Museum — Travel Posts — A Confederacy of Lunches

The Louvre

I've mentioned before I'm no art expert but I know what I like. While I appreciate the classical artists, I'm much more drawn (no pun intended) to the impressionists.

The Louvre is obviously one of the great museums in the world. If you've ever been to Paris, seen a travel show about Paris, or seen a movie about Paris (DaVinci Code anyone?), you've seen the Louvre and it's now famous Pyramid entrance.

Here is my dirty little secret...I'm not a fan of the Louvre. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the significance of the art in the museum. I am just not a fan of the place. It's way too big. It's ridiculously crowded. You really can't appreciate any of the major works because there are so many people around each one talking, taking selfies, and getting in your way, that the entire experience is just unpleasant.

So I approach visiting the Louvre like a military operation. Get in, do what I need to do, and get out.

I do notice that the museum has added a new section on art from Asia, Africa, North, and South America. I make a note to check it out.

Venus de Milo

Mona Lisa

Winged Victory

The famous paintings, sculptures and artifacts are everywhere. It truly is a spectacular collection. Again, it's the fact that you are looking directly at something that thousands and thousands of people have looked at and had their own ideas about that is so wonderful. I am pleasantly surprised with the art from beyond Europe. It's fascinating to me that the art is so similar despite the distance between the people who created it.

The key to enjoying the Louvre is doing lots of research before you get there, pick out the stuff you want to see, see those things and hit the road.

Musée d'Orsay

“The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first “work of art” in the Musee d’Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.”

— Musée d'Orsay website.

According to the dictionary, Impressionism is defined as, " A style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color," and, "A literary or artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction."

The impressionists broke away from the convention of what was considered "art" by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in France (who preferred paintings featuring historical or religious themes and figures). They wanted to paint out of doors, where the light changed the way they saw people and places. They wanted to paint landscapes and scenes of everyday life. Of course the Académie lost their collective minds, and the critics railed and mocked the new artists -- among them Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne .

After years of being rejected by the Académie and banding together to show and promote their new style of art, the public began to realize that this new style was actually a legitimate form of art and embraced what the impressionists were doing.

Impression, soleill levant by Claude Monet. The painting that gave the movement its name. — *Impression, soleill levant* by Claude Monet. The painting that gave the movement its name.

Of course, today we look at these artists as masters and their works as masterpieces (to me even more so than the 'traditionalists" like David). I mean come on. Would you rather spend you time looking at paintings of some rich dude who could afford to have a famous artist paint his portrait or Monet's Impression, soleil levant? There is only one answer really.

The Musée d'Orsay, opened in 1986, houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world. I fell in love with this place when I was here in 2006 and if anything, my love has only gotten stronger. Unlike the Louvre, the d'Orsay is easily navigated. I could spend hours going from room to room. I'm fascinated by the impressionists and their work. The use of light, the individual brushstrokes, showing people living life. It speaks to me in a very deep, personal way.

Bistro Paul Bert

The truth is if you're going to Paris you need to have a French Bistro experience. You need to go to a place that is busy, full of energy, noisy (but not loud), and serves outstanding, classic, rustic food. There is no better bistro experience in Paris than Bertrand Auboyneau's Bistro Paul Bert.

The menus are handwritten on chalkboards in French of course, and with a little help from my awesome server (he literally had half the restaurant, kept everything moving efficiently, joked with every table, and didn't forget a single thing), I settled on the house-made, rustic paté, the fried grouper cheeks, the peppercorn filet with a cognac cream sauce, and the Grand Marnier souffl. FYI, my mouth is watering remembering this meal.

My table at Bistro Paul Bert

House-Made Paté

Tempura Fried Grouper Cheeks

Peppercorn Filet with Cognac Cream Sauce and Frites

Grand Marnier Soufflé

The paté is delicious. It's perfectly spiced and the quality of the meat is outstanding. It's one of the things that separates Bistro Paul Bert from other bistros. They actually own farms in Normandy and Brittany where they source most of their ingredients.

The tempura fried grouper cheeks are light and crispy. The house made tartar sauce is creamy and compliments the fish perfectly. I adore grouper anyway and this is a new twist for me. If I lived in Paris I would eat this dish as often as I could.

Full disclosure, I'm not usually a filet fan. I've always thought it was an overpriced, under flavored, cut of beef. This filet showed me how wrong I was. I wish I could do the Vulcan mind meld trick from Star Trek because it's the only way I could adequately describe my experience. Perfectly cooked, butter soft, exploding with flavor. The peppercorns, cognac, and cream enveloped the filet in a sauce that I can only describe as otherworldly. This is what comes from using an outstanding product, and perfect preparation.

What really impressed me was the fact that this dish could have been mediocre. Bistro Paul Bert is FAMOUS for this dish, and they could have half-assed it knowing that they were going to continue to sell portion after portion regardless of the quality. But they didn't. I have no doubt that if I went back 100 times and ordered the filet it would be as amazing every single time.

The soufflé was light and eggy, with a perfect balance of sweet (but not too sweet) and boozy (but not too boozy). Heavenly.

For those of you thinking, "You had dessert?!", I reply, "How could I not?!" Yes I was full, yes it was over the top, yes my cardiologist would have slapped me around if he saw me, but come on! There was NO WAY I was going to miss out on the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

So I saw amazing art and fed not only my heart and mind, but at Bistro Paul Bert my body and soul as well. Needless to say I slept VERY well after my most Parisian of days.

Musée de l'Armée -- All Things Military

The Army Museum contains military weapons, uniforms, and artifacts highlighting French military conflicts. As a history major and a student of European history I was excited about seeing this impressive venue.

It has six major areas. I concentrated on a couple of them. The Contemporary Department that concentrates on the period between 1871-1945 and the Dome des Invalides -- where Napoleon's Tomb is located.

It's possible to spend several hours here to get a full picture. In all honesty looking at a lot of different cannons and medieval armor really isn't my thing. I did find the displays of uniforms and artifacts, not just from France, but from allies and foes alike, fascinating.

Les Invalides

Chapel -- Musée de l'Armée

Dome interior

Tomb of Marshal Ferdinand Foch

US Flag from WWI

Nazi Uniform

Gen. George Patton's Goggles

WWII Uniforms

The Dome des Invalides is beautiful. It houses the Dome Church and the tombs of Napoleon I, French War Hero Ferdinand Foch -- Supreme Allied Commander in WWI, as well as dozens of other French War Heroes. It is modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

I thoroughly enjoyed the few hours I spent at the Army Museum. The displays and movies -- especially the section on the holocaust and the death camps -- are very moving.

Rodin Museum -- Looking Inside the Mind of a Genius

The Age of Bronze. Rodin Museum. Paris. Picture taken by Trover

“In a career that spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917) was deeply inspired by tradition yet rebelled against its idealized forms, introducing innovative practices that paved the way for modern sculpture. He believed that art should be true to nature, a philosophy that shaped his attitudes to models and materials.

Although Rodin was not educated at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the prestigious school for the training of French artists, his focus on the human form and use of various materials such as bronze, marble, plaster, and clay, illustrate his respect for sculptural tradition and his desire to work within the system for commissions and exhibition opportunities. The hallmarks of Rodin’s style—his affinity for the partial figure, his focus on formal qualities and relationships rather than on narrative structure, and his desire to retain the marks of the sculptural process on his finished works—were revolutionary in his time.”

— http://www.rodinmuseum.org

To say I am an art expert is laughable. To say I am an art aficionado is stretching things. The best way to describe my relationship with art is, "I know what I like". I like the work of Auguste Rodin. I like Rodin because he redefined what "sculpture" meant. His works were mocked and ridiculed by the experts and yet, when we look back today we realize his ideas about the human form were revolutionary. Many of the works he did were left unfinished by design. He came from a working-class background and you can see see the reverence he has for people striving in an everyday world.

L'Homme au Nez Cassé (1865). Rodin Museum.

L'Homme au Nez Cassé (1865). Rodin Museum. Shown from Behind to Highlight the Missing Portion.

The museum itself is housed in his former residence. You could spend hours here looking at the various sculptures, sketches, paintings, and models. I enjoyed wandering through the main house and the gardens. One of the things I love most about travel is being able to put into perspective things you've seen pictures of or heard about your entire life.

Most people will immediately say "The Thinker" when asked about their knowledge of Rodin. I admit to doing the same. There is no doubt that Rodin's work "Le Penseur" is universally known. Yes, the figure in the statue is contemplating, but the figure is muscular and rough, not the type generally thought to be a "thinker". It's again the genius of Rodin making the viewer themself re-think their idea of intelligence.

The Burghers of Calais statue in garden of Rodin Museum

I was also captured by the painstaking detail and passion in his work "The Burghers of Calais". Commissioned by the city of Calais in 1884 to commemorate an occurrence during the Hundred Years War between France and England (use the Google machine to look it up if you're interested.) Again what is so striking is that these subjects are not canonized -- although they were heroic -- they are shown with all their flaws. They are literally sculpted larger than life, but they are so...human. I was surprised at how much this piece moved me.

"The Gates of Hell" is another of Rodin's huge masterpieces displayed in the museum's gardens. Commissioned in 1880, Rodin worked on this piece until his death in 1917. Depicting a scene from Dante's Inferno, you can see Dante perched atop the gates looking over his characters. The piece depicts figures from the classic work. Again, the detail is amazing. Walking up to it you get a sense of the time and effort Rodin put into this. I could have spent the better part of an hour just looking at the individual figures in their varying degrees of pain and suffering.

I wasn't able to get to the Rodin Museum in 2006 but I am so glad I made time on this trip. His work is so inspiring and so modern, but with a foot firmly placed in the classical style. Definitely a highlight.

L'Arpege. Photo Courtesy of FoodTalkCentral. www.foodtalkcentral.com

L'Arpege -- My Lunch with Chef Alain Passard

They say you never forget your first time. In this instance, Chef Alain Passard's iconic restaurant L'Arpege is my first. My first three-starred Michelin restaurant. Michelin determines that a restaurant is worthy of their coveted trois étoiles if it has, "exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey". I assume flying over an ocean qualifies as a special journey.

As soon as I booked my trip I knew I would be dining at L'Arpege. I had seen Chef Alain Passard, his restaurant, and his farms on an episode of Chef's Table:France and I was stunned. Here was a Chef who had achieved the ultimate, three Michelin stars, serving primarily roasted meats. Then all at once he took meat completely off the menu and served nothing but vegetables. The press, critics, and many of his long-time customers were aghast. Surely there would be no way he would keep his stars serving vegetables! Keep them he did, and now, with seafood and some poultry back on the menu, he is enjoying his 22nd consecutive year of the honor.

Chef Passard grows all the vegetables for L'Arpege at one of three farms he maintains outside Paris. Each farm has a unique terroir, so the same vegetable grown at the three locations will have a different taste and character.

I knew I was going to eat in some wonderful places on my trip to Paris, but something about the story, and the way the food looked, and Chef Passard himself, made this my destination meal. I would not be disappointed.

I had done my homework on L'Arpege before I arrived in Paris. I had spoken with my friends Lisa and Matthias who have been several times and got some dishes to ask for. I was prepared. Or so I thought.

I've been to a two-star Michelin restaurant -- The Clove Club in London. It was fantastic. The food was amazing and the service was as well. I wondered what would be different at L'Arpege to elevate it to the tree-star level. I didn't wonder for long.

As soon as you enter everything starts. I went to the host stand and gave my name and at that moment it was like no one else existed for the staff -- even though the restaurant was full and bustling. I was shown to my table, given my menu, and asked my preference for water and any pre-lunch apéritif I might like. I had already decided on the Gardener's Lunch tasting menu and I knew there would be several glasses of wine involved so I declined the apéritif.

My thoughts on wine are the same as my thoughts on art. I know what I like. However, I had decided to just go with the suggestions from the sommelier. I was doing wine by the glass so I could try several things. Because the menu is mainly vegetables I expected more whites, but I ended up with a lovely combination of reds and whites.

Again, I was doing the Gardener's Lunch tasting menu. The menu itself simply said, "This morning, the gardens have blessed us with a pallet of flavors...let yourself be guided by the Chef's improvisation and experience a sensory stroll." I was putting myself in the hands of Chef Passard and his culinary team. I did have a couple of specific dishes based on the recommendations of friends. I knew I wanted Ravioles des Legumes, Onion Gratin, and, because they are in season, scallops.

The first two dishes come one right after another. The first is an amuse bouche of small tarts filled with beet, carrot, and spinach purees. Each one is a tiny flavor bomb. Every table gets these and I realize that this dish has been made en masse meaning it could have been a complete throwaway but it wasn't. I also realize that if this is how the meal is starting, I'm in for something special.

I need to mention that there is a real intimidation factor for me here. I don't want to do something wrong or say something wrong or heaven forbid, use the wrong utensil. This quickly dissipates as the dining room staff is completely warm and welcoming. They move around the dining room effortlessly. No one has an "assigned" table. Every table is a guest of the house and are treated accordingly.

Next dish is the famous Hot-Cold Egg. A coddled egg with sherry vinegar, spices and maple syrup. I have no idea why this works, it just does. The depth of flavor, the contrast of temperatures, the sweet versus acidic notes from the maple syrup and vinegar. It's wonderful. I sit back and contemplate the thought process behind this dish. It's not the last time I'll be contemplative about this meal.

When Chef Passard envisioned his all vegetable menu, I have to believe this next dish is what was in his mind. Ravioles de Legumes is a simple dish of three ravioli, each filled with a different vegetable, in a broth. My ravioli were filled with spinach, beet, and winter squash. Each one was so flavorful, so individualistic. Each vegetable was allowed to shine. The broth on the day I was there was celery based. I wasn't sure what to expect. The danger of cooking with celery is that it's such a strong flavor it can overwhelm everything else in a dish. The depth of flavor in the broth was earth-shattering. I simply could not believe how good this was. On its own the broth would have been one of the best things I had in Paris. When I took a bite of ravioli and broth together it was insane. Everything worked together perfectly. Truly remarkable. This is what I was hoping for when I booked my table.

The next course was the onion gratin. Onions and parmesan cheese perfectly cooked under the broiler. I'm not sure if this is how it was supposed to be eaten but I slathered it on the dark, house made bread. it was heaven.

I'm figuring out why L'Arpege has had three Michelin stars for so long. Everything they do is purposeful. Every dish has been thought through and the ingredients are so good that something as simple as an onion gratin gets elevated to something truly special. It's not that this dish couldn't be done really well at another restaurant. It's that this dish, with these ingredients, is as important to Chef Passard and his kitchen staff as anything on the menu. It separates good from great and great from exceptional.

The courses kept coming, perfectly timed. There was a gorgeous vegetable sushi -- sushi rice with vinegar, mustard, and a slice of beetroot. A pumpkin soup with a savory whipped cream served tableside. A scallop mousse in a seafood foam that blew me away.

Vegetable Sushi with Beetroot

Pumpkin Soup with Savory Whipped Cream

Scallop Mousse with Foam

There was dish of grilled lettuce, beet puree, and green onions in a savory sauce; and beet tartare -- topped with an "egg" of creme fraiche with a gelee "yolk", beetroot leaves, butter lettuce, and parsnip chips that was whimsical and delicious.

Grilled Lettuce with Beet Puree & Green Onions

Beet Tartare

Chef Passard is known for roasting poultry and the bird served the day I was there was capon. I was given the breast with roasted carrots and beets, and whipped potato. Then a dish of Dover sole that made me rethink how fish could be prepared and taste. After that sweet, whole scallops in a velouté and topped with purple radish that nearly brought me to tears.

Roasted Capon with Vegetables

Dover Sole

Scallops in Velouté wit Purple Radish

I had been dining for nearly three hours by this point. During that time I had seen Chef Passard coming through the dining room, greeting guests -- some very casually, some more formally, but he made a point to spend time with each table. I could tell there were tables with people he knew very well. He would sit down and have an intimate conversation. Or lean in and share a joke. He was always moving, but never seemed in a rush. Then he would disappear back into the kitchen.

In between the beet tartare and the Dover Sole courses he stopped at my table. Here is where staff is so important. They had told him I was American. He came up and in English asked how my meal was. I told him I was having the experience of a lifetime and he beamed down at me. "I love my restaurant. I think making food with these kind of ingredients makes me the happiest." I assured him that I would remember this meal for a very long time. Then I asked If we could take a picture. "Of course!". He came around to my side of the table and...

Later when I looked at the picture (and saw I should have taken my damn glasses off) I realized that he was being slightly cheeky. It made me like him even more.

I had placed my order for the dessert soufflé earlier in the meal and was very excited to try it. Of course this being L'Arpege, there couldn't just be ONE dessert.

First there was a dessert board with small elephant ears, tuilles, house made caramels, and a chocolate/hazelnut bar. I tried every one and they were all amazing. Next came a mocha flavored floating island in a milk caramel sauce that would have been a perfect ending to any meal served anywhere.

The soufflé came and it was as good as I'd hoped. Light and delicious. This WAS the perfect end to my meal. I think. To be honest I was in in the throes of a food coma at this point. I know it was delicious.

Dessert Board

Mocha Floating Island in Milk Caramel Sauce

Soufflé

At last it was time for the meal to end. As I was leaving Chef Passard, who was sitting at another table, got up and came over to me. He gave me a huge hug and said, "Thank you so much for coming today. I hope you come back and see me again!" It was very special.

I was having a difficult time processing what I had experienced. It would be several hours before I could. I ended up cancelling my dinner at another highly rated restaurant. Mainly because I was ridiculously full, but also because it would have been hard to enjoy after such an experience.

All in all, my first full day in Paris was a complete triumph. I had a day that completely overloaded my senses. I had my first three-star Michelin experience (hopefully not my last), saw world famous art, and got the answer to the question, "Who is buried in Napoleon's tomb?" My trip was off to a screaming hot start. I couldn't wait to see what came next.

The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and the Ultimate Bistro Experience