I wrote years ago about Monbleu, the fromagerie-cum-restaurant where you can dig into a host of cheese-driven dishes including raclette. But my first brush with this après-ski delicacy was in Savoie, an experience far closer to the one delivered by at le Chalet Savoyard, in the 11th.
First, a bit of etymology. The word raclette refers to both a cheese and the most typical way in which this cheese is enjoyed. Derived from the word racler meaning to scrape, the cheese is typically melted and then scraped with a small spatula onto a pile of potatoes, pickles, and charcuterie. It’s how you melt the cheese that changes, depending on the establishment you frequent.
At Monbleu, raclette is served with the kind of tabletop apparatus that most French families own: an electric broiler of sorts under which you slip small pans that you fill with your choice of cheese to melt it. This means that you can take advantage of a host of raclette varieties, which Monbleu more than delivers. On our visit, we were served no fewer than nine different flavors, from plain to truffle, black pepper to mustard.
At Le Chalet Savoyard, however, a more traditional – and far larger – apparatus is used to anchor a half-wheel of the lightly washed, semi-soft cow’s milk cheese. The cheese melts more quickly or slowly based on how close or far you angle it beneath the element. It’s far more copious – and, indeed, you can only order it for two people or more. So I rounded up a few cheese-loving buddies, and we went to town.
There’s a similar variety of flavors of cheese on offer here, from Morbier (29 per person) to spring garlic (29 per person) to blue (29 per person) and even truffle (42 per person). We decided to go with the traditional (29 per person), which comes with potatoes and a plate of charcuterie: rosette, viande de grisons, and both cooked and dry-cured ham, plus green salad and pickles.
We also took advantage of the final days of the season for Mont d’Or (26), which is baked served with the same accompaniments. This spruce-wrapped cheese is lightly washed and ultra gooey. I liked it even more than the raclette – and that’s saying something!
Because we all have a death wish, we were eager to take advantage of Le Chalet Savoyard’s other specialty: fondue. With even more varieties on offer from tomato-basil (21) to cumin (23) to Roquefort and walnut (24), it was difficult to zero in on just one. Luckily, the one French-born person among us noticed two things: The fondues, much like the raclettes, are served for two people minimum, but this is not the case for Berthoud, a regional specialty from Haute-Savoie combining Abondance, a long-time favorite of mine, with Madeira, which gave it a sherry-like flavor that was a super welcome counterbalance to all that richness. While all three were delicious, this was definitely the sleeper hit. We ignored the ho-hum bread in favor of drizzling the Berthoud over the same potatoes and charcuterie, and you can bet we skipped dessert.
In retrospect, raclette-wise, I think I may actually prefer the variety you get when you visit a place like Monbleu. But there’s no denying the sheer maximalism of having *this* on your dinner table. On my next visit, I’ll zero in more on the fondues, which, if the Berthoud is any indication, are surely excellent.
Le Chalet Savoyard – 58, rue de Charonne, 75011