Erik and I have never celebrated Valentine's Day on the 14th. Our first Valentine's Day together was the year I was doing the cruise ship thing, and my contract at that time happened to start on the 13th of February, or something. So we celebrated it before I left. This tradition has continued, and it has always been quite convenient, as it's a lot easier to get a reservation at a restaurant around Valentine's Day rather than on the day itself.
In keeping with our tradition, we went out for dinner last night to celebrate our first Valentine's Day in Paris. After scouring many restaurant reviews, Erik chose L'Os de Moelle, a small restaurant in the south west corner of the 15th arrondisement. He chose to go for the first seating (good choice!) at 7:30.
We arrived right on time, and were seated at the back of the restaurant, with a good view of all the action. We were served an amuse bouche immediately, a tiny cup of crab soup with a fennel cream on top. Delicous! Apperitifs were served, Erik chose port, and I had a pink champagne type drink, recommended by the waiter.
The menu is a menu de degustation, a five course meal, no a la carte, with two or three choices for each course. The people at the table next to us didn't like this idea, but we thought it was great. It's a nice way to taste a lot of dishes, and neither of us were full afterwards. Just pleasantly satisfied.
The first course was soup. I had a cold mushroom soup, with Italian ham and thyme, and Erik had a potiron with garlic cream. The waiter brought us empty soup bowls with just croutons, and some flavorings to the table, then the soups were served from a tureen that was brought around the tables by another waiter. Both were very nice. Mine had a subtle mushroom flavour, that was complimented nicely by the crunchy croutons, the ham and the thyme. Erik's started with a big scoop of garlic cream, which melted into the soup once it was served. His was very rich tasting, and very comforting with the garlic flavour.
Next we were served oysters and joue. Joue means cheek, and that is exactly what Erik got. Braised cheek (I can't remember what animal), with white beans and rocket. It was fantastic. It had the texture of fish, and could be cut just with the side of the fork, and melted in your mouth. I had oysters, which I thought were going to be cooked, but seemed quite raw, but had a hot butter sauce. They were alright, but Erik finished them off for me, as I stole white beans from his plate.
The fish course was next. I was served three lovely coquilles St. Jaques (scallops on the half shell) with a yummy sauce and celery root. They were fantastic, if a little bit hard to get of their shells. Erik enjoyed a piece of grilled bass served with cooked carrots, pinenuts and chestnuts. Both courses were amazing.
Our main course was next. I plat consited of a delightful piece of lamb, cooked with a garlic crust and served thinly sliced on a bed of mashed celery root with tiny chipos. I'm not sure what the chipos were made of, but they looked like tiny purple streaked potato chips. Erik's was roast pigeon, served with mushrooms and potato fingers. The pigeon had a game-y flavour to it, and was very moist and rich. Another immensely satisfying course.
The cheese course was next, a piece of farmers cheese and salad.
Then we were on to dessert. Erik had a chocolate quenelle served with coffee flavouring and whipped cream. Yum! I had banana sorbet, caramelised pineapple with pina colada cream and a small meringue. Also very yummy.
As if all that weren't enough, we got a small plate of chocolate truffles to enjoy while we waited for the bill. We also had a fantastic Bordeaux with dinner, however all I can remember of the name was that it was from a chateau or maison that was called Peugot (like the car), but spelled differently. I'll ask Erik for some more insight.
It certainly wasn't the least expensive meal that we've had here, but it was definetly the best, and worth every penny. We were both satisfied, and happy to have had our first 'fancy' meal out since being here. It's also nice to know that this little gem will be so much closer once we move into the opposite corner of the quartier.
L'Os à Moelle
3 rue Vasco de Gama, 75015 Paris
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