A Life Worth Eating

It’s springtime in Paris. The peas flowers are beginning to blossom, morels tulips are starting to be seen, and restaurants things stay open just a little bit later. Yes, it is a happy time here, particularly when restaurants embrace the life that spring brings to the vegetable garden.

My friend from Genova was in town this weekend, and had e-mailed me the two restaurants he was “thinking” about visiting during his short trip to Paris: Le Bristol and La Bigarrade. I knew Le Bristol had garnered a third star this year, so I was excited about that. But what was the second one, La Bigarrade? A quick reference to my Michelin guide revealed they too had just gotten a star. I thought about it, at first with reservation, but I quickly remembered that my wise friend has a knack for finding interesting restaurants, even in cities where he doesn’t live ! I humbly agreed and suggested we make a reservation. “I already made one … last month,” he told me. He’s also very organized. Located in the seventeenth by the Brochant metro stop off the thirteen, La Bigarrade is located just outside of convenient. Did my Genovese friend want to go here because the co-chef, Giuliano Sperandio, was also from Northern Italy? My suspicion grew, as Italian pride can be very strong.

There is an Italian proverb — chi non risica non rosica — meaning he who doesn’t take risks won’t nibble anything. And I welcome taking risks in the kitchen when it leads to exciting and innovative dishes, so long as flavor remains paramount. But when taking risks for its own sake is the priority, the experience suffers. Chef Paolo Lopriore is such a risk taker. He intentionally uses flavors that other chefs shy away from, and with reason: to about 99.9% of the human population, they don’t taste good. But taste is in the mind of the beholder, I had to keep telling myself throughout this roller coaster dinner at his restaurant, Il Canto.

Il Canto is located in the Certosa di Maggiano hotel, a Relais & Chateaux property in Siena. The hotel is beautiful, both intimate and rustic. It’s non-descript entrance gives way to a medieval courtyard whose focal point is a well dating back to the 13th century. Bordering this open space, on the first floor, are salons for the hotel’s thirteen guest rooms and outdoor seating for taking an evening apéritif. The second floor is where the hotel rooms are located, each with a view overlooking the courtyard. When we arrived, we were the only people around so our footsteps clicked on the cobblestone and resounded through the cloisters. If it were just a little warmer, we would have stayed outside in this calming atmosphere for a bit, a silent and surreal pause before dinner.

No matter the time of day, my appetite, my clothing, or my food preference, L’Atelier always seemed like the right place to go, and I think that’s a really important quality of a favorite restaurant. Considering the amount of times we’ve eaten here, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Aaron and I have tried everything on the Fall 2006, Winter 2006, Spring 2007, and Summer 2007 menus, and even some of executive chef Yosuke Suga’s experimental dishes. Maybe this is why L’Atelier is perhaps our favorite restaurant in Manhattan.

L’Atelier’s location inside the Four Seasons Hotel might suggest a level of stuffiness, but this is quickly eliminated by Joël Robuchon’s unique sushi-bar style seating, which forces complete strangers to talk with, rather than about, each other. This setup also means that the final platings are done directly in front of diners, allowing them to have an increased appreciation of the work that goes into each course, while cleverly hiding the messier kitchen elements behind closed doors. The energy from the adjacent Four Seasons cocktail lounge also flows into the restaurant, setting a lively tone without airs, something that is very much appreciated in contrast to many other haute French restaurants where the only sound is that of cutlery hitting the plate.

Aragawa is certainly not known for its decor. As a restaurant located at the end of a dark hallway in the basement of an office building in Tokyo’s Shinbashi business area, some might even claim that this restaurant is humble: there’s certainly no grand entrance with valet parking. In fact, there isn’t even an entrance. [...]