Neige d’été is a small 2 room place that offers only a tasting menu at lunch. It is 4 courses with a supplement for an additional course of cheese. They offer wine pairings as well as a wine list. The tables are nicely spaced and appointed with lovely white linens that are the dominant color scheme also. The walls and woodwork are white washed and the main source of color are the beautiful deep pink roses scattered throughout. No art but a few figurines add some interest. It was a total contrast to have the kitschy plastic Eiffel Tower on the discs of sugar dish. The place has a nice hum of background noise but the ambiance is stiff with service being really slow and sterile. The food was nice but it would not be on my list of places to go again.
The menu started with a couple amuse bouche. A potato soufflé was a perfectly puffed bit of potato that was thin and quite nice. Followed by crispy polenta chip topped with mushroom cream which was tasty but hard to eat as the chip was so thin and delicate. There was also a piece of duck sausage that was okay. Lastly was a leek mousse that was really good. The smoothness of the mousse was accented with some tiny croutons flavored with anchovy.
Bread was brought out as the menu started. The country-style bread had a little wheat in it and was dense with plenty of air holes and a good crust.
The first course was foie gras terrine with ginger bread and a glaze of sweet wine. It was served with a slice of toasted brioche and apple cream. It appeared that a piece of the disc had been cut out and caramelized. That piece was the star of the show. The crispy edge and bit of sugar really enhanced the taste. The apple cream for the brioche didn’t seem to have much taste at all. The wine pairing was a sherry that was a nice change from the usual sweet wine companion. It complemented the dish nicely.
The grilled octopus was served with chorizo, green peas, saffron rice and a mousse of saffron. The netting top was made of octopus ink. The dust was coral and herbs. The octopus was chewy and the rice still had a lot of chew. Overall the dish was mildly flavored, even though the ingredients read for better. The wine was tart and another good match.
The Guinea Fowl was grilled on Japanese charcoal and served with Jerusalem artichoke foam, onion, potato, green nettle juice and guinea fowl jus. It was a combination of dark and light meat both with slightly crispy skin and tender, juicy flesh. The chunks of artichoke were good and the onion was incredibly sweet. The fowl jus was really reduced and totally enhanced the fowl. A winner course.
The final course was a grapefruit granité served with coriander ice cream. The large chunks of grapefruit were lovely and sweet. A very nice dish. Due to a dietary restriction they made me a brûlée of Japanese pumpkin with a mandarin sorbet. Both were smooth and really good. The wine with this course was a lovely sweet wine which was a great pairing with the grapefruit but was a really poor match with the pumpkin.
Extra treats included some dry pasty puffs stuffed with yogurt ice cream that was much too runny. The passion fruit macarons were quite chewy. The cheesecake was the star here with a crispy cracker cookie containing the creamy rich filling.
