Lautrec
A Transplant
of Elegance
This past weekend I had the remarkable
opportunity to dine at Forbes Five Star, AAA Five-Diamond restaurant Lautrec,
located within Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.
There have been occasions in my lifetime that have highlighted my youth
and inexperience, and if I dare say this was one of them. The restaurant itself is lit in red and
gilded gold with a worldly presence and atmosphere that reminds you of a stuffy
New York locale. My friend
remarked that it could easily be mistaken for the décor of the famous Maxime’s
de Paris restaurant located in France. I
would imagine the resort would welcome that kind of comparison. Lautrec is modeled after traditional French
cuisine and appears to select only “the most” sophisticated European flavors and
ingredients. I must say, what ensued
that evening changed my view of formality, dining, and what I’ve been missing on
the other side.
How to begin a five star meal:
With great embarrassment I must say I’ve
never eaten at a Forbes Five Star Restaurant.
I’ve eaten in different countries, food stands, fine dining
establishments and the like, however my bucket list of Michelin quality food
has yet to be touched. To begin our
evening, my significant other treated the table to a bottle of Cristal
Rose. I regret that I cannot remember the
year. What I can tell you is that I was
wonderfully surprised by the crisp, nutty flavor that lingered and changed in
each sip. In my now obvious lack of understanding about wine, I can describe it as everything rich kids of instagram and rap stars hope it to be.
The Breads:
To begin the meal we were presented with black truffle biscuits, lavash and raisin bread. To accompany these addicting breads there was
also butter and salt. Alright it wasn’t
just butter and salt. It was butter
created in the southern region of France (within a very specific 19 mile
radius) and the most remarkable essex salt.
We were also treated to an amuse bouche that contained pureed roasted cauliflower
with a bacon and salmon topping.
First Course:
The table all chose to do the prix
fixe menu; therefore we began our meal at different culinary points. I chose the Chef’s Garden Greens which contained a Soft Poached Egg, House
Cured Prosciutto, Roasted Baby Beet, Local Chevre, and Buttermilk Vinaigrette. I thoroughly enjoyed my dish however grew
envious of my partner’s choice. He
selected the chilled cucumber soup that contained a single and rare Kumamoto Oyster, Cucumber with Bloom, Preserved Lemon,
Marcona Almond, Nemacolin Garden Dill, in addition to hand shaved black truffle
mushrooms newly imported from Italy.
After such a mouthy, long description you may think I have sold out and
become a more pretentious version of myself.
But alas, we are two courses too early for that.
Second Course:
For
this course I chose the escargot ravioli that was accompanied with a beautiful
pesto sauce. I found the ravioli to be enjoyable in that the flavor and texture contained absolutely no grit or "snail musk". The pesto balanced the cream ingredients well. My partner chose the
braised pork belly with Vidalia Onion Grits, Sage Scented Sausage, Walnut
Granola, Bacon Foam, Chambersburg Peach BBQ and a foie gras supplement. His dish again was truly remarkable. It evoked the most incredible essence of
pork, smokiness and decadence. My friend
during this course also chose the escargot ravioli while her Fiance chose the
cherry heirloom tomatoes with House Cured Lamb Bacon, Petite Lettuce, Bread
Crisp, Mayonnaise Vinaigrette all of which was served on a large slab of Himalayan rock salt.
Third
Course:
For
this course I would like to solely focus on my choice (since in my humble
opinion it was remarkable). I chose the painted hills grass fed beef
with Molten
Center Ravioli, Summer Baby Squash & Zucchini, Crisp Elephant Garlic, Foie
Gras Jus and a supplement of Foie Gras.
If you have ever watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain when he has
spent his time in a smug reluctant posture only to be shocked and elated when a
food “sings” to him, then you understand my experience. This was the cleanest piece of meat I have
ever eaten. It was cooked beyond
perfection. It contained umami, savory,
decadence, joy, rhapsody. All at the
price of slaying and torturing several of god’s creatures and allowing them to
soak up their own fatty juices.
Fourth
and Final Course:
After
pulling myself together and holding back from licking my plate, I was served
with a gorgeous spread of cheeses. It contained
Italian goat cheese, brie, a house prepared (with fresh imported ingredients of
course) blue cheese puree and finally a baby grilled cheese. The top layer also contained local honey, lavash,
picked cherries, in addition to candied walnuts and pecans. To make this meal truly terrific it was also
paired with a Semillon from France, to which the Sommelier explained was fondly
known as “liquid gold”. Truth be told I
would believe anything she said. Especially
after learning she contains bachelor's and a master’s degree in horticulture (as
well as lived in a cave for most of 2007 just to experience wine). My dining companions also enjoyed glasses of
Glenlivet 18 while we all stared at each other in glutinous pleasure.
To
date in my short and incongruous life, this was a remarkable experience. I consider myself to be truly blessed to have
shared it with such wonderful company.
And yes I will be holding on to my individual chocolate box to remember
the fabulous occasion.
Major
credit can be given to the Chef De Cuisine:
Earl
Anthony Morse
Sommelier:
Holly
Smith
And Last but certainly not Least:
My Boyfriend for offering to treat all of us to the best meal of the century.
