Every year, as a reward for writing this Gourmet News, Shimada-san of The Cloakroom in Ginza, who I run, invites me to dine at a grand maison. Last year, he took me to Toi Visage in Ginza 7-chome, which had just opened. Shimada-san's restaurant apparently had the service uniforms made to order. It's a fantastic restaurant, and apparently it was even introduced online in the Michelin Guide. I predicted that it would probably get a star, and sure enough, it did get one this year.

So, where would he take us this year? He said he made a reservation for "Apicius" in Yurakucho. The year before last, he went to the just-opened "Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Tokyo" (that's a long name ! ) in Ginza 6-chome, so he never expected to go to "Apicius", one of the oldest restaurants in Japan. The idea was to make the theme "eating a la carte". I see. I have often criticized the "omakase course" at the current Grand Maison as a "push-sale course", and have said that since Grand Maisons are the ones you pay a lot of money for, it makes sense to choose what you want to eat by yourself, "a la carte". In fact, about 30 years ago when I was eating at Grand Maisons in Paris, a la carte was the norm.

Apicius was founded in 1983 and is located on the basement floor of the Sanshi Kaikan in Yurakucho. It is a long-established restaurant, one generation behind famous Ginza restaurants such as Lecrin, L'Osier, and Maxim's. In 1995, when Norio Takahashi was the chef, Morio Mita praised it as the best French restaurant in Tokyo (i.e. Japan) in his book Epicurean (Kodansha). I visited the restaurant around the turn of the century in 2000, but it was a private dining room, so this was my first time seeing the main hall. However, by that time the chef had already changed and Mita downgraded the restaurant to two stars, commenting that "the service lacked tension, and many of the dishes on the plate lacked the sense of balance based on careful consideration" (Mr. Takahashi, Epicurean 2000 , Maruzen).

This is my first visit in a quarter century, but in recent years Apicius' reputation has been resurfacing, and it has been listed in the 2024 edition of the Michelin Guide Tokyo, although it does not have a star. However, upon investigation, it appears that the chef is a veteran who has been a student of Takahashi's Apicius ever since, so I expected it to be a kind of learning from the past. Still, it is exciting to be able to eat à la carte. Opening the menu and deciding on the dishes requires imagination and creativity. Even if you choose three dishes - hors d'oeuvre, main course, and dessert - you have to combine them from several different dishes, so there are dozens, or even hundreds of possibilities.

I'm also curious about what the person I'm dining with will choose. It doesn't matter if we end up making the exact same choice. The important thing is to order what you want to eat the most. That way, you'll be less likely to end up ordering the same thing. In fact, my choice and Shimada's were completely different. For the hors d'oeuvre, Shimada chose foie gras terrine, while I chose pan-fried foie gras. I like my foie gras cooked. Or rather, I might not want to eat it unless it's warm.

Well, we could have gone for the main course next, but there was a section on the menu called "seasonal recommendations," and there was white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, so we ordered one each as a palate cleanser. Shimada-san accompanies us here. The food is completely classic and carefully prepared, but these two dishes were just average. Of course, it wasn't bad, but it lacked inspiration. For the main course, Shimada ordered lamb, and I ordered Challans duck with salumi sauce. This salumi sauce was good. It is a duck blood sauce, but it seems to have been mixed with pig's blood. What was good about it was the taste of the sauce. It is smooth and not too strong, but it is rich and never gets boring. It is served over thinly sliced ​​duck meat that is spread all over the plate. The thin slices are exquisite. It can be mixed with the sauce and eaten in just one bite. This was a wonderful reproduction of a classic.

We would have liked to have dessert next, but we still had some wine left, so we ordered a little fromage. There was a wide variety, so we each ordered two types, but again, we didn't overlap. For dessert, the nostalgic grand dessert was served on a cart. The style was to have as many different types of cake as you like. However, I don't think this style is necessary anymore. Even though it's a dessert, the selling point should still be the plate. In fact, it was the same in ancient Paris. So, we ordered the dessert menu, and sure enough, there it was. The pastry chef seemed to be different, and this was also an old-fashioned grand maison. Or perhaps we could call it the hotel style. Shimada ordered fromage mousse. I ordered fondant au chocolat. Well, I'd say this was a passing grade.

Well, the biggest benefit of this trip was probably the wine. An excellent wine list. Mita-san had written that the selection of Bordeaux wines was particularly good, and that seems to have remained the same. Shimada-san doesn't drink much, so we decided not to have an aperitif, but to order a bottle and enjoy right from the start. I wanted to drink Burgundy, which was also quite good. Since it's a grand maison, the prices start at 20,000 yen, but I was surprised to see that even Burgundy Grand Cru wines were in the 20,000 yen range. Wines in restaurants are usually twice the retail price, but Burgundy has been soaring in price in recent years, so the paradox that it's cheaper to drink wine that has been aged in the cellar at a restaurant applied to the wines I chose this time.

The one I chose was the 2013 Grand Cru "Clos de la Roche" from Morey-Saint-Denis. The maker is Marchand Frères and it cost about 36,000 yen. "Clos de la Roche" has four other items in the 20,000 yen, 80,000 yen, and 90,000 yen ranges, all made by different makers. In the case of Burgundy, this is a good example of how prices can vary greatly depending on the maker. Marchand Frères is my favorite maker and has reasonable prices. "Clos de la Roche" only owns four ares and produces only 300 barrels per year. By the way, the latest 2021 vintage has a retail price of 50,000 yen.

Finally, let's talk about the service, which is a major factor in the evaluation of Grand Maison. We must not forget that Mita's criticism from a quarter century ago was also directed primarily at the service. The author's evaluation coincides with Shimada's evaluation of the service staff's clothing. He is truly a fashion professional. Although his perspective is different from mine, he saw through to the essence of the matter. Shimada said that the service staff's uniforms were ready-made products sold in Kappabashi and did not fit well, and the shoes were also cheap and unacceptable.

Certainly, the hall was full and there were a fair number of customers, but it seemed like there were too many servers. It felt hectic. Also, after they were done with their work, they just stood outside the hall chatting. It really was like they "lacked tension." The style of the black uniform and the white uniform "komi (assistant)" may be a rare "form" that is not seen these days, but if the form is just neat and tidy, it will not become formal "beauty" unless there is substance to it.

I have to say it's no wonder that Michelin didn't give it a star. The furnishings were luxurious and the atmosphere was nostalgic. It was certainly a fascinating and valuable experience, but the meal felt like going on a "visit" to see an endangered species. Even so, it was full to capacity. I'm truly grateful to Shimada-san. I was made to realize that this world is still as far removed from me as it was a quarter century ago.

This month's recommended wine: "Enjoy the village wines of the Cote d'Or - How about Gevrey-Chambertin, the largest wine-producing region in the Cote de Nuits? -"

"Gevrey-Chambertin Me Favourite 2021 AC Gevrey-Chambertin Eric & Jean-Luc Burguet" 16,500 yen (excluding tax)

When you want to drink red Burgundy, it is probably best to choose wine from the Cote d'Or. Moreover, if you are choosing between the Cote de Nuits in the north and the Cote de Beaune in the south, you would probably choose wine from Nuits. This is similar to the choice of preference between the Medoc on the left bank and the Libourne on the right bank in Bordeaux. However, in Bordeaux, the Medoc is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and the Libourne is mainly Merlot, so there is a difference in the grape varieties themselves, whereas Burgundy is all 100 % Pinot Noir, so the "spirit of delicacy" (Pascal) is important, as subtle differences affect tastes.

Moreover, even if you say Nuits wine, there are multiple appellations like Medoc. The problem is which village to choose. Moreover, Burgundy is obviously more expensive than Bordeaux. A poor university lecturer like me should not get involved in it, but I think there is still a way to enjoy it.

This is a method of enjoying village wines, ignoring Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and even vineyard wines. Bordeaux is divided into chateaux, but the appeal of Burgundy is the huge number of winemakers. In other words, even if a village wine is the same, there are so many winemakers that it would be difficult to cover them all.

So, what I'm currently looking for is the village wine from Gevrey-Chambertin, the largest wine-producing region in Nuits. Moreover, village wines are generally made in two types: a standard cuvée and a cuvée labeled "Vieilles Vignes ( VV )" made from carefully selected grapes from old vines.

Eric and Jean-Luc Burguet, the wines we have chosen this time, produce two village wines, "Symphonie" and "Me Favourites". "Me Favourites" is the equivalent of a "vieilles vignes" and is made from grapes with an average age of 70 years from the 26 plots they own.The grapes are destemmed before fermentation and the wine is aged for a long period of 20 months in 30 % new oak barrels.

The Domaine was founded in 1974 by Alain Burguet. He gained fame as one of the leading winemakers in Gevrey-Chambertin. The label now reads "Eric & Jean-Luc Burguet", named after his son Jean-Luc and his son and grandson Eric. They have been practicing organic farming since Alain's time, and have been using biodynamic farming since 2013 , based on the concept of "coexistence with nature". They still own 7 hectares , and continue to carefully make wine, producing only a small amount of négociant Vosne-Romanée.

Don't miss this opportunity to try this fascinating Gevrey-Chambertin masterpiece.

For inquiries about the wines introduced, please contact AVICO Co., Ltd.

Biography
Osamu Seki

Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions. Specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory. Director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
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