Dartblog

The French refer to Paris’ most luxurious restaurants as “les palaces,” and none merits the epithet more than former Résistant Réné Lasserre’s (1912-2006) creation in the avenue Franklin Roosevelt. The food is old-fashioned, but food this good never goes out of fashion. And the waiters wear tails and almost all are men — women only began to serve at table in better French restaurants in recent years.

The rich furnishings are complimented by the wonderful warm colors of the walls and decoration, and the restaurant’s unique accent is a ceiling/roof that silently glides open (see below) every so often, depending on the weather. Regrettably Lasserre no longer requires that men wear ties, though the staff does insist on jackets. My sense is that patrons can add to or diminish the elegance of this type of establishment; they, too, are part of the mise en scène. How sad in such a place is the man in jeans with a loose shirttail.

Réné Lasserre’s enduring contribution to French cuisine, beyond such dishes as pigeon André Malraux, is the sauce spoon — cuillère à sauce — a surprisingly useful utensil, especially for fish and other soft foods blessed with an accompanying sauce. Lasserre invented the piece in the 1950’s and it is now offered by all of the major cutlerers.