Le Grand Vefour, the meal of a lifetime!

You may all be tired of my trip by now, but this was a once in a lifetime meal and I guarantee that Jim will never take me back. Le Grand Vefour is one of the top restaurants in Paris. So far I have eaten at 3. My first was Tallaillevent and the second was Tour d’Argent. Tour d’Argent still remains my favorite do to the view and the pressed duck. Le Grand Vefour is one of the oldest, opened in 1784. It is very decorative with mirrors and porcelain panels. The service is impeccable from the minute you step from your cab. Dinner does not start until 8:00 PM and they are not open on weekends.  It is the meal of a lifetime. 
Before I get into the extraordinary evening, I’d like to discuss what I feel is a problem with a Zagat Guide. No one is rated higher than a 28 for food décor and service. I think these three need to be broken into 3 categories. Then there is the cost category. Very Expensive or 81 Euros is the top price. This is considered the price of dinner with one drink and tip. That means for means for 2 of us 162 Euros. We had lunches in Bistros and Brasseries that were more than that. They did make a note in the write up here raising it to 157 Euros.  My main course alone was 105 Euros and the menu is a la carte. I am talking the 2010/2011 guide. Depending where you are from the Euro will be worth different amounts, but 81 is way out of line for top restaurants. But enough about that, you certainly do not go to these establishments with budget and thrift on your mind.
We started the evening with a glass of Taittinger Champagne. For my first course I ordered Caviar Oscietre a l la cullere with blinis and crème. The caviar was by far the best I have ever had. I was not overwhelmed by their blini. Jim had Cuisses de grenouilles enrobes et croustillantes, jus a la tomate acidule, mélange d’herbes fines. Translation, frog legs with ketchup. I was pleased that they somehow made the legs look like small chicken legs instead of like Barbie Doll legs. The center had what looked like a porcelain cup, but it was eatable and Jim said the whole dish was absolutely delicious. Next came an amuse of carrot consume and a small piece of delicious chicken. For my main course I chose a Classiques, Pigeon Prince Rainier III. It was totally deboned stuffed and with a whole truffle in the middle the size of a golf ball. One the plate was Ceps and other cooked mushrooms with a smear of basil sauce on the bottom. The sauce and the accompanying vegetables were worth any price. Jim had Filet d’Agneau a la sarriette mitonnee de tomates vertes, compresse de tomates et petit pois, lamb with vegetables. The tomato part was a rectangle, probably a moussee with 3 peas on top. He ate a lot of lamb while we were in France and said this was definitely the best. Jim had the cheese course. I skipped it as I had ordered dessert. Jim ordered Framboises rehaussees au gimgembre dans de fines feuilles au chocolat. I again ordered from the Classiques, Palet noisette et chocolat au lait, glace au caramel brun et prise de sel de Guerande. Dessert was endless, first came a small tile with 4 small bites, a macaroon cookie, lemon tart, chocolate tart and a cream puff followed by a mousse with foam on top, followed by our actual ordered dessert. Mine was intense chocolate. It started with a round chocolate mousse cake. On top was a chocolate tower filled with mousse and a lace cookie and ice cream. Jim’s was a raspberry cranberry creation that had cookies, chocolate and sorbet. This was followed with jellied sugar candies, marshmallows and coconut nugget and 4 kinds of chocolate. Jim had coffee and I had tea. I had the sugar jitters by the time we left. The wine Jim chose was a burgundy, Morey St. Denis, 2006 Tres Giranrd.
This was a grand end to a really great trip and something I will never forget. As we were early, we asked to have our photo taken and that is the photo that I am posting today.