Monday, August 26, 2002
Menu favors seafood, vegetables
By Chuck Martin cmartin@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Those who dined at Maisonette during Mr. de Cavel's tenure will recognize the chef's style in the first menu (it will change every two weeks or so) at Jean-Robert at Pigall's. The choices reflect his sometimes complex layering of flavors and textures, and his affection for seafood, wild mushrooms and sunny Provencal-style vegetable combinations.
The dishes look to be adventurous, with use of ingredients such as seaweed, summer truffles and Pastis-flavored chantilly cream (anise-flavored heavy cream). But after living in Cincinnati for more than eight years, Mr. de Cavel recognizes the town's craving for simple comfort food. He offers potatoes in some form with three main dishes, including “Old-Fashioned Whipped Potatoes” with roasted baby pheasant.
The chef uses several locally grown products — Ohio tomatoes and zucchini flowers, Indiana goat cheese, Kentucky spoonfish caviar and free-range buffalo raised in New Richmond.
Mr. de Cavel offers nine first course selections — five based on seafood, three on vegetables and one on foie gras. Of the nine main course selections, four are fish or seafood, two are poultry, two are meat and one is vegetarian.
A menu sampling:
• Tartar of Tuna Classic Nicoise Salad-Style, with Quail Egg (first course).
• Jonah Crab with Watermelon and Cantaloupe, Creme Fraiche and Kentucky Spoonfish Caviar (first course).
• Wild Striped Bass, Orange-Almond-Ginger Butter Sauce, Medley of Sea Beans, Fava Beans and Chanterelles, Vidalia Onion and Yukon Gold Potatoes (main course).
• Duck Breast with Honey and Lavender, Roasted Plums, Oyster Mushrooms and Turnip Confit (main course).
• Buffalo Tenderloin with Grape Compote and Green Peppercorn Sauce, Confit of Carrots, Spinach and Potato Galette (main course).
Sunday's Stories
Monday's Stories
Menu favors seafood, vegetables
