Birthday Dinner at Gourmand

It was my Dad's birthday on Feb 14, so as always we normally celebrate it a day before. This time we wanted to do something special as he always treats us and pays for all our meals (that's what Parents are for right??). So we(my sisters and I) decided to treat him for a dinner at Gourmand. If I am a creature of habit, my dad is worse...he has dinner 3-4 times a week in La Tienda with his friends and 'only' drinks Marques De Caceres...so this time I planned something different.

I had planned this dinner 3 weeks in advance with Chef Marc Aubry and N...so I asked Marc to prepare us 6 appetizers that were not on the menu and we would just order our main from the regular menu.

For starters, we had the Terrine of Foie (one of my favorites). With that we opened 2 bottles of 2006 Raimbault-Pineau Pouilly-Fumé. As soon as everybody else arrived, the appetizers started coming.... We had:

* Goose Confit and Mushroom Filos on Greens - I enjoyed this dish since I love anything that is wrapped with filo and also love Goose - so how can I go wrong??

* Baked Stuffed White Clams - Big clams with a sort of Pesto Sauce. Very good although a bit salty, but we still enjoyed it.
*Roasted Scallops with Bone Marrow with Red Wine Jus - Perfect Combination of the Scallop and Bone Marrow. This went very well with our Pouilly-Fumé
* Mini Roesti top with Roasted Foie Gras - this was the favorite of the night. Roasted Foie gras a top the mini Roesti. I had a Sauternes prepared for this dish but the sauce/glaze on the Foie was rich/Sweet so I decided to keep the Sauternes for dessert.
Steak Tartare .. (of course) - I will not post a picture anymore of the Tartare, since there are several on my blog, but needless to say it was good, very tasty. Next time I'll ask Marc to make it a bit more spicy...

For main, I had (as usual) the Goose Leg Confit which is one of my favorites. This time I requested it to be served without the sauce on the side. It was just how I expected it and paired very well with my 01 Ch. La Tour Haut-Brion. R had the special of the night, Wild Pheasant. It was quite tasty although a bit tough and not as fatty since it was wild...but still very good. It was also a bit gamey but it was expected. Once the Pessac-Leognan bottle was polished, my Dad pulled out his favorite wine (the only one he drinks actually), a Marques De Caceres Reserva. It was a typical Rioja wine, easy to drink and also went well with the steak and the lamb that others ordered.

For Dessert, I ordered in advance the Chestnut Soufflé. I had first tried this during a Christmas lunch we had with N in Gourmand. Then, he paired it with a 1988 Domaine Hugel et Fils Gewürztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles, which was fantastic. I had no chance to bring a Gewurzt to the dinner so I decided to pair it with an 06 Carmes de Riussec, which I think was a good paring. I love this dessert and have to thank N for introducing me to this. I will definitely have this again soon.

After Dessert, we capped off with a Port that was served on the house plus a small cake for my Dad's birthday (Including waiters singing..). Everybody was quite to the limit of alcohol so only my Dad and my self drank the Port (plus we drank all the others of course, since it would be a shame to leave the glass full) and a couple of espressos. We truly enjoyed this special dinner and thank you Marc for going out of your way to prepare such a great dinner for us. Service was spot on as usual, very efficient and fast.