Dinner at l'Absinthe, Paris...with the Comtesse

Dinner at l’Absinthe, Caroline Rostang’s bistro in Place du Marché Saint-Honoré with the Paris Passion girls and Jill. (www.restaurantabsinthe.com)

A fabulous ambiance and fabulous food. Here are just a few of the délices we devoured:

Pressé de Joues de Boeuf marinées, Salade de Choux croquant

Tranche de Foie gras rôti, Crème de Potimarron et Huile de Courge

Oeufs au plat, Champignons sauvages, Gruau de Sarazin

Ravioles de Romans à la Crème de Langoustines

Travers de Porcelet au Satay

Grillade de “Prime-Ribs Black-Angus”

Gratin de coquillettes au vieux Beaufort

And drank it all down with a 2002 Réserve de la Comtesse, which is the Second Wine of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. I adore second wines: they are the best kept secret of Bordeaux! The grand crus have quantity and quality “quotas”, and if there is “left-over” wine, it goes to their lower “gamme” or second label. It will be the lesser selection from their batches ….maybe the newer, younger vineyards, the less favourable plots, etc, but it is still a huge slice if the original. It won’t age as long, but it is a wonderful way to enjoy the great crus at a third of the price.

La Reserve de la Comtesse is a three-string pearl choker … a lavender-infused lace and silk negligee strewn over a chair in a boudoir over-looking a rose garden…. A lipstick-stained tissue on a dressing table and a pair of black heels left carelessly at the foot of the bed.