The American
Dining Out at
ice cream was just the way mother made it, or at least if I had an English mother it would be. Tangy sweet apples covered with a crispy crumble that was good to the last scrape on the plate. As for the Sticky Toffee Pudding...only one word...delicious! With the crumble I had a glass of Delaforce Bottle Vintage Port (£3.60 a glass) and Maxine a delightful sweet wine, 2005 VAT 5 Semillon from Australia (£4.30 a glass). To be honest, we should have switched wines. The Abbeville isn’t the easiest place to find, but it’s definitely worth a visit. Sunday lunch is very popular and reservations are needed, but be prepared for children. There is a selection of beers, including cask ales as well as wines. We stuck to house wines and both the white and red were excellent. On an added note, a friend told me they make the best bloody Mary on the south side of the river.
69 Abbeville Road, London SW4 9JW, 0208 6752201 www.theabbeville.co.uk
Taillevent, Paris T
he last time I was in Taillevent was with my late husband on Valentine’s Day many years ago, when I had one of the best meals in my life. When I learned Jean-Claude Vrinat (pictured), who inherited the restaurant from his father, had recently died, and recalled the attention he had given a young American couple, I feared I was in for a disappointment. Fortunately, Valerie Vrinat d’Indy is following in her father’s footsteps and my fears were unwarranted. The decor of the C19th townhouse in the 8th arrondissement has changed slightly. Modern paintings line the walls, but the beautiful panelling is still there, although lightened. There are two dining rooms downstairs. Patricia chose The Lamennais Dining Room which is more traditional than the somewhat younger feeling Trianon Dining Room. There are also two small dining rooms for private functions which you reach by a beautiful wrought iron staircase. The restaurant (named after Guillaume Tirel, called Taillevent, who in the C14th wrote the first French cuisine cooking book on the order of King Charles V), has one of the world’s top wine lists. You can spend from €2000 on an Haut Brion to €30 for something slightly less prestigious, but it’s affordable compared with other Michelin restaurants. We started with house champagne and then with the help of our sommelier had a glass of white (€10 euros) and red wine (slightly more) to go with our various courses. I started with risotto d’epautre
aux truffles, as good as I’ve eaten anywhere, while Patricia had the langoustine ravioli. Perhaps because she is half-Italian she was disappointed and informed the waiter she ate better ravioli in a cheap café in Italy recently. He couldn’t have reacted more politely, even offering to change the dish for something else. Fortunately, the main course of Poulette de Bresse was too heavenly for even Patricia to complain about. As for my noisettes of d’agneau surrounded by baby artichokes and the most delicious gnocchi, words fail me it was so good. My chocolate mousse-like cake was gorgeous and Patricia’s selection of three sorbets were, she said, as good as she made – a compliment! We ended with lovely espresso and a glass of Tokaji. Service was excellent. The Taillevent is still the ideal restaurant to enjoy Valentine’s Day. Our two dinners totalled €350, Lunch Menu €80, Dinner Menu a la carte €120–140 (Drinks excluded), Discovery Menu: €190.
15 rue Lammenais, Paris 75008, France, +33 (0)l 44 95 15 01, www.taillevent.com 2