I’m not usually one for press dinners or press lunches, if only because I feel the experience doesn’t actually allow me to communicate effectively about the restaurant in question. If I’m invited to taste a selection of dishes that no reader would ever be able to try, what’s the point (aside from my own gluttony?)
Luckily, this was far from the case on a recent visit to Milagro, the new-ish spot from New Mexico native Chef Justin Kent, also of nearby coffee shop and American brunch spot Zia. Both are in the heart of the 7th, just steps from the Eiffel Tower (and one of my favorite places in the world – the American Library in Paris.) This neighborhood, despite being my first Parisian home, has never been home to my favorite food in the city, so when I was invited to sample a selection of Chef Kent’s dishes paired with beer from one of my favorite breweries, Deck & Donohue, I jumped at the chance to finally have a wholehearted recommendation here (especially since Chef Christian Constant retired from the helm of his eponymous Café earlier this year).
What I loved so much about this lunch was that rather than develop new dishes specifically for pairing with the craft beer, Chef Kent and Deck perused the current menu and chose preexisting dishes that would pair well. Which means that I feel fairly confident that the experience I had can be easily replicated for anyone who wants to pay Chef Kent a visit (and I wholeheartedly recommend that you do!)
We started things off with a sweet potato croquette filled with chorizo and topped with pickled red onion. Sweet, rich, and creamy with just the right hit of spice, this was a wonderful way to begin the meal and may well have been my favorite bite… if not for the vegetarian dish that was to follow. (But more on that in a second.)
We paired this croquette with a limited edition brewed in collaboration with Debbie Pham of Mint Magazine, a wheat beer with hand-harvested elderflower, acacia, and black currant leaves, in the vein of the cervoises of yore.
Next up was a sea bass leche de tigre with corn and fresh herbs. This dish was light and fresh – and perfectly paired one of my favorite ephemeral beers Deck & Donohue has ever made: a lacto-fermented Berliner Weiss made with local yogurt.
The next dish took first place, at least as far as I’m concerned. This mind-bogglingly good roasted celery root steak was paired with a rich curry-spiked sauce with capers and herbs and topped with fresh broccolini. The richness of the dish was tempered perfectly by Deck’s even-keeled IPA, which is neither as numbingly bitter nor as alcoholic as most American iterations of the same style. This trend of pairing more classic French sauces with vegetables (see: Le Grand Bain’s Emily Chia and her squash with sauce café de Paris or the roast cabbage with genevoise at Auberge de la Roche) is arising more and more, and I am here for it.
If you know me well (and have eaten out with me, uh, ever) you know that I am not a fan of ordering white fish at French restaurants, because it’s usually about 10 euro more expensive than anything else and frankly far less interesting. Chef Kent takes a category I generally avoid and makes it better than most, pairing the dorade with four different vegetables (squash purée, blettes, mushrooms, and Brussels sprouts. The fish was perfectly cooked, and it was even paired with Brumaire et Frimaire, the oh-so-French pumpkin ale (and my personal fave beer from the brewery). But chalk it up to personal taste – I was still wistful for that celery root.
Dessert was the only dish specially designed for this meal: a chocolate mousse that was blended with the very same Cognac-barrel-aged Makkuro beer that we drank alongside. Light and fluffy and sprinkled with a generous helping of sliced almonds, it was a delightful way to finish this meal.
Milagro boasts some of Deck’s beers on the menu all the time, but there’s also a lovely wine list. Either way, I cannot recommend this restaurant more highly; particularly as compared to some of the other offerings at the same price point in the area, it’s a true gem.
Milagro – 85 avenue Bosquet, 75007