La Ferrandaise

WHAT A WEEKEND.

You thought I was about to write about Oktoberfest, DIDN’T YOU?? Ha! That’ll be the NEXT post homie.

As a preview of how great Oktoberfest was going to be, however unrelated this meal was, my friend Evelyn’s parents (they’re the most fantastic combination of Brooklyn-trendy and Paris-chic, along with some witty humor) took us out to one of the most delicious lunches just before we had to catch the train for Munich. Often times, what makes the restaurant highly-rated or commended is the food paired with the service. But the focus of La Ferrandaise, a cozy yet modern bistro just by the Jardin du Luxembourg, was simply the food. The presentation was obviously lovely, and the service was there, but it’s really rare for the tastes of dishes to linger for me the way they did after that meal. All the food and ingredients are locally and organically produced. Needless to say, it was the start of a fantabulous weekend.

Olive butter, radishes, bread

Mackerel salad with red wine and spices – the mackerel was quite pungent, but in the best way possible – neutralized by the crouton on the side and tomatoes in the salad. I ordered a salad in an attempt to be “healthy” because I knew Oktoberfest would bring with it much wurst and beer.

Duckling breast, red onion and shallot confit with figs – the duckling breast was impossibly tender and I liked this dish especially because often meat is served with very strong sauces, but this one was subtle so that the focus was the texture and tenderness of the meat rather than the intense flavoring.

I was served the red wine Chinon because I ordered a red meat as the main dish (check my wine and cheese tasting post for more details…)

Roasted figs with honey and dried apricots, mascarpone ice cream – that ice cream was maybe 1000 gajillion proof alcohol – figs have been my fruit of choice recently and this just backed up why. I highly recommend that you try roasting figs.