The name of this restaurant, Au Trou Gascon, might lead you to expect a nice heavy southwestern meal of foie gras, duck confit, etc., and a decor dominated by red-checkered tablecloths and wood paneling. If that’s what you’re hoping for, forget it. While this new-age Trou Gascon has lovingly preserved the name and the ornamental ceiling and original pillars (now painted a muted shade of gold) of the restaurant operated for 50 years by Michelin-starred chef Alain Dutournier (who retired earlier this year), it now has a bright, airy designer decor and an open kitchen visible from all angles, where chef Sarah Chougnet-Strudel and her team beaver away.
The food also belies the name, with its light, fusion-flavored dishes. Not having huge appetites that evening, June and I decided to share the starter of ravioles (dumplings), which showed off their Asian influence with the shape of Chinese jiaozi or Japanese gyoza. Filled with petit épeautre (farro) they floated in a delicate broth flavored with, of all things, that fragrant vegetable, parsnip. We scooped up every drop.
June chose the carré de cochon noir (black pig; an actual product of Gascony) for her main course. The generous helping of tender, juicy meat was served neatly sliced on a bed of creamed Swiss chard with a verbena-flavored jus. As a side dish (charged separately here), she had the radicchio (surprisingly, not red) salad with garlic cream, confit kombu (a type of seaweed) and satsuma (Japanese Mandarin orange) segments. She was delighted with every bite.
My main course was more complex: a vol au vent that had little resemblance to the classic dish, which is basically a round case of puff pastry filled with various ingredients – meat or fish and vegetables – in a creamy sauce. Here it took an unexpected form: the delectable pastry case was filled with a ragout of butternut squash and tagliatelle-like strips of barely cooked seiche (cuttlefish), flavored with saffron and piment d’Espelette (a mild chili from the Basque Country) and topped with ribbons of butternut squash. Maybe I’m too stuck on the old-fashioned way of making a vol-au-vent, but I was rather put off by the chewy texture of the cuttlefish and its relative lack of flavor.
It is only fitting, given her last name, that Chougnet-Strudel also turned out to be a top-notch pastry chef. The two desserts we had were amazing. One was a soufflé made with 76-percent Kamili chocolate and topped with Fontainebleau (sweetened creamy cheese) and olive/hazelnut cookies.
The parfait glacé, surrounded by citrus fruits, caramel sauce and an arlette (a delicate cookie made with puff pastry), also reached great height.
The service was friendly and easygoing, so easygoing that we felt no pressure to leave, even though we had been sitting at the table for over three and a half hours (that was partly due to slow service between courses, but we were too busy talking to notice). It was a fun and gastronomically fruitful evening. Even though she was born in Paris and owns a restaurant in Marseille (Regain), Chougnet-Strudel does Gascony proud.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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