La Tour D’Argent

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Several years ago, I ran across a list of the 10 oldest restaurants in the world. Since that time, we have been making sure to tick each one off our list. Paris has two on the list. When we were in Paris in 2016 with Christina, we ate at A La Petite Chaise number 5 on the list. This trip we would be marking on number 3 La Tour D’Argent, first established in 1582 during the reign of Henry III. We now only have three more until we have been to all ten of them. The most difficult will be number ten, Yar Restaurant, which is located in Moscow, Russia.

Brief History

La Tour D’Argent first opened in 1582 as an inn on the right bank of the Seine, looking at Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame. It is adjacent to Ile St. Louis. As an inn it of course had a restaurant and some form of that restaurant has been opened ever since. The website claims that they introduced forks to France. While they may have introduced the fork in a restaurant, they certainly are not responsible for bring the fork to France. This honor goes to no one else by Catherine de Medicis, Queen of France, Queen Mother for three Kings of France and mother in law to Mary Queen of Scots. Italians had been using forks for some time and Catherine thought it barbaric how the French ate, so she introduced forks and several culinary techniques to the French court. While Italy may have brought many culinary techniques to France, the French simply perfected them.

The current day restaurant is on the top floor and has a spectacular view of Notre Dame, the right bank and all the way to Sacre-Coeur a top of Montmartre. You enter on the ground floor and wait in a plush salon until your table is ready. Once your table is ready, you are escorted by 1 of several maître d’s, up the elevator and into the elegant dinning room. The dress code is an elegant dress of women and a suit for men. Everyone was dressed for the occasion, except one entitled hipster who clearly felt he was to good for the dress code, he wore rip blue jeans and t-shirt with some band on it, he did at least have a jacket, but he was an arrogant jack ass who gave the vibe of I am way more important than you and rules simply don’t apply to me. As Whitney Houston says in one of her songs “Yeah, right, whatever”.

There are two set menus; one devoted entirely to duck the other what ever inspires the chef. There is also the al la carte menu, but we had already decided long ago that we would be having the duck menu.

We started with, what else, champagne, but this was a step up from what we would normally have. While we sipped our champagne, they brought out the amuse buse. Three different small bites, one was a carrot and sweet potato tart, the second calamari on kale chips and the third a chive cream. While we enjoyed the amuse and our champagne, Jerry was taking pictures of the view. This was our first real glimpse of the charred Notre Dame Sanctuary. You can all relax and breath out, it is not as bad as it sounds, yes, the roof did collapse and the spire is gone, but the main part of the church is safe and structurally sound. It can be rebuilt; it will just take time and money. Despite the charred Notre Dame, the view was just postcard perfect Paris and the Seine were there for our viewing pleasurer.

Once we ordered the duck menu, with all of the allergy caveats, one of the sommelier’s brought the wine bible to our table. It was huge. If you dropped it on your foot you would break your it, and I mean your foot not the wine bible.

We may know a thing or two about wine, but there was no way an attempt was going to be made to approach this bible. All we knew is that we did want a red Burgundy to go with our Duck. Lucky for us the sommelier was thinking the same thing. He recommended a 1983 Volnay first cru Clos des Ducs Angerville. We have never had a wine that old but it was the best I have ever had and as the night progressed it paired perfectly with each and every course.

Brief aside: I am sure you might have guessed this is not an inexpensive experience, I won’t go in to the details, but it is a special occasion and possibly once in a life time, if even that, for most people. We went here for a few reasons, one it is on the list of oldest restaurants, two, in celebration of becoming a partner at my firm and three, because we just deserve it.

There was so much going on in this restaurant, it was hard to focus. There were table side dishes, sauces being made at a stand that stood 5 feet above the dinning room, duck being pressed, trays coming and going, cheese carts be moved about. The service was just impeccable from beginning to end. We were schedule for a tour of the wine cellar but by the end of the evening, we were just exhausted and could not do it. There were at least 2 servers per table, if not more, you literally lacked for nothing, well except a little air conditioning would have been nice.

Then there is the food. The duck menu was very adventurous for us, because through the course of the night we would be served just about every part of the duck from bill to tail.

First Course

Langue Confite & Crème de Raifort. Duck tongue confit with a horseradish cream sauce. Would I ever just order duck tongue, confit or not, NO, but it was actually very tasting and the horseradish sauce was the best part.

Second Course

Filet Mignon & Wasabi Epice. This was a carpaccio of filet of duck breast (thinly sliced raw duck breast), served with a wasabi sauce. It was Japan meets France. It was our second favorite thing on the menu and with the wine, you had died and gone to duck heaven.

Third Course

Oeuf de Canne. Perfect soft-boiled duck egg covered with a paper-thin rice noodle, served over light cream sauce with white asparagus and bean sprouts. There were so many things going on in this dish I can even remember them all. It just tasted wonderful.

There is really a lot more to each course than I can even remember, there were taste combinations you would never think of and sauce after sauce. Some had a sauce on the bottom, then they came with the sauce boat and put a sauce over the top. This was truly the definition of fine French dining.

Fourth Course

Coeur & Moelle, Daikon et Levechie: This was by far the course that stretched our comfort zone. I am not, repeat not, a fan of internal organs and this dish could not be more internal. Duck Heart and bone marrow, served with a shredded daikon radish, almost a radish slaw. It also was presented with a small bowl of herbed salt. Now I do not normally add salt to anything, but it did help the bone marrow which did not have much of a flavor of its own. I will admit the grilled duck heart was not horrible, would not go out of my way to order it, but it was fairly tasty and the wine, well that just made everything better.

Fifth Course

Filet Croise et Ormeau Sauvage. We are still debating if the meet was a filet of breast, leg or seared liver, it was all lost in translation. We do know that it was served with abalone on top of a garlic cream sauce covered with another sauce of fish and beef. The flavors were complex and confusing, it was good, but still not sure exactly what we ate. Just have another taste of 1983 Burgundy and it will be fine.

Sixth Course

Cuisse de Canard et Bleuets. This was the best dish of the night, confit of duck leg, could anything really be any better. It melted in your mouth, the sauce was light and flavorful and a sip of wine and well, you have just been transported to quintessential Paris.

By now the sun had long set, and Paris was showing off why it is called the city of lights. Other tables had moved to the showing part of the night. The table on either side of us had crepes suzette, but not just any crepes suzette, a little fire and ice went with it. The crepes were prepared table side, but so was the ice cream. They had a specially made wine bucket that the cream was poured into and then just at the right moment when the waiter preparing the crepes started the flambé process, the other waiter added the liquid nitrogen and viola you had fire and ice.

So, after six courses and the show, you would think dinner is surely over, no no mon Cheri, have you forgotten we are in France, there is still the Cheese course and of course dessert.

Course Seven

The cheese cart. The picture, which probably is not by this section in the blog, speaks for itself. It is cheese and more chees. Everything from camembert to Roquefort. Between the two of use we had comte, blue, Roquefort, camembert and tome.

I must digress, I almost forgot the bread and on my good the butter. Shortly after the champagne was poured the break basket arrived, and its French so it cannot be bad, but what was just f… addictive was the butter, I just wanted to dive my face into it. No one makes butter like the French, and I mean no one.

Course Eight

Fraise Gariguette. The last and final course was fresh strawberries over ice cream, I am sure it was made with the liquid nitrogen because it was cold and had a crispiness to it. The strawberries were oh so good and the sauce, you just wanted to drink it. But if you think that was all there was, well your just wrong. A trio of small bite desserts arrived, chocolate brioche with an oozie chocolate center (yes Shari, I know you want it), glazed strawberries with a cardamom center, baked meringue with rosemary.

Being totally stuffed, and three hours later, it was time for the check, but not before they offered cordials and coffee, we politely declined. But with the check came two dark chocolate squares. It was at that very moment, a scene from the Monty Python film The History of the World popped in to my mind. It was the man having a several course French dinner, he kept getting bigger with each course, then finally when he protested, he could not eat another bite, they brought out one last chocolate truffle, “Oh sir, you must”,

“I couldn’t”

“You must”

He gives in and explodes.

With that dinner had came to an end. I could not even do the Metro a taxi home was required.

Dinner at Tour d’Argent, just an average Friday in Paris, well at least for the rich and famous.

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Photos

Fraise Gariguette
And many other delightful treats

Comments

[Connie Craddock]

Amazing
You had a lovely view for this dinner! Do you often run across a wine Bible that extensive while traveling? I would so enjoy the cheese cart and dessert! I think I would daily eat crepes, croissants and as many cheeses as I could if I ever had the opportunity to travel in France.