5.5 La Gazzetta, coordinates well-known, announced new menus (too complicated to detail here) a couple of weeks ago and that gave me an excuse to return to taste Petter Nilsson's food which I loved when he cooked "French" food in Uzes but was disappointed, as was the RFC, when we ate here shortly after it opened and my appetite was whetted/whet when I read that Francois-Regis Gaudy in l'Express declared him one of the six new generation chefs in France.
It was raining like crazy, I was coming from the Gare de Lyon from Geneva and my friend whom I've known the longest time in France was meeting me after a conference she was attending far away, so I entered a bit early and was directed to sit at the bar 'til my time came. But there were unoccupied tables I could clearly see, and people who hadn't reserved were being shooed away or being told to sit at the bar and wait 15-20 minutes. Hummm. A cook or wait-person was sick?
Finally seated - she nowhere to be seen, ordered. Of course, the moment they brought the wine, bread, water and three starters she breezes in and says "I'm so sorry, they changed the congress venue, I wrote you an email but knew you were on the TGV..... No Problem" say I truly.
Almost automatically now (and it's OK) they bring you the three starters (is this a trend? - three times in three weeks - three starters?) 1. A chickpea soup - delicious. 2. Grilled squid on a pumpkin puree - OK. 3. White pizza with eggplant, capers and was it Jerusaleum artichoke or hummmm that other one, jimica? - the least successful.
Then she had the free-range chicken with a sour orange and rosemary sauce which she loved and I had the black cod (Omega-3's non?) with razor clams, quite nice and healthy. Both were on the same bed of cabbage and parmesan, parsley and nuts - lazy, is Petter getting - or for 16 E are the first 4 a bargain? Yes!
Madame terminated with a tangeriney-tasting semi-freddo of sanguine oranges and a mandarin flan. Not bad - pas mal.
The bill was 45.50 E and she said, "That can't be right." and she was right, they forgot the wine (26 E) so we settled up for 71.50 E for two.
Go? Yes, I think so, it's a bargain but you must reserve.
I just had the worst meal of my life at La Gazzetta last night. And the worst service. First course was a raw langoustine with watermelon. You could smell this poor langoustine before it arrived. Service was abominable. Like a cliche. It ended with the manager screaming at us that we should go to McDonalds next time. Wow!! So sad and childish. Do not go.
Posted by: Marisa | July 18, 2010 at 08:02 AM
Whoa. I will disseminate this. Thanks. Neg fedback is important.
Posted by: John Talbott | July 18, 2010 at 09:55 AM