it was fabulous

G's birthday was last Friday, and my parents' Christmas present to us was a no-expenses-barred-within-reason dinner out for two. I thought we should combine the two, and find tasty food. G agreed, looked at his work schedule, and booked us a table at Michel Sarran.

It was fabulous.

We ended up deciding to do the "chef's choice" dinner, and I can't say that I regret it. Normally, given the choice, I'll tend to order mammalian and avian meats, but most of this meal ended up being seafood - and I was totally ok with that. It was interesting - I believe the table next to us also had the same order (chef's choice), but other than two or three dishes, they got very different food than us (they had something that sizzled on a brick, for example, and a lamb dish, while we had nothing sizzly and a duck dish... they also had something that involved carefully creating green foam in little tiny cups with a bit of overenthusiasm on the part of the foam-creater, leading to splash zone).

From the first bite of mysterious-duck-related-paste-in-a-tube-squeezed-onto-little-rectangles-of-fried-toast  (I swear, it sounded better in French) with a side macadamia nut wrapped in something green and deep fried, to the last bite of too-much-dessert, it was a meal of visual and gastronomic delight.  After the paste-toast-nut was a seafood mousse, a sea urchin curry croquette and a couple little black objects that were described as cuttlefish and tasted not at all like squid. An elegant plate with a chunk of lobster tail and a de-shelled lobster claw (and the thinnest longitudinal slice of raw asparagus you could imagine) followed.

A delicate white fish dish (I recognized the name of the fish, but can't for the life of me recall what it was in French, much less translate to English) (edit: G tells me it was seabass) in a fish-and-seaweed broth and decorated with flowers was a visual treat. I liked it very much, but it jarred slightly - the broth tasted very Japanese to me, and the rest of the meal (the fish included) was very not, so unfortunately, as beautiful as this plate was, and as tasty as it was, it was probably my least preferred dish. You try eating a Japanese clear fish broth soup with a baguette. I bet it'll jar a bit with you too :P The little bowl of flavored rice that came with it was super tasty though :)

Sorry it's blurry... this was the
best picture I got :(
The vaguely rectangular things on
the right are the truffle slices.

The next plate was G's hands-down favorite (and until I had the one after it, it was mine too). As much as I've avoided scallops for most of my life (I used to not like them, and now I merely don't mind them), these scallops were cooked perfectly with a blend of flavors that had us melting. We also got to Meet the Truffles - a white-gloved waiter brought out a uniquely scented, hinged wooden box which contained several pale tan lumpy objects - white truffles from Italy. Two thin slices of truffle were ceremoniously created over each plate using small handheld mandoline. I tried a little piece of the truffle on its own (I mean, when else would I ever get the chance?) - dry, crumbly, vaguely mushroom-flavored... but not. The combination of the sauce, scallops, flavored foam, truffle all combined into an exquisite dish.

The main meal concluded with a change of pace - slow-cooked foie gras on minced duck breast accompanied by what was essentially the best applesauce I have ever tasted in a tube of pasta and topped with apple-flavored foam. Perhaps it's because I tend to prefer the heartier meats to seafood, but this was my personal favorite dish. The rich meaty flavor of the sauce and the surprisingly small amount of intensely-flavored meat under the perfectly cooked foie gras contrasting with the sweetness of the apple sauce was just divine.

After a few minutes' pause for digestion, we proceeded to the cheese. It was very good cheese - provided by one of the two top cheeseries in Toulouse - but, well, that's one of the two places we usually get cheese, so it didn't blow our minds with tastiness. I did try a couple cheeses I wouldn't've otherwise have - interesting, tasty, but not something I'd like as my usual cheese fare. One was stripy like a zebra. To be honest, though, we probably should have skipped the cheese course in favor of more space for dessert.

Earlier in the evening, when I got up to use the restroom, I mentioned to one of the waiters that we were here for G's birthday. And so, along with the first dessert, G receieved a birthday candle and a circle of marzipan-relation topped with the words "Joyeux Anniversaire" :)

You should have seen it before they
added the chocolate sauce.

The first dessert was a coconut milk mousse with avocado (!) and tapioca and little pieces of a tangy, sweet fruit. Surprisingly tasty for something that involved an avocado (actually, pretty tasty regardless). At this point, I was feeling pretty full, but game to keep going. Unfortunately I discovered that with the second dessert, my stomach was full to bursting... I was unable to eat more than a couple bites of the multi-textured, fanciful, gold-foil-topped pear creation and its accompanying amazing, tasty, pear souffle. Thinking that was the end of the meal, I had a bit more of the souffle than I really could eat, but it it was so good...

And then we were presented with cute, teeny little ice cream cone things and three teeny little not-even-bite-sized after-dessert desserts (white chocolate with a fruit mousse inside, a coffee-flavored chocolate truffle, and a chocolate cake ball). I took tiny taste bites out of each, but I couldn't force myself to actually eat them. I was sad :(

A brief note on the tableware - I very much liked the style of the simple, textured white plates and bowls which allowed the presentation of all the beautifully plated dishes.  The table knives (Laguiole, of course) were engraved with the name of the restaurant, as were the little strips of slate that served a similar purpose as an ohashi-oki.

Despite my inability to actually finish all the dessert (G manfully completed his portions), it was a satisfying, interesting, tasty, lovely meal. I would totally go back again.