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Thoroughly Modern, Totally Classic
PARIS – Anyone wondering what might have happened
to Grand French cuisine should reserve a table at Les
Elysees du Vernet, where the talented Eric Briffard
has been working his magic since December.
With touches that are both thoroughly modern and totally
classic, Briffard’s current menu offers something
for everyone. From the plumpest and sweetest scallops
to his rosemary-infused grilled lobster and on to the
finest duck I have ever eaten anywhere, he somehow
covers all bases.
While some chefs let the finest ingredients speak
for themselves and others prefer to impose their own
personality on the ingredient (often smothering it
in the process), Briffard manages to pull off both.
There is absolutely no question about the quality of
his ingredients, which he treats with utmost respect.
But what is amazing is his range of creativity.
Briffard is one of the many talents to come out of
Joel Robuchon’s kitchens, and to my mind one
of the best. After sampling a series of dishes in a
single sitting – one more appealing than the
next – one is reminded of watching a top athlete
perform. How does she or he do it, one asks. With lots
and lots of practice, more than the rest.
The very first dish on the menu is a pure virtuoso
performance: Legumes racine du potager du Joel. With
all manner of winter root vegetables in a single dish,
each is treated as though it was made of gold, not
simply plucked from the cold winter ground. Arranged
on a square glass plate like a perfect bouquet, we
devour bright red radishes, yellow as well as orange
carrots, turnips, Japanese artichokes (crosnes), baby
onions and leeks, and celery root, potatoes and onions.
A shower of the thinnest julienne of fresh truffles
perfumes the dish and adds a perfect crunch. The vegetables
are escorted by a tiny toasted baguette slathered with
a brilliantly flavored horseradish cream that’s
dusted with minced fresh truffles and paired with a
delicious jelly of pot au feu, offering a perfect contract
of textures. .
His food is complex but everything is there for you
to see, so it is food that’s easy to understand.
My favorite langoustines were treated with the respect
they deserve, arriving out of the shell, teamed with
paper thin slices of chorizo, a platter or crunchy
vegetables and a winning artichoke vinaigrette.
The black truffle season is almost over, so if you
want one last hit of this magical mushroom, race over
and sample the copious salad of golden sliced charlotte
potatoes literally smothered with thick discs of the
most perfect and sensual fresh black truffles. Tangled
with the warm potatoes are bits of dried tomato and
thin slivers of lomo, or faintly smoked pork loin,
a Basque region specialty. The slight smokiness is
welcome, almost giving the truffles themselves a slight
hint of smokiness.
Equally delicious is his beautiful tart of leek and
truffles, a retooled version of Robuchon’s famous
truffle and bacon tart. Here, Briffard uses the mildly
salty ventrèche (France’s version of pancetta)
sparingly, letting the leeks and truffles cut into
generous slivers play a colorful black and green contrast.
Alongside, there’s a slim shot glass full of
a frothy sweet onion cream, laced with a bright hit
of balsamic vinegar. Brilliant, just brilliant.
My favorite sherry-like vin jaune from the Jura appears
in sauce bathing a creative combination of sweet white
Saint Pierre and oysters; while a beautifully grilled
lobster arrives smoking from the kitchen, the fragrance
of rosemary filling the room.
The duck – canette de barbarie au sang – was
just the best I ever sampled. Fragrant, rich, rosy,
it was the true definition of that fine and often abused
poultry. Served with surprising tamarind sauce, turnips
and pears poached in spicy wine, it is a fine winter
dish if there ever was one.
Desserts are original as well, including a pan-roasted
baby pineapple deglazed with cider vinegar and served
with a rich vanilla ice cream.
One could make a meal out of their bread assortments,
ranging form yard-long slender bread sticks rich with
the flavor of top-quality olive oil to a fine version
of the Italian slipper bread. The classics – such
as olive rolls and whole wheat – are hard to
turn down.
The wine list is exhaustive and includes some treasures,
such as the dense, intense red 100 % syrah Vinsobres,
Civades 2001, from , priced at 50 €.
Now that the hotel – built as a townhouse in
1913 – has the talents of Eric Briffard the best
thing they could do is hire a decorator to re-do the
dining room. It could be one of the prettiest in town,
with its Gustav Eiffel glass ceiling and lovely volume.
As it stands, the lighting is all wrong, the décor
totally out of date and heavy, even headache inducing.
They could at least buy the chef some new plates: The
mismatched old and new, square and round, hardly do
justice to Briffard’s talents.
Service here is excellent, attentive without being
invasive, and relaxed in a modern sort of way.
Les Elysées du Vernet
Hôtel Vernet
25, rue Vernet
Paris 8
Tel: 01 44 31 98 00
Closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at lunch. All
major credit cards. 45 € lunch menu, includes service
and half bottle of wine; 120 € tasting menu at
dinner, include service but not wine. A la carte, 110 €,
including service but not wine.
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