In a country with an epicurean culture as strong as that in Belgium, good restaurants are a regular experience. Fine restaurants are commonplace. But few restaurateurs can boast the innovation of Frank Fol and his Leuven-based restaurant Sire Pynnock, a talent that has elevated him among the finest of the fine Flemish chefs.
Yesterday I had the great fortune to eat there for the second time, and words can’t adequately describe the delights presented with five-star precision.
Amuse-bouche to start, of course. A gaspacho of carrots and young onions. A ragout of Mediterranean vegetables. A tomato salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, black pepper and green pea ice cream. Signature Frank Fol innovation. All lightly washed down with a subtle kir royal.
The first course: a tartare of tuna with champignons de Paris, leek, pineapple and a summer salad with tempura de lgumes, served with a cold cucumber and chervil emulsion. The course was accompanied by a 2002 vintage Warrick Station Chardonnay from Australian. Delightful grassy tones and a pleasant compliment to the subtle tuna tartare, a combination which probably would not have worked as well with a woodier French Chardonnay.
The second course: marinated monkfish and oven-baked red pepper, fine pasta with courgettes and a tapenade of black olives, accompanied by a 2001 Domaine Saint-Vincent Medaille d’Argent.
At last, the main course: grilled rib of “free-range” steer (“grasstiertje” in Dutch), with a radish tapenade and mashed “dauphinoise” potato perfumed with aniseed. The wine was a Domaine de la Roche Vive L’Esprit de la Ngly, if memory serves. The details start to become fuzzy at this stage.
For desert: a light riz au lait with fromage blanc, peach marmalade with a subtle rosemary perfume and skewered strawberries.
Coffee, chocolates and fine hand-made biscuits rounded off the meal.
Exceptional. True artistry in a time when a sandwich and a pint have to suffice as a pleasant meal.
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