today

Nathan, Thanh, and Yuri at the pass at Beast.

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On Friday night, I was invited to a Whole Animal Dinner at Beast. Nathan and I have been friends for a while, and we share a love of French food. He wanted me to taste his quenelle de brochet à la Lyonnaise, a fish mousse made from pickerel, shaped into a large quenelle, poached and served with sauce américaine and in this case, on a thin layer of savory mushroom custard. It was tender and rich, and If I closed my eyes I was in a bouchon in Lyon. 

Half of his kitchen team are women — their white button-up shirts are spotless. Thanh is from Bà Ria-Vũng a southeast coastal province in Vietnam. The City of Sagamihara in the prefecture of Kanagawa near Tokyo, Japan is Yuri’s home. Two dishes carried the imprint of their spirit and talent. They brought them out to me, leaving the kitchen for the first time, and explaining in detail the ingredients.

Lobster and American cheese were some of the ingredients in Thanh’s spring rolls and were so good I ate it before I got a photo. *laughs* The wrapper is from her family in Vietnam and was the thickness of a butterfly’s wing. I have never tasted a brighter nuoc cham — a crystalline pool of fish sauce, chilies, palm sugar, and acid.

And then there was shrimp sausage the precise texture of boudin blanc. Nathan likes the French chef technicians. He has gone through many of their recipes mastering the sausage’s texture. It was sliced and set on a pool of beurre blanc. Yuri came out with a small pot of something dark and mysterious, a fermented Amazake spicy sauce, that included sansho pepper, ginger, garlic, konbu, and star anise, and put a dollop in the tart beurre blanc. The three elements of the dish had the same harmony as the three cooks in the kitchen. 

Thanh and Yuri are full participants in an environment where they can shine. Learning and practicing are core kitchen values, and the team is playful with ideas and execution. Nathan doesn’t take himself too seriously. He has never underestimated me. I can’t tell you how refreshing that is.

Thank you Mel for entertaining my Ken Watanabe obsession. And to Jan, Brandon, Stew, and Scott. The hospitality was outstanding. My autograph is on the wall twice. Between two visits, someone drew a strand of flowers beside it.

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This week there was news that Georges Blanc lost a star. The response from the family expresses savoir-faire:
 
“We'll make do with the two stars... maybe we'll be less elitist and a little more accessible.”

The Blanc legacy began with Elisa, who taught her daughter Paulette, who taught her son Georges. A family métier passing through three generations over almost one hundred years. All the twinkling stars in an indigo night sky are not enough. A restaurant that endures is spéciale.
 
Elisa Blanc was among a small group of women awarded stars from Michelin in 1933 — 2-stars for her cooking at the inn at Vonnas. Then and now, there’s poetry in the ratings symmetry. Some of my most memorable meals in France have been in Michelin 2-star restaurants. 
 
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I am working on an interesting project and after I hit send, usually on Thursday, I still want to write. I switch into ‘today’ mode. I wrote the piece above on the Bathurst streetcar in my Notes app heading south toward Beast. A young woman offered me her seat on a busy Friday night. I embrace all that comes with grey hair. It felt like a good omen for the evening. 
 
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Imagine you’re in a French nightclub.

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1967/2023

1965/2024