but more important
I remember the breakfast that morning in the dining
room, the freshly cut rose in the silver vase, and our
good bye. As we departed, intending to walk to the train
station, chef Jacques Pic suggested the staff bring
our car around. When he realized we had no car and were
walking to the station, he grabbed a chef from the kitchen
to drive us. As we drove off, Monsieur Pic raced after
us on foot, with a bottle of champagne and a Relais
& Château key chain as a souvenir. That memory
of gentle kindness has stayed with me for decades as
a reminder of just how generous the French can be. And
we still use the key chain for the keys to our wine
cellar.
Much has changed at Pic since then. Jacques Pic passed
away, his son, Alain briefly took over the stoves, and
now, after a family feud, 30-year-old daughter Anne-Sophie
Pic her husband, David Sinapian, along with mother Suzanne
are running the illustrious hotel-restaurant, which
now has two Michelin stars. (Alain Pic can now be found
in Grenoble, at the restaurant Les Mesanges-Alain Pic.)
I will admit to a bit of apprehension at returning
to this, one of the most traditional of grand French
restaurants. Sometimes the weight of tradition weighs
just too much, and I did wonder what could this 30-year-old
gal tell us about the all that has passed through these
august kitchens.
I was delightfully surprised, for what I found was
truly luscious fare, a menu that on paper appears overly
ambitious but on the plate comes off as modern, light,
ethereal, full of clean, clear flavors. In fact the
hardest part of the meal is wading through the menu
choices and names. But once you’ve made up your
mind and placed your order, you are home free!
The tiny Anne-Sophie seems to work like a fireball,
instilling new, revitalized ideas in a very classical
house. While on paper many of the dishes seem to have
a very Asian touch (as do the many clean-lined dishes
on which she serves her very personal fare) the end
result has its roots in classical French cuisine.
And so she will tease us with appetizers of moist chicken
skewered on twigs of fragrant rosemary, or offer us
tiny madeleines seasoned with bits of ham and Parmesan
cheese, and rolls of smoked salmon served in tiny paper
cups.
Vegetables get star billing here in almost every dish,
as she pairs salads of lobster, crab, and langoustines
with baby leaves of red-ribbed Swiss chard and arugula,
with drizzles of a mayonnaise smooth and sheer as organdy.
Fresh langoustines appear on top of deliciously seasoned
crab meat studded with lime zest, surrounded by all
my favorite veggies: teepees of asparagus, fresh fava
beans, and baby spinach leaves anointed, again with
that sheer and airy mayonnaise.
A symphony of flavors abound in a simple serving of
ceteaux – precious baby soles – delicately
pan fried and paired with the tiniest of baby squid
stuffed with pasta and a pistou-like sauce.
A main course of guinea hen – pintade – stuffed
with olive leaves, rosemary, fennel, dried tomatoes
and black olives – was a pure delight in flavor
and presentation. The poultry was prepared in the most
traditional of ways – en vessie – or wrapped
in a pig’s bladder and poached in chicken stock,
making for a moist, fragrant bird. The marriage of the
tender guinea hen meat, the stuffing, all served with
great buttery girolles (chanterelles) and tiny ratte
potatoes was made in heaven.
The only disappointment of the meal was the bottle
of Chapoutier’s famed white Hermitage, a 1997 Chante
Alouette, a wine that seemed flat and uneventful, as
it should not be when priced at 490 francs a bottle.
We recovered, however, with a bottle of simple but sublime
red Côtes du Rhône, a Château d’Hugues
1995 well-priced at 140 francs.
Pic
285 boulevard Victor Hugo
26000 Valence
Tel: 04 75 44 15 32
Fax: 04 75 40 96 03.
Closed two weeks in January, Sunday evening, Tuesday
lunch, and Monday from November to March. Menus at 430
and 660 francs. A la carte, 490 to 660 francs, including
service but not wine.
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