Yes, It IS About the Food OR Two Foodies Do WDW From Table To Table--TR - Page 21 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Monsieur Paul was a delight but also a disappointment to some extent. Even though we expected the food to be quite rich as classic French cuisine invariably is, I didn’t anticipate how "too much of a muchness" it would leave me feeling.
Despite having that apprehension fulfilled and then some, I must say that Monsieur Paul does not disappoint in either atmosphere or service. That gorgeous winding staircase with Art Nouveau railing and photos of Paul Bocuse’s life lining the wall alongside it makes for a dramatic entry to a beautiful dining room. Well, I should say the staircase did for me as His Drewness was enclosed in solitary confinement in that extremely cramped and veeeeery slow elevator since he was in his scooter. (Excuuuse me. ”In his electric wheelchair,” which he insists is the proper term for his conveyance ) I suppose that’s part of the Parisian charm of the building. The elevator is cunningly concealed behind a wall panel which when opened seems to reveal it magically.
Naturally, we indulged too much in those fabulous baguette slices with excellent butter while waiting for our appetizers to arrive. When they did, we looked at each other in dismay and discussed whether or not to bother photographing two soup plates appearing to be nothing but a solid-looking expanse of creamy white foam which would have made pretty boring photos. The flavor, however, more than made up for the lack of visual appeal.
Drew had Maine lobster with sautéed mushrooms, a softboiled quail egg, and black truffle-flavored bouillon which he oohed and ahhed over immediately. As much as he loves lobster I wasn't surprised, but when he gave me a taste I could see why he was exclaiming. It really was a marvelous dish.
My appetizer was less satisfying as I chose the escargot cassolette and found the escargot overcooked and rather chewy. The white wine-flavored broth enhanced by bits of excellent smoked bacon and shallots was fantastic and nearly compensated for the disappointing escargot. Once I got past all that foam, that is. I guess I just don't get the foam fad. Give me flavor instead of faddish touches like that.
Drew chose the beef tenderloin with mushroom crust which he said was a bit much although flavorful. I thought it looked too crusty myself on a piece of tenderloin that was so wonderfully cooked and tender that all it really needed was the magnificent Bordelaise sauce surrounding it. Unfortunately, we seem not to have gotten a photo of it either.
I went with a classic duck breast l'orange which was very well cooked and pleasantly contrasted by a bit of braised oxtail wrapped in cabbage and looking rather like a piece of sushi. That along with the apple fondant, the diagonal rectangle at the edge of the plate, contrasted beautifully with the duck and sauce. It made an interesting presentation as you can see.
Truthfully though, I think the duck l'orange I've made from Julia Child's French Chef Cookbook recipe is better although not a dish I care to do often as laborious as it is to assemble. Child's sauce is slightly sweeter which I think enhances the oily richness of duck more. Nevertheless, I polished it all off which inclined me to choose a meringue and sorbet dessert, hoping that would be light enough I could manage to eat it and still waddle out.
The white coil was a beautifully crisp, light vanilla meringue with an intensely flavored raspberry sorbet atop it and to the side a piped bit of whipped cream topped with a tube of white chocolate. The brilliantly red dots of raspberry coulis provided a slight sourness that set off the rest of the dessert perfectly. Gorgeous presentation and exactly the light dessert I wanted.
Edit to correct failed memory error:Okay, now I know why my description of Drew's dessert didn't seem right. It wasn't flourless chocolate cake at all! We'd long since reached the point where I'd tired of making detailed notes while waiting for the credits tally, so mea culpa, I cheated by means of the All Ears menu because neither of us recalled just what his dessert was. While cruising for a photo of the white chocolate sphere dessert, I encountered one of his dessert, actually an apple tart! The following original description represents reality at least: Sadly, neither of us recalls what flavor the piped-on cream topping it was. Suffice it to say it was lots better than Be Our Guest's fabled grey stuff. Nor can we recall what flavor the greenish oval of ice cream was. I suggested pistachio, but Drew said no, he didn't think so. He'd have recalled that for sure as much as he likes pistachio.
Fortunately for our digestions, it's likely to be a few years till we can get back to Disney World. We may try Les Chefs de France next time as Monsieur Paul was pleasurable but really more than a bit overwhelming.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Last edited by Her Dotness; 01-22-2015 at 07:10 AM..
Oh. My. Gosh. I just got done reading your Tea report. I'm now very into this TR.
Golly, another fan club member. Welcome, Kimmy Ann. There are more super-yummies ahead for you.
Speaking of which, we have only Restaurant Marrakesh lunch and Be Our Guest dinner to review before the grand finale, Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table.
We were talking about what an encyclopedia that last one will be since we are uploading photos to PassPorter which limits us to a maximum of five per post. Just didn't want to mess with a third-party site, and besides, you may have to grab a snack or two before reaching the tenth course of that fantastic meal. Reading it by installments may prevent drooling onto your keyboard. Honestly, I have only to think of the assortment of two ground peppers and four flavored salts presented with one course to start doing that, and I don't actually like salt or pepper that much.
So, the review of the best meal of our lives is coming very soon. Stay tuned....
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
The photos are coming through fine now! I ate only once at Bistro and haven't tried it since it changed to Monsieur Paul's. I love the decor of the place, but the food is just too rich for me these days. I'm not a fan of Les Chefs at all, so I skip France for dining. Brioche ice cream sandwich, though--that I'll stop for!
Our meal was definitely rich when we ate at Monsieur Paul's - I'm so glad you enjoyed your meal there and had better service than we did, as our meal was so rushed, which was such a shame.
Update: Oh, yeah, about that White Chocolate Sphere dessert at Monsieur Paul
I just remembered I promised way back when to describe the preparation of the white chocolate sphere dessert which was so dramatic.
I can beat that somewhat with a borrowed photo from this trip report although looking at their gorgeous photos of F&WF souvenirs only made me want desperately to do the Premium package as they did. That and go back to Monsieur Paul even after all my moaning about the food being too rich.
Shortly after this photo shows, the sphere melts about halfway to reveal vivid red raspberry sorbet inside the sphere. The brownish pedestal the sphere sits upon was cake.
It was a feast for my eyes, and the man seated near us who ordered it said it was absolutely delectable.
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Last edited by Her Dotness; 01-22-2015 at 07:29 AM..
I dreamed about a 14 course tea last night...This report may not be good for me!
One benefit to reading about all this yummy food is that you won't gain any weight.
I have to brag that despite eating like a complete oinker, I walk so much at WDW that I've never come home more than a pound heavier. This last trip, I actually broke even despite overindulging at the fantastic Atlanta diner I mentioned earlier as well as at a wonderful bistro my in-laws took us to for lunch after we arrived in NJ for Thanksgiving with them.
Now, if only I could manage to walk off my dining excesses at home like that! I just like good food far too much. < sigh! >
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Sounds like I might have to give the upstairs a try... Just not with a three course meal indulgence excited to hear about restaurant marakkesh as that's where I booked my first night dinner!
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) I suppose that’s part of the Parisian charm of the building. The elevator is cunningly concealed behind a wall panel which when opened seems to reveal it magically.
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