"In her memoir, Eating My Words, former New York Times restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton recalls that after the death of legendary restaurateur Fernand Point, not even his widow, Madame Point, could maintain the integrity and excellence of their restaurant, de la Pyramide.
The anecdote suggests that restaurants do not live on without very special care and feeding. Clearly, North Shore diners have been treated over the decades with that very same care and feeding at Le Titi de Paris.
The restaurant was founded as a small bistro by Christian Zeiger. In time, the restless Zeiger sold his playfully named restaurant to his chef, Pierre Pollin. Pollin and his wife went on to move the business as they expanded it from bistro into the full-fledged classical French restaurant it is today.
The last time I reviewed Le Titi in North Shore, Pollin was head chef, assisted by executive chef Michael Maddox. Presently, the Pollins have retired. Maddox and his wife, Susan, are the owners, having purchased Le Titi earlier this year.
With seafoam-colored walls, heavy, swagged curtains and elegant lighting, the dining room has a classic, European sensibility. Yet there is nothing stuffy about this restaurant, which has more than kept up with contemporary taste and time. The dining begins with an amuse bouche, recently a simple asparagus cream soup in a bowl almost tiny enough to be part of a dollhouse service.
From that point on, diners can enjoy à la carte choices from the menu or order a chef's degustation, which is free-form enough to allow for substitutions when desired. The only stipulation is that the degustation must be ordered by the entire table.
Dining á la carte is a difficult process of elimination, thanks to the array of choices. They included among cold appetizers a richly endowed terrine of Canadian-raised goose foie gras with Perigordine black truffles and port wine syrup. Maddox also oversees the creation of kitchen-made pâtés and sausages, available with spiced apple compote. In an elaborate Napoleon layered with potato galettes and slivers of braised Oriental seasoned duck along with diced mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes bound in wasabi-infused crème fra"che.
Hot appetizers prove to be equally complex. Consider foie gras again, this time seared with caramelized apples and set on brioche napped in a compote of brandied pear and black mission figs. The French use the term "goût de terroir," or taste of the soil, to describe certain attributable qualities in a fine wine. I think the term can also apply here.
There is fascination to be found in what the menu calls a Crispy Phyllo Surprise, which brings together snails, chopped spinach and porcinis in a light sauce of roasted garlic and ever-so-delicate thyme. As for entrées, the collection retains a few house classics, including sautéed Dover sole. Chef Maddox pays menu tribute to his mentor with "sautéed salmon in the style of Pierre Pollin." Among more than a dozen other entrées, skate, a snow-white fish with firm flesh is presented with a marmalade of red onions plus fingerling potatoes.
As for meats and poultry, the challenge is to narrow your choice. Might you want pork tenderloin with dried fruit and bourbon sauce? Or how about two cuts of veal, loin and slow-braised medallions from the leg, with a chanterelle mushroom ragout? Muscovy duck, which, despite the name, has nothing to do with Moscow or Old Russia, is presented in another pairing, the breast along side a confit. The flavor of orange cognac, perhaps Grand Marnier, is introduced into a recipe that otherwise has elements of Asian five spice. To recite more of this menu is to tease. Among desserts, the Opera Piano is a chocolate candy and praline cream creation. But even better may be the ambrosia, chocolate cake with a liquid warm chocolate center. Praline ice cream is the lagniappe.
The wine list is a library volume. Service is smart but not ponderous. In its third generation of ownership, the restaurant remains true to the pursuit of excellence. Expect to spend about $100 a couple for three courses, plus wine, tax and tip. Le Titi de Paris has a K/RATING of 20/20."
Written by Sherman Kaplan
