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Volume 37 Issue 18 • Aug 23-29, 2007
now in our 37th season

	In This Issue
	Features • Nantucket: for the Birds • Man Behind the Music • Banking Under the Stars • Limerick Challenge Events • Tour of Historic House • What's New & Happening Island Cooking • The Holidays Island Essay • Island in Winter Featured Restaurant Island Science

Le Languedoc - A Dazzling Take on French Cuisine

Le Languedoc Bistro has been part Nantucket for more than 30 years.  Neil in his kitchen whites and Alan in a suit busy with the wines and management duties are familiar summertime sights on Broad Street.  For many, the pleasures of an island summer begin with a meal at Le Languedoc.

Known for its fine French cuisine, Le Languedoc has long been a favorite of island residents and visitors.  They have four different areas of the restaurant, each with it’s own ambiance.  The formal dining rooms upstairs are often the scene of special occasion dinners, the more casual downstairs café and terrace are full of locals and visitors enjoying the fine cuisine.  Your timing needs to be just right to score one of the prized seats at the bar.  Reservations are a very good idea, and if you end up on the waitlist for the terrace or café, you can browse at Bookworks across the street until your table is ready.

Truly great cooking goes beyond just reproducing what has been done before, even if those dishes are sacred classics  Under the direction of Executive Chef Neil Grennan, Chef Albus re-imagines the French classics and, staying true to the traditional French techniques, puts out dishes that are lighter and more flavorful, focus on local fresh ingredients and are excellent in execution and presentation.

Le Languedoc is one of Nantucket’s finest upscale restaurants, but under the direction of co-owner and sommelier Alan Cunha, upscale is not haughty.  Patrons are warmly welcomed and treated as honored guests.  Staff here are well-trained and attentive, and if you’re lucky enough to have the experienced Donna Lee as your waitress, your evening will be complete.  Cunha is also responsible for Le Languedoc’s hand-picked selection of wines from the New and Old World, repeatedly recognized by Wine Spectator with it’s Award of Excellence.

	Dinner begins with a basket of roasted garlic bread, warm, crusty, and fragrant.  Be careful not to fill up on this fabulous bread—portions at Le Languedoc are substantial.  And if you ordered Le Languedoc’s famous Lobster Bisque, you’ll want to save some bread to accompany.  The bisque is a classic preparation: made the traditional way (no shortcuts in this kitchen) using the shells.  As a result, the soup is deeply flavored yet light: the essence of lobster with a dash of sherry and plenty of lobster meat.
The menu changes monthly, and summertime at Le Languedoc brings a number of light and seasonal selections such as Oysters on the Half Shell, Sweet Corn & Salsify Soup, Chioga Beet Salad, and a gorgeous Bartlett’s Farm Tomato Salad with thick slices of fresh tomato that taste of summer sunshine, Rubio aged balsamic, and slices of Burrata, a superb and creamy artisan mozzarella that is buttery soft and slightly sweet.
	Another sensational way to begin is with Chef Albus’s take on the French classic Braised Escargot.  The impressively tender morsels are served in puff pastry topped by garlic freshened with lemon confit and surrounded by a pool of light yet flavorful herb beurre blanc. (Suggested wine pairing: 2005 L’Oustal Blanc “Naick 5”)
	Chef Albus’s treatment of Pressed Veal Sweetbreads is simply superb.  Sweetbreads are a staple of Le Languedoc’s menus, and this version is not to be missed. The sweetbreads are sauteed till slightly crisped and and served in a savory mix of slowly braised hearts of celery with shallots and truffle slices in demiglace with sherry vinegar to cut the richness and lighten the dish.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2000 Paras Vineyards Nebbiolo)
	Our favorite appetizer on the August menu is the magnificent Hudson Valley Foie Gras.  The very generous portion of foie is served with its classic partner, warm brioche with a bit of caramelized onion in between.  The buttery smooth flavor of the foie blossoms in your mouth.  Chef Albus presents this delicacy with glazed dates and coffee syrup, a combination we first thought unusual and now consider inspired.  The sweetness of the dates is cut by the coffee syrup; the sharpness of the coffee smoothed out by the sweet fruit.  It’s a perfect harmony.  Both flavors counterbalance the rich foie without masking its delicate flavor.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2003 Dr. Loosen Riesling Auslese)
	Five of the dishes on Le Languedoc’s dinner menu are offered in two portions.  Our server, Donna Lee, explained that many patrons prefer to try a variety of dishes and this encourages that approach.  What a brilliant way to maximize an evening out!  Seared Chatham Scallops is one of these offerings.  We ordered the appetizer size but would have happily devoured the full portion.  The scallops are perfectly seared and placed on a fluffy puree of butternut squash and cashews.  This was the first time we tasted this very successful combination—the cashew gives body to the butternut puree and tones down the fresh squash flavor.  A light arugula emulsion surrounds the puree, adding more bright color and flavor to a dish that is already vibrant in every way.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly Fumé “Pur Sang”)
	The Grilled Rare Squab we ordered in full portion.  For the current menu, Chef Albus has taken this classic French ingredient and put the squab in a paella with fresh local littlenecks, plump shrimp, and spicy chorizo sausage.  This lively dish is a kaleidoscope of textures and of bright, spicy, delicate, and earthy flavors.  Each ingredient keeps its integrity yet adds to the whole.  It’s one of our summer favorites.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2005 Roar “Rosella’s Vineyard” Santa Lucia Highland Pinot Noir)
	Also highly recommended is the Filet of Beef from the full entree listing.   As thick as it is wide, the filet arrives cooked perfectly to temperature.  It’s big flavor and tender texture will delight any beef-lover.  The beef is set on a mix of golden chanterelle mushrooms and fresh peas tossed with tiny pieces of cauliflower.  Sliced, roasted potatoes corral the vegetable and mushroom mix and a deeply flavored veal jus is drizzled over.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2001 Antinori Tignanello)
	Chef Albus loves cooking fish, and it shows in his Nantucket Fluke entree.  Also one of Executive Chef Neil Grennan’s favorites, this entree showcases the moist, ocean-fresh fish.  The fluke is served on a bed of spinach and fingerling potatoes sliced thin and roasted crisp.  Around it are rings of puckery caper puree and fresh lemon mousseline.  The complementary flavors in this dish remind you of why you fell in love with Le Languedoc in the first place.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2002 Domaine Latour-Giraud Meursault Charmes)
If you have only one evening at Le Languedoc, then Chef Albus recommends you order the Pan-Roasted Lobster.  We agree.  Like no other we’ve tried, this lobster is fresh and tender, and the accompaniments play up the flavor of the sweet crustacean.  Take note: this is not for the faint of appetite.  The meat from a pound-and-a-quarter lobster is sauteed in beurre blanc, cognac, and herbs, then replaced in half the shell that has been lined with creamy corn polenta.  Spears of asparagus are tucked overtop the tail and crunchy strips of parsnip garnish the top.  Don’t forget to dig deep into the tail to pop out every chuck of meat.  For many patrons, summer is not complete till they’ve had this lobster at Languedoc.  (Suggested wine pairing: 2004 Kistler Chardonnay “McCrea Vineyard”)
	Several of the desserts at Le Languedoc are a flashback to childhood.  We particularly enjoy the warm Blueberry Cobbler with honeycomb ice cream melting lusciously over it.
	The Sweet Inspirations Butter Crunch Sundae is a treat for kids of all ages,
	and the Pineapple Upside Down Cake with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce is an elegant version of a homestyle favorite.
We were dazzled by the Chocolate Pot de Creme, with its square of chocolate almond brownie and creme anglaise.