7 minute read
Restaurant Review
La Maison
Variations on a Theme
By Susan N. Denaro, Esquire
La Maison offers a taste of France inside a 300-year-old home that doubles as a Michelin-rated restaurant outside of Pottstown.
THE DISH BEFORE YOU DINE • La Maison is BYOB and because the menu is available in advance, it is easy to pair wines for the meal. • Plan to book several weeks in advance because seating is limited and Janet and Martin only open their home on Friday and Saturday nights. • The fixed menu is $160 per person and they accept cash only. • Before your unique dining experience, read about Martin and Janet’s backgrounds on their website at https://martinskitchen.com.
La Maison 1475 Old Ridge Road Pottstown, PA 19465 martinskitchen.com
Anyone who knows me well knows two truths about me: 1. I hate repetition; and 2. when given the choice, I will always choose to dine on French cuisine over any other. Ironically, when French food is involved, I don’t mind being served similar dishes again and again. In fact, if it’s really good food, I will welcome the comfort of that repetition. Another truth about me is that I eschew surprises. So imagine my delight when a friend blindly took us to La Maison for dinner back in August with the promise that we’d have a meal to surpass all others. I was indeed surprised to find he and this gem of a restaurant in Chester County made good on that promise.
La Maison is owned by Janet and Martin Gagné. To be more specific, they ARE La Maison. Located at 1470 Old Ridge Road in Coventryville, this hidden gem of a restaurant encompasses the majority of the main level of their white-washed, 300-year-old house nestled right up against the road. With a French flag proudly displayed outside the house, we instantly felt transported to a memorable drive decades ago along the back roads of the Loire Valley.
Janet greeted us at our car and escorted us through the main entrance, which unexpectedly landed us in the bustling kitchen. The aromas emanating from the kitchen were a mouth-watering preview of the delights Martin was diligently creating.
The cozy restaurant seats approximately 20 people between the two rooms just off the kitchen. These two rooms are set up as dining rooms and feature a set menu. All guests must be seated by about 7:00 p.m. before dinner service begins with a volley of eight courses, all masterfully orchestrated. The menu arrives via email on a Friday morning, allowing one to select wines to complement the dishes. The restaurant is BYOB. Tables are set with an eclectic and colorful array of plates piled one on top of the other. Each course uses the plate on the top until only the dinner plate remains. Dinner is served on Fridays and Saturdays only, which makes perfect sense because every morsel is crafted with unsurpassed precision that one imagines they need the other five days to recover.
Since subscribing to the restaurant’s website, I’ve been receiving a weekly menu and have noted that there is a repetitive method to the succession of servings on the Gagné’s menus. To be clear, it’s a rare form of repetition I actually welcome. Our summer meal there was so exquisite that I told my spouse I wanted to dine there quarterly as anything less would be too long between visits and anything more would make it less special. For that reason, we found ourselves back in le petit auberge at the end of October.
Guests always get a mouth-watering preview of what Chef Martin Gagné is preparing. A sweet soufflé is a dessert staple. This chocolate variety was served with thick mocha sauce.
Both occasions, our meal started with a petite boule de saumon fumé au céleri-rave, which translates to a small ball of smoked salmon encasing a center of celeriac. Some patrons might treat this as an amuse bouche to be taken in one bite, but we enjoyed it as a two-bite serving as much to savor its magical textures and flavors as to have an excuse to scoop up every drop of the vibrant parsley sauce that accompanied it. Although we had drooled over the escargot and other classic French bites on the e-mailed menus we read between visits, we were delighted to be served a petite boule de saumon fumé au céleri-rave again in October.
Soup appears to always be the second course. In August we devoured a smooth pale-yellow corn soup that featured a delicate clam ravioli; it was a stunner. We didn’t expect Martin could have bested that but, during our second visit, we supped on a silky pumpkin soup with a perfectly shaped chicken quenelle that was not only appropriate for the fall weather but was so good we wanted to lick our bowls clean.
Just before the salad course arrived, Janet delivered a basket of irresistible Les Gougères. For the uninitiated, they are a buttery puff pastry made savory and somewhat dense by the addition of grated cheese. Martin uses Comté rather than the traditional Gruyére. Some chefs include a little Parmesan for added depth of flavor, but Martin’s are the best I’ve ever had. We spied them in the oven upon arrival and sat in anticipation as we knew from their aroma they would not disappoint. Martin wisely serves two per person because he knows his fans cannot stop at one. They were the perfect accompaniment to the seasonal salad, featuring roasted beets in a light Dijon-based vinaigrette. I would return again and again for those cheese puffs. I tried to recreate them at home a few weeks later. While mine were good, they were missing that je ne sais quoi Martin’s years of experience bring to his version.
The surprise of our second dinner was the fish course, which was a small rectangle shaped oven-roasted halibut served with a puff pastry round topped with a delicate butter sauce dotted with fresh herbs. Brussel sprout leaves completed the plating. Yet another stunner. On our first visit, the fish course was a traditional pike quenelle, which was also served with a puff pastry round but in a sumptuous saffron sauce. The dish was reminiscent of one we enjoyed in LeMans years ago. However, Martin’s version was more refined. Quenelles are dumplings that are shaped with two spoons and take quite a bit of practice to master. Martin clearly has the deft touch for it.
The meat course both nights was a tender cut of beef strip loin in a rich red wine sauce. Both were served with a salty potato cake and some seasonal vegetables. The difference was in the sauces. The one in August was dotted with green peppercorns, while the October offering was studded with bits of foie gras. Being served almost an identical dish on our second visit was again a welcome delight and just a luck of the draw as Martin does mix up his menus. An offering of lamb was just as likely to be on the menu. All courses except the salad are served family style. I suspect that takes pressure off the small kitchen to produce individual plates and helps the three-person staff serve the fare while it is still at a perfect temperature.
Dessert at La Maison is always a sweet soufflé, but Martin varies the flavor of not just the soufflé but also the sauce that accompanies it. In August, we devoured a classic chocolate one with a thick mocha sauce. On our most recent visit, it was a delicate lemon soufflé with a vibrant strawberry sauce. I couldn’t say which was my favorite as they were both light and airy like a proper soufflé is meant to be. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the pistachio soufflé will be on the menu when our next visit rolls around.
A multi-tiered tray of memorable sweets ended both evenings. In addition to delicate shortbread, it included hazelnut truffles, almond nougats, and fruit jellies, all made by Martin. After the soufflé, we were stuffed and the thought of indulging in another morsel didn’t seem possible.
Yet there were no leftover sweets.
Martin has travelled the globe perfecting his craft. It was such a welcome surprise to find Michelin Star caliber food so close to home. Prepare to be dazzled and expect to find me at one of their quaint tables as I’ll be going there again and again and again.
Chef Martin Gagné adds a subtle twist on these irresistible Les Gougères, a buttery puff pastry made savory and somewhat dense by the addition of grated cheese.
The Pike Quenelles with lobster in saffron sauce is a dish reminiscent of a visit to LeMans.
