Saturne

Saturne was an incredibly memorable and interesting meal. As the days have passed since my visit, I've found myself thinking a lot about the experience and I've struggled to put these thoughts into words. It's centered around the realization that the food, setting and service are both formal and simple at the same time. The more I reflect, the more I come to realize that what at first felt disjointed, is in fact a carefully thought-out concept that permeates through every aspect of the experience.

As the "grown-up" sister restaurant to Le Clown Bar, Saturne is definitely more formal. The exterior of the building, the entryway, the way you're greeted at the door, all scream high-end restaurant. But when you sit down you realize, the tables are bare wooden squares lacking tablecloths, most of the interior is either white or black, the settings are more hipster than three star and the space is completely devoid of any clutter or non-essential elements. The staff who promptly greeted you at the door, while quite professional, are friendly and even casual.

The food followed suit. The dishes were carefully plated and in fact quite beautiful, yet they were simple and ingredient driven. They were didn't have any fussy foams or modern techniques and they were designed to be eaten, not just looked at. Each ingredient on the plate had a job, and for the most part, they all came together wonderfully.

If there's one thing you should take away from this review, it's that Saturne is a top notch modern French restaurant where it's simple, seasonal ingredients become the star of every plate.

Tartare de Boeuf / Anchois de Cantabrique / Estragon & Capucine

A fantastic rendition of steak tartare. The beef was delicately ground and almost fluffy (not the dense patty you'll find in many places). The meat was studded with mini quenelles of tarragon butter that melted on your tongue and went perfectly with the salty anchovy. The visually fun canopy of nasturtium leaves added a bright acidic snap to the dish. I've seen a lot of nasturtium flowers in dishes before, but these may have been my first leaves.

Asperge Vert Grillée / Lardon / Jaune d'oeuf Fume / Oil des Ours

The melted lardons and smoked egg yolk were the real standouts here. They helped create a creamy dish that was layered with smokey, salty, vegetal components.

Bonite de St-Jean-de-Luz / Huître d'Utah-Beach / Févette / Verveine

I have yet to really write about something I didn't like on SaulEats, but I am determined to always voice my opinions of dishes and restaurants whether good or bad. Unfortunately, this dish really fell flat for me. I found the bonito to be tough with sinews, the fava beans were raw (a fun twist) but quite mealy and lacked flavor. The green puddle (which was poured table-side) was watery and flavorless. It also doesn't help that I don't tend to like large oysters (especially cooked ones) and this was not the finest specimen.

Echine de Cochon Kintoa / Courgette BBQ / Salicorne / Ajo Blanco

There's something about the cuts of meat in France that I've been completely taken by. It seems as if they are more flavorful and more tender than in the US - and it's not like I buy the cheap stuff back home! Maybe it's my imagination... These tender morsels of pork were no exception. Smokey, salty and melt-in your mouth this dish was a standout. The Ajo Blanco (an almond-based sauce that is really a soup from Barcelona), the seabeans and baby zuchinni were the perfect acommpanyments.

Rouget de Saint-Guénolé / Asperge Blanche / Cerise / Arroche Rouge

This was the third time in a week I had rouget - which they keep telling me is red snapper but I'm pretty sure is red mullet. It is definitely in season, and it's been a blast seeing how different chefs have taken on this cut of fish, which we don't usually see in the US. This rendeition with early spring cherries, white asparagus and arroche rouge was excellent. Surprisingly what brought the dish together was the arroche rough (which are the leaves of a large plant sometimes described as "giant spinach"). The leaves were crispy, fresh and vegetal and held up nicely against the red mullet which tends to be on the fishier side.

Poularde du Patis / Courgette BBQ / Salicorne / Ajo Blanco

Chicken is such a funny thing. For a long time you rarely saw it on menus. But, over the past few years it's started to reappear more and more. My hypothesis is that when most people eat chicken it's a hard puck of dry flavorless white stuff that attempts to pass as meat. So now, when you order the chicken and out comes something juicy, delicate and all around delicious, it is an instant a wow factor. The Poularde at Saturne did not dissapoint. Poularde means "fattened chicken" - and when they say fattened, they don't mean they pumped saline into the breast like wheat we get in the US.

Comté

I recently posted this picture on Instagram and someone commented "Best Comté moment ever!". While I'm not sure I agree, it was indeed a fantastic and memorable cheese course. The mandolin'd ribbons of Comté were the perfect end to the savory portion of the meal and a welcome alternative to what is often on a cheese plate - thick slabs of cheese that overwhelm your palette and are too large to ever be able to finish (I'm not bitter I swear).

Fraise / Livéche / Yaourt de Brebis
If you like Dippn' Dots, you are going to love this. The sour, airy "yogurt" underneath the quenelle of strawberry sorbet was could have been Dippn' Dots. And, as someone who is not a huge dessert fan, this semi-sweet dish was right up my alley.

Chocolat / Origan / Sarrasin

I've been seeing Sarrasin (buckwheat) on a number of menus. Here, it's toasted and mixed with hazelnuts and then topped with fluffy chocolate pudding and chocolate crumble. While it may appear to be a choco-overload type of dessert, I was surprised at how well balanced it was.