One Surprise After Another at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris

Pierre Gagnaire
6, rue Balzac
75008 Paris, France
(33) 01 58 36 12 50
www.pierre-gagnaire.com

Probably 15 years ago, I was in Paris and dared to ask a concierge at my hotel if the chef at the Michelin two-star restaurant there could prepare a vegetarian meal for me. Oh, I'll never forget the look on his face. This was about fine dining, le menu gastronomie, how could I think of asking such a thing, he responded in French. I quietly scooted away and spent that evening eating gluten sausage atop noodles in a vegetarian restaurant that looked like a '70s fern bar.

Thank goodness times have changed. And thank goodness for chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire who have shown Paris and the world that fine food and vegetarian menus can go hand-in-hand.

You won't find the vegetarian menu on Gagnaire's website, but with advance notice when you make your reservation, when you arrive you should find yourself treated to a vegetarian feast like no other.

I went for lunch - the restaurant is a bit more relaxed then, the menu slightly cheaper. I didn't get a menu, but what followed was a feast to die for – or at least worth robbing a bank for, which at $550 for two with wine (and it's probably more now) is about what it required. I can’t begin to remember all the courses, the meal began with some chips served up in a mixture of spices like so many sand dollars standing in a bed of sand. There was then a green tomato soup that was wonderful and an artichoke heart salad. It was really one amazing course after the other. There was risotto with pumpkin and a leek dish with the leek leaves all woven together.

Service was really spectacular. At one point in the meal I turned to look behind me for the bottle to refill my water glass and three servers literally ran to beat me to it. Early on in the meal Pierre came by each table and said hello.

We must have had eight courses before dessert, which involved another six plates. There were two chocolate concoctions, one dish of ice cream with edible pansies and some miniature strawberries inside a little crispy cone.

Lunch at Pierre Gagnaire lasted 4.5 hours and was probably the best meal I’ve had.