Oh Inaki! You love me long time.

When I was in Paris last August, G took me to Le Chateaubriand restaurant. We ate there four out of the 10 days we were there. The dinner is prix fixe at 45 euro and the menu is set by the chef, no choices or decisions made by you except for wine and the wine list is full of solid choices. Inaki Aizpitarte is the chef of this small restaurant in a less touristy area of Paris. We discovered the restaurant, or G did, because David Chang (culinary hero) mentioned it somewhere in cyberspace. Part of the sales pitch as to why this place/chef would be an amazing experience was this youtube video of Inaki doing something with an eggplant that I could not imagine.
Take a look:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq7o6AOIXaI&feature=youtube_gdata

We went to the restaurant that first night. It is so unassuming. It seemed like the kitchen and waitstaff showed up at this space and put the tables out and began cooking. The tables are simple, utilitarian, a chalk board with the wine makers written on is the wall art, the simple bar stands to the left, the light fixtures are well chosen and understated but, the buzz, the buzz. Everyone is there to eat. You might think, duh, that is why people go out to dinner. But, it isn't. People go out to eat for different reasons but, not everyone truly searches for an eating experience. If you are looking, find this place.

I am going to tell you about the several meals we ate there in future posts, but, let's talk eggplant puree just now. G wanted to make it at home. So, he watched the posted video over and over and we bought 2 eggplants. Two eggplants go on the fire and get charred. Then, into the little food processor and blend it up. It came out flecked with black but still eggplanty mash. I ran down to the store for 2 more eggplants and we started again. Same result. Down to the store again 4 eggplants this time, what did the bodega check out guys think about all the eggplant we were buying? I don't know. Two more on the flames but this time scrape the middle out, leave enough flesh to give some body to the charred skin and the hand blender to whir it up.

Fire roasted eggplant on the home grill leaves black ash all over.

Look at that smoke, smelled so strong and rich.

 Then it gets baked in the oven until it is a crisp flat of eggplant blackness and blend again.

Baked eggplant mash getting peeled from the baking paper.

 Oil gets added while it is blended and we get a creamy, tar black paste. The flavor reminds us of Paris and Le Chateaubriand. The rich texture is like the best parts of BBQ, save the meat. That charred richness with a sweet undertone is thick and begs for slathering artfully across a plate as our new culinary hero does at his Paris joint (no disrespect, DC, you are still held in high esteem).

This is the fish course at Le, the paste lies beneath white fish, grilled baby eggplant, shaved beetroot, purple basil, what have I missed...

Now, we can make that dish at home but we need your innovation, Inaki, to inspire us and keep us coming back for course after course of your amazing, ingenious creations. It isn't just food at your restaurant, it is the experience and the beauty of the flavor combination with the visual splendor.