More vineyards after luncheon, those of Côte Rôtie and the tiny vineyard of Château Grillet which produces an infinitesimal quantity each year, which perhaps makes it one of the most prized of all white wines. We were to learn its delightful qualities that evening at dinner.
The crowning tragedy was that after this Gargantuan luncheon, so masterfully prepared, we were to be introduced to the great temple of gastronomy—the Restaurant de la Pyramide in Vienne. M. Point had advised us two days before that they were already preparing things for us. We beseeched heaven for the power and space to consume two superb meals in one day.
Chez Point
It certainly became evident upon our arrival chez Point that he had made a special event of our visit. Monsieur himself in all his colossal grandeur made us welcome. Perhaps a short description of Félix Point is in order. He towers more than six feet and is broad to a degree. His chest descends, ever-widening, to well below his waistline. There is a rotundity about the man which is mindful of perpetual good living. As is usual with people who live exceedingly well, there is a benign and comfortable expression on his face and a general aura of well-being. You are at once aware that here is a man who knows living and all its embellishments, master of his particular art, and certainly one of the world's most knowing persons on the subject of food and wine.
Our reception was warm; we sat on the terrace overlooking the garden and drank a pétillant wine of the district, well chilled and served in capacious pitchers. The wine was mixed in our glasses with crème de cassis. Madame Point joined us, and we found her to be the very soul of charm and as efficient as an IBM device. At just the proper moment, as if there were wires and lights to signal the Points from the kitchen, we were ushered into the large dining room and seated at a beautifully appointed table. Just as we were all comfortably settled, two waiters entered carrying a tremendous silver platter with a stunning piece of food artistry on it. This was our first course—volailles de Bresse, en chaudfroid with salade de truffes. The slices of breast were arranged in elegant design around the three large chickens which were the center of interest. Naturally, the decoration was of truffles on the slices and on the chickens, which were filled with pâté de foie. Beautiful silver attelets (which were old ones, and I know how difficult it is to find them) pierced the chickens. These skewers were decorated with oversized whole truffles and carved vegetables and whole tomatoes, in the manner of Carême. With this bit of gastronomical artistry, we had a salad of fresh truffles, subtly and deftly seasoned so that the glorious perfume of the fungus was predominant. Félix Point chose to offer us from the treasures in his wine cellar a Château Grillet 1947. Point and one other restaurateur capture the bulk of the wine of this vineyard, and there are those who will journey far for a taste of it. A delightful and rewarding wine it is, dry and well bodied.
Our second hors-d'oeuvre, oreiller à la Belle Aurore, was another optical—and palate-pleasing treasure. This great pillow of pastry was stuffed with a pâté of venison baked to a glorious golden-brown. With this we drank an excellent Beaujolais of 1945 vintage, properly chilled as is my taste with Beaujolais. Monsieur Point's famous gratin de queues d'écrevisses came next. The velvety smoothness of the sauce and the delicate flavor of the crayfish tails blended into a happy amalgam
.The pièce de résistance—as if all of them weren't—was feuilletés de perdreaux Pyramide. Each partridge was browned very quickly in butter and then wrapped in puff paste with the head protruding through a hole in the pastry. They were cooked to a toothsome and visual glory. Then the eyes were painted with a tiny white ring and the whole served on a beautifully arranged tray. Some mousseline potatoes—puréed, seasoned, and whipped to foamy froth—were the only embellishment. With this, one of the most perfect Rhône wines I have ever tasted, an Hermitage 1937. This aristocrat of the vine was mellow, round, and luscious.
We continued with the same vinous triumph for the Saint Marcellin cheese, a specialty of the house. Our dessert, ananas en surprise, was another pièce montée breathtaking in the delicacy of its arrangement. The silver platter was arranged with three tremendous pineapples at the back, and slices of the fruit were in balanced groups in front. Then mounds of fresh raspberries accentuated the golden color of the pineapple, and a thin cloud of spun sugar covered the entire platter. With this, a tray with the famous Pyramide done in nougat as the center decoration and a sumptuous selection of petits fours.
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