After visiting the Notre Dame cathedral, we walked through the Latin Quarter and found L'Epigramme, which is known for cooking with seasonal ingredients. We decided to both order their prix-fixe meal for lunch. Our bill prior to tip, including one glass of wine came out to about $85 US.
I forgot the actual french names of all the appetizers, entrees, and desserts that we ate at this restaurant. All I know is that the food and service were amazing
Mike's appetizer choice: foie gras.
Everything on the plate was edible, even the flower. This dish looked simple, but the texture and flavor combination was so complex. The cracker was light and crisp, the foie gras had buttery creamy texture, there was a sweet fruit paste, and these little crunchy tart citrus beads (in the pictures it's those blobs of yellow on the plate). I have no idea what this citrus flavored burst of flavor were, but the closest thing I can compare it to is citrus flavored orbs that had the texture of tobikko (flying fish eggs). It sounds counter intuitive to have fish eggs that taste like citrus, so maybe I was enamored by the food, that I am making things up. I am not quite sure if I was eating fish eggs,a part of a fruit, or some form of molecular gastronomy. If someone knows the answer to my question, please let me know.
My appetizer choice: pumpkin cappuccino
This dish was recommended by the waitress. At first I was a bit skeptical about ordering this dish. I do not drink cappuccinos because I think that it's mostly milk foam. I didn't really want to eat a cup of pumpkin foam, but I took her recommendation. I'm glad I did, because this was my favorite dish. This warm creamy soup was delicious, probably the best dish I ate in Paris. 
My entree: Fish with a fennel sauce
The fish was perfectly cooked and Mike really enjoyed this dish. I haven't quite wrapped my taste buds around fennel, so I had a difficult time eating the sauce. 
Mike's entree: lamb and beet salad
Again, Mike enjoyed this entree. The beets were fabulous. I've always enjoyed canned beets over fresh beets; but I guess I've never had fresh beets cooked so well. The beets were sweet, and cooked to a perfect texture.
Lauren's dessert: mango panna cotta
I saw another diner order this dish and though that the colors and presentation were so beautiful that I had to order it. Normally I usually order the chocolate dessert and stay away from the cheesecake or panna cotta type of desserts, but this one looked amazing. And yup, it did not disappoint. Mike and I agreed that I had won the dessert round and ordered the better dish. 
Mike's Dessert: Molten Chocolate Cake
The chocolate cake was good, but nothing compared to the smooth creamy panna cotta with the contrasting tart mango. After our experience at L'epigramme, all we wanted to do for the rest of our Paris trip was to seek out all of Dave Lebovitz's recommended restaurants. This led to a couple of fights and disappointments. This was not due to the food; it was merely caused by the lack of food....and the many miles we walked trying to find restaurants to be disappointed because they were either closed, done with service (since it took us so long to walk there). We were not opposed to catching the subways, it was just that we had a difficult time finding the stations. Lesson for our next trip, "Plan well so that we can eat at more good restaurants."
L'Epigramme
Here's a review of the restaurant in the NYtimes.com.
9 rue l'Eperon, 6e,
Paris, 75006
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4 comments:
sounds pricey for lunch but worth it :)
oooh everything sounds so great! thanks for sharing your experience - i'll definitely try to find the restaurant when we finally visit paris! :) happy new year!
Oh my, I think my tummy just grumbled. Everything looks delicious!
I just had my first taste of foie gras at Vinos in Honolulu. It was tasty and rich, but I think once was enough.
M&DT
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