The Tasting Menu at Le Cinq, Four Seasons Hotel, Paris

I read aaaaall about the ten restaurants in Paris with three Michelin stars before my fiancé and I visited with the hope that one would stand out to me. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée was the most beautiful one. Astrance was the hardest to get into. Arpège was the vegetable-focused one. And then I read the review that opened the heavens and shone a light on the perfect three-star for me: Jay Rayner’s takedown of Le Cinq in The Guardian. It’s not worth your time to bother with the actual review–it reads like it’s written by someone who won’t go to a fine dining restaurant because they won’t let him wear cargo shorts–but this Eater post with cats reciting the worst lines is pretty fun!

A Barbie-sized silicone breast implant? Something so acidic you could use it to shine a coin? Sea urchin ice cream?! Sign me up!

We sat down in the beautiful plush, slightly tropical dining room overlooking the hotel’s terrace one Saturday evening, and a server came to ask if we wanted to start with a glass of Champagne. I told her we were thinking about a cocktail, so she suggested a Champagne cocktail. Genius! We agreed to a couple of Kir Royales, and when she walked away, I said to my fiancé, “Sorry, I may have just ordered us some $100 drinks.” But we were about to spend $400 each on dinner, so a little wine splurge seemed okay.

A minute later, though, she brought us the wine menu, and that didn’t have any prices listed! I said to my fiancé, “It’s one thing to order a special without knowing the cost, but they could at least put the prices on the written menu!”

And he said, “What are you talking about? They did.” It turns out that at Le Cinq, the men get the menus with the prices, and the ladies get to sit back and spend their fiancé’s money with abandon.

foie gras tart with cornichons

I called this the “pickle tart”, but that doesn’t sound quite as delicious.

spheres that tasted like orange, ginger, and cherry

spring peas with mint

2015 Georg Breuer Rudesheim Estate Riesling from Rheingau, Germany

Grilled White Asparagus/thyme and lemon broth

Large Dublin Bay Prawn from Brittany/warm mayonnaise/crunchy buckwheat pancake

Gratinated Onions/contemporary/Parisian style

Like a deconstructed onion soup, with the fun of eating Chinese soup dumplings.

Grilled Fillet of Turbot/marinated watercress/pear in vinegar

Gratinated Veal Sweetbread/slightly cooked morels

Dairy Iced/baking powder taste

Definitely one of the stranger dishes I’ve ever had, starting with the fact that the menu actually said “baking powder taste”. And let’s not forget that this dish looks like a pile of paper strewn around a golf ball. And I mean that in the best way! The “paper” melted on our tongues, leaving a sour, baking powder flavor like a pastry about to go in the oven.