Bouilla-less

Yes, I'm back at On Lot 10 again.  No, this was not my idea, but rather my Favorite Cousin's.  Mr. and Mrs. Ho were back in town, and as my very first visit to this restaurant was at their suggestion, it seemed like a logical choice.  Knowing Mr. Ho's fondness for bouillabaisse, I asked David to prepare a special version for us.  Both Mr. Ho and I were pretty excited at the prospect of enjoying this.

The staff had no idea that I was coming, since the reservation wasn't under my name.  I sat down and enquired about the bouillabaisse, but our friendly waiter didn't know anything about it.  He disappeared to check with the kitchen.  Nope.  No word on our special order, so the kitchen had nothing.  Umm……

This hasn't happened before.  We don't usually order specific items with David, as it's usually carte blanche, but there was a particular reason for a specific order this time.  Maybe he was too busy and forgot to pass the word down to the kitchen.  But I was stuck: I wasn't able to deliver the bouillabaisse that I had promised our out-of-town guests.

We resorted to ordering from the menu, and I've already tried a few of the dishes on my last visit.  I went back to an old favorite - boudin Basque.  The boudin noir was from Christian Parra, with a layer of mash accented with piment d'espelette powder.  It's been a while since my last boudin, and I loved every little morsel of it…  I don't eat much mash, but the espelette made it that much more interesting.

Hairy crab/penne pasta gratin - we decided to share this dish meant for two.  Made with minced veal, hairy crab roe, bacon bits, carrots and Gruyère, this would have been pretty damn good on its own.  After the debacle with our pre-order, David very generously comped us some white truffles…

Wow!  What an awesome dish!  I couldn't stop myself from spooning more of this onto my plate.  In fact, we asked for some mini baguettes so we could scoop up the sauce!

Bone-in cote de boeuf duck fat potato and romaine salad: Limousine beef "Boucherie Hugo Desnoyer" - Mrs. Ho wanted beef and didn't want the fatty wagyu.  Unfortunately, not only did this beef not work for her, it didn't really work for any of us.

Being a froggie, Mr. Ho told us that Limousine is known as a tasty but not particularly tender breed.  Well, I don't think anyone would mistake this for a tender cut…  The first piece I took - still very pink in color - was tough to chew on, with a bit of tendon that was impossible to cut through.  While I didn't find anything different with the taste, Mr. Ho felt it was very "beefy" and possible over-aged.  Mrs. Ho gave up after half a bite.  And my Favorite Cousin requested for her piece to be cooked more thoroughly, although she ended up not touching her beef much, either.

The spinach on the side was pretty decent.

I wasn't about to give up on the pear tart from the very talented Alex.  Very yum.

I grabbed a couple of bottles that I had lying around and brought them to dinner:

1985 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - beefy, animal, leather, dried herbs, prunes, violet and floral. Acidity slightly high on the palate.  Not bad considering the price.

2007 Jos. Joh. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - very refreshing, classic petrol and white flowers.  Sweetish and smooth on the palate.

I was happy to see Mr. and Mrs. Ho after quite a long time.  Hopefully next year I'll have time to travel a little and get to see them with their beautiful children.