| rev:text
| - Totally disappointing! Not worth $25 let alone $1300.
A friend and i were planning to meet for dinner and her Chef Friend offered to make the reservation at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. I had been here once before and had an amazing experience - that was in 2013. Chef told my friend not to worry about the big price tag because we would be offered a $59 menu. We tried for that, but NO our indifferent waiter (if that's his title) informed us that all we could order was one of two menus, (and a possible third vegetarian menu) so we got the $195 (each) Discovery menu of: an Amuse Bouche, Le Chou Fleur, Le Potiron, Les Huitres, Les Lentilles Rouges, Le Black Cod, La Volaille or Le Contre-Filet, La Pomme, and Le Chocolat. We selected the second wine pairing level at $255 (each) which was a fantastic choice -- the wines and the wine-presenter were/was superlative! The foods were nothing special. The panacotta dish had no flavor and the mixed textures didn't work at all. The squash canneloni was cooked to perfection and was basically ok, if you like pasta made with squash. The oysters with butter cream sauce and green asparagus did not work at all, the oyster-flavor overpowered the sauce and the asparagus overpowered both in in terms of taste and texture. The cod was fishy, Julia Childs would commend this as she always suggested waiting until the rigor mortis sets in -- most Americans do not favor this however. The chicken was horrible -- dry and tasteless. The steak was ok. (she got one, i got the other and we split). The dessert was nothing special at all.
So that leaves the Amuse Bouche -- out of this world outstanding: Parfait de foie gras au Porto sous une emulsion de parmesan. Perfect flavor and texture (MORE PLEASE!) The non-vintage Champagne (Philippe Gonet Brut) was particularly good with the Amuse Bouche. The soup: veloute Esau au petit sale, chicharron moutarde et sauge aka lentil soup was fantastic. But who goes to THIS restaurant for soup? And of course the piece de resistance was the mashed potatoes. Again, who pays $1300 for two for mashed potatoes, lentil soup and foie gras parfait -- all about two bites each? Disappointing to say the least! Definitely NOT up to the standards of 2013 where they had lines of sous chefs with tweezers placing amazing textures and flavors on amazing food.
The other wine proffered were Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis 2014, Alain Chavy Poligny Montrachet 2013, Alter Ego de Chateau Palmer 2011, Weinlaubenhof Kracher Beernenauslese 2015 and Taylor Fladgate 30 year Tawny Port. They were all outstanding. Not big portions, but very very good.
Bottom line, SKIP this place. I suspect that it is still living on a reputation earned years ago and if the crowds keep coming, they are happy to DROP the STANDARDS and if nobody says anything here or elsewhere people will keep coming. So STOP going and maybe they will return to the standards that befit a $1300 dinner bill for two!
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