Neige d’été (Paris - 15ème): A Pictorial Essay

On a quiet street in the 15th arrondissement, Chef Hideki Nishi is bringing all the skills honed by his fourteen years in the kitchen at the two-Michelin-star restaurant Le V (of Hotel George V) to Neige d’été.

Quixotically translated to “Summer Snow”, this discreet space is beautifully decorated by Shinku Noda of Paris-based Atelier ES. Muted wooden tones are contrasted by occasional bursts of gorgeous floral colors.

This minimalist decor contrasts very nicely to the very bright cooking coming out of Chef Hideki’s kitchen.

Service is exemplary and accommodating. We were guided to our table, complete with a wonderful view of the open kitchen for this evening’s meal…

Apéritif: André et Michel Drappier ‘Zero Dosage’, Brut Nature Champagne… Made from 100% Pinot noir grapes, this was a toasty, well-rounded Champagne.


Amuse-bouches: Canape au saumon sur gorgonzola millefeuille, anguille ‘foie gras’ avec fleur de sel & jambon ibérique une tranche de Kouglof au riz et aux pignons de pain… What a wonderful trio of bites to start our adventure!



Le pain… Baked in-house and served with beurre de Bretagne (which was awesome), we ate way more of the dreamy bread & butter here than we should have!


Soupe de coquillages à la châtaigne… Shellfish potage with chestnut & egg foam on top - Seasonal and delicious.

Tartare de Saint-Jacques, citron caviar, radis ‘red meat’… Wow! Fresh scallops, with yuzu rind, caviar and radish - All in one superb bite!

Ris de veau panné, tartare d’huîtres Gillardeau, salade de sucrine… Lightly fried sweetbread, with oyster tartare, served with a crisp lettuce salad - Excellent.

Chef Hideki has several young chefs staging with him in the kitchen. Some come from as far away as Tokyo to learn from his French techniques.

Bar de ligne poêles aux beurre d’algue… Stove-cooked line-caught sea bass, served with seaweed butter - Marvelous.

Next, we are shown the winter truffle supply at the restaurant, with their incredible earthy aroma!

Pintade grillée, truffe noire… Grilled Guinea fowl, with black winter truffle… Served on a bed of pureed truffled potatoes with Guinea fowl yolk, this presentation was just incredible - Quite possibly the perfect hearty winter dish.

Next up: Chef Hideki’s signature dish: Tourte de gibier! This is what it looks like before cooking…

Tourte de gibier (canard colvert, perdreau grise et foie gras)… Served with concentrated stock from the game fowl (mallard duck, gray partridge), this was truly a unique culinary experience - Definitely on the heavier side, but so, so rewarding on each bite.



Ormeaux poêles, avec consommé de crustacés… Oven-baked abalone, with crustacean bisque - Oishi!

Next, an imposing hunk of wagyu from Poland, aged for about four weeks, is brought out for us to see…

Faux-filet de boeuf polonaise grillée au charbon de bois… Terrific sear on the outside - An optimal mixture of marbled fat, meat, smoke and salt - Stupendous! From the taste, it is likely that Japanese ‘binchotan’ charcoal was used.

What’s next?

Sélection de fromages affinés…

Dessert time!!! Pomme, poire, mousse de calvados… Truly a magnificent dessert. The apple brandy mousse really tied everything together here.

Mont Blanc, gelée de pamplemousse, café… The crew at Neige d’été are masters with their use of chestnuts.

Here is a nice cross-section of the Mont Blanc…

Mignardises: Merigue de pamplemousse et coco, choux caramel, et truffes chocolats avec matcha ‘nougat’ sur amandes grillées… Delicate and fantastically sweet creations!



Macchiato… A splendid finish to a most memorable meal!

Gochisosama deshita!!! Et “Bravo!!!”

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Awesome report.

That abalone … I think I need a moment to myself.

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STELLAR!!
For me it was the Sea Bass and the Calamari. .

:trophy:

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Wow, great pics. My faves

#Winner by a mile!!! Tourte de gibier - Utterly decadent old school

  1. Awesome looking wagyu with the yellow fat. Grass fed?

  2. Butter

  3. Desserts

  4. Young chef at forefront :kissing_heart:

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Just looked at the pics again, seriously, everything looks awesome!

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Quit making me think thangs on these pics. . .
:stuck_out_tongue:

Awesome report!

What else is on tap?

It seems like these days the best meals in Paris are coming out of unstarred kitchens as opposed to the 3 stars (Toutain, Passage 53).

Le Cinq :wink:

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And whaddayaknow?! Right after I eat there, it gets its first Michelin star!!!

http://restaurant.michelin.fr/restaurant/france/75015-paris-15/neige-d-ete/9fkib5i9

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Holy. I may be going to France for a wedding in May, so I’m taking notes.

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Mochi - where did you end up? I am planning a voyage du Paris

Ah! Damn, man. Take me with you. I think about it every day.

I did a report with pics and write-ups over on this thread, but below is a more streamlined list. There are also some other good suggestions in that thread that we weren’t able to go to because there are a million good restaurants in Paris apparently. We also had a bunch of cheese and bread and other great things not listed. Eat it all, walk it off, repeat.

Two sites that helped me with food stuff:

Also, not only for food, but I found that you can create a custom map in Google Maps with pins for different types of destinations. Just helpful when you’re trying to plan a day to know what is close or in the same neighborhood.

List in chronological order of our trip…

SEMILLA

Nice place to have lunch. Walked in without a reservation, although dinner time looked to be busier when we walked by later. Wouldn’t go out of your way, maybe, but if you’re in the St. Germain area, it was a good spot.

L’INCONNU

This place was bonkers. Believe the concept is Japanese/Italian. Highly highly recommend.

BASTILLE FARMERS MARKET
http://equipement.paris.fr/marche-bastille-5477#local-calendar
Sundays only, I think? Great rotisserie chicken and booths with pastries, veggies, seafood, etc.

L’AS DU FALLAFEL

It was a solid falafel. It’s not anything mind blowing, but the long line moves quickly and it was tasty. If you’re going to the Centre Pompidou, this is a fine place to get a bite before.

MIZNON

Get the cauliflower head. Use all the sauce and salt. Casual place, right next to L’As Du Fallafel. No reservations.

CLOWN BAR
http://www.clown-bar-paris.fr/
A French/Japanese fusion. Had really interesting dishes, though. I think about the foie/smoked eel dish a lot. The language barrier was a bit tough here (even though I’m intermediate). Only takes reservations over the phone.

LA PARISIENNE
http://parisbymouth.com/paris-best-baguette-in-2016/
This place recently won the “Best Baguette in Paris,” and it was a perfect baguette. Also had a wonderfully flakey Kouign Amann.

HUITRERIE REGIS
http://www.huitrerieregis.com/
What a wonderful place. Barely enough room for 10 people and the only thing you can get is oysters. And some salami. Oh, and wonderfully wonderful shrimp. No reservations.

CHEZ L’AMI JEAN
http://lamijean.fr/
This was probably the trip favorite. Highly highly recommend. Must get the WORLD CHAMPION RIZ AU LAIT (rice pudding). It feels like everything you’d want from a French restaurant. The website seems to be down at the moment, but I believe they only do reservations over the phone.

L’AVANT COMPTOIR
https://www.facebook.com/avantcomptoirofficiel/1
The side bar of Comptoir that serves small plates. More casual. The bread here was as thick as something that’s really thick and so, so great. Really enjoyed this place, and there was a huge line for lunch to get into Comptoir next door, so I’m assuming that’s good as well, even though we didn’t go.

FREDDY’S

I believe this is owned or started by the same guy that owns/started the first place we went to, Semilla. A small plates place with a Mediterranean/fish focus that is fine enough. I included it in the list because we went, but you could find better.

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Thanks PM.
Sorry I missed the original.

No worries, mon. Happy to help.

Lemme know if you have any questions. Godspeed, Goodspeed.

Note: Chef Hideki is going on summer break. Chef Gaël Boulay will helm the kitchen at Neige d’ete until autumn.