Take Back Your Michelin Stars!

Alain Senderens, formerly of Lucas Carton, renamed his restaurant and gave back his Michelin stars. The result? You save $400 per meal.

International Living Postcards--your daily escape

Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006
Paris, France

Alain Senderens (one of the pioneers of real nouvelle cuisine) ran the gastronomic heaven known as Lucas Carton in central Paris for more than 25 years. He had acquired an international reputation, and a continued run of three Michelin star awards. Earlier this year, he gave the stars back to Michelin.

M. Senderens renamed his restaurant Senderens (http://www.senderens.fr), and now offers three-star service and quality at a more affordable (though never cheap) price. In a recent interview, he says that previously his regulars had been able to visit once every couple of months, but now, with his pared down menu, and no frills approach (you won't see any tablecloths), his regulars can visit every week. Where once you paid $500 per person, you can now have a royal feast for less than $130. But is it worth it?

A recent visit to Senderens--hidden carefully from gawpers by a new white air-lock door--revealed cute modern touches to the venerable interior, with pink details, funky ceilings, and the signature butterfly in light projections. But we wanted to see if the essentials were up to standard. We were not disappointed.

Size doesn't enter into the servings, everything is presented lightly and with style, and the menu is more inventive now that M. Senderens is concerned about his budget. The food is rich yet subtle, pleasing to the eye and palate. Something I particularly appreciated was the wine: the menu suggests a wine to accompany each dish and, even better, it's available by the glass thus avoiding the need to agonize over whether to have fish all the way and a whole bottle of Sancerre, or to risk mismatched wine and food.

So, here's my lunch-time banquet: an open vegetable ravioli drizzled with a light creamy herb sauce followed by Apicius duck, cooked in honey, Roman-style, with a touch of quince and apple purée and a surprising dash of spiced date purée--a sultry chestnut daub on the plate. Although replete, I couldn't resist the poached apricots with almond milk ice-cream. And coffee came with yet more refinements: irresistible mini macaroons and chocolate. And the bill? Eighty euro ($100), plus wine. Well worth every cent…but perhaps not every week.

Leigh Fergus
For International Living