A delightful evening with the Wizard of GastroArt,

               A delightful evening with the Wizard of GastroArt, Michel Lombardi.

Within the framework of the new gastronomical festival of French cuisine, Bon Appetite "We are eating in a French way", we decided to have a tasteful dinner and we went to a restaurant called Nord 55, which is actually not that well known. Except that this Brasserie was opened literally a month ago by Michel Lombardi – who has been showered from head to toe with Michelin stars. The place is not trampled, it is still unknown and that's why the menu has to be a real visiting card.

I will not hide it, it just warmed my curiosity. My husband was craving for rare-cooked meat and onion soup.

What makes Nord 55 so attracting is the placement of Nord 55 on the Boulevard ring, not far away from TASS. It is Around 7 minutes from metro station Arbatskaya, or a bit more - from the Old Arbat street. We had in our minds, that if something goes wrong - we can disappear in one of those directions any moment...
And we disappeared - for 5 hours in the romance of gastronomy. The special coziness and easygoing atmosphere made it feel like you came to a very familiar place. Even though that you are here for the first time. We just wanted to sit for an early dinner, but time had flown by in an instant. We came to ourselves only when the clocks on Spasskaya Tower struck 21:00.
The reason was a wealthy palette of flavors, which delivered true pleasure. Till purring... Purrr

Nord 55 itself is very cozy in its presentation. A bit stuffy with a warm aroma of vanilla and dry mixes, a lot of them. Roses on wide marble window-sills, photo frames and bronze antique statuettes (or look like). And among them - that same bronze dragonfly. You cannot take your eyes off.
On the wall there are paintings, posters, photos... everything is taking your attention and pleasing your eyes. Multi-level lighting is functional and eclectic. Torchers, chandeliers... Lamps, hanging over every table are forming some private space. It adds special charm and comfortability. Good unobtrusive, but recognizable music. Modern romantic melodies. The atmosphere is unique in its coziness, a special home feeling in its highest appreciation. The waiters move easy, as if they are being afraid to ruin your privacy. Forks, fallen down unintentionally are disappearing, freeing up space for cutlery on a starched napkin. Everything looked good together, which is a good sign.

Every item on the menu is worthy of a separate review. So, here is the choice of food.
The onion soup was chosen unanimously. But the perception of it was different. Yes-yes.
About the onion soup and its perception by a man. I did not even know that there were soups for men.
The onion soup, at the taste of my husband, was better in Moscow, than... in Paris and France in general. There we have tried around 50 variants. We were eating it everywhere. We seem to have an onion obsession. But, really, the consistency of the soup here is more dense, textured. The taste is so rich.
The soup was interesting, because I didn't feel the taste of wine, which was used for the preparing. The onion is obviously caramelized, but in some special way. It has a special subtle wine and slightly sour taste, which I adore.
Gold-brown toasted bread. The soup in a small cup with a napkin in the cup's ear, so you won't burn yourself. It's comfortable for drinking. I do love soups and, maybe, according to my preferences, the taste has to be more rich. This one was soft and delicate, nice to drink. The olfaction was pleased by some fragrant pepper. Pepper, which creates a veil of scent around itself... a rare phenomenon.
In the soup there was a presence of caramelized onions, but there is no sugar, as it turned out, they used white onion instead, which gave sweetness to this soup. Awesome. It was brought in a saucer for clarity, it is like Yalta's white onion. They made use of white wine in the soup, but it is the taste in general. Separately the wine does not do justice is about the delicate balance of the flavors and its combinations.

Their bar is non-active, because alcohol is still not allowed. In the glimpse of an eye I already was amazed by the bar’s beauty. And if Brasserie is home cuisine, this is the best incarnation.

The smell of the fresh baked bread from their own bakery is very tempting and appetizing. The bread tastes a bit sour, but no heartburn as a consequence. It is a kind of hypoallergenic bread, if I can say that. It is served in a basket on brown parchment paper. There were two types of bread - white and grey, toasted, drizzled with olive oil, slightly grilled, with a small hill of crushed olives, more similar to caviar. By the way, curd cream cheese alters the taste of whole grain composition significantly. This compliment from the Chef is more like a whipped cream or Vologda butter roses. Is the paprika also there? While I was thinking, the Salad was served at our table. Oh, it’s garnishing was reminding me of an openwork with its feathery sprigs of frisee. The finest scented handkerchief with a lace border deliberately carelessly crumpled up to give a special form of message. And that message is Bon Appetite!

The salad was great. I really liked the unusual taste of the beets (does the raspberry vinegar really works wonders?), the active smell of vinaigrette combined with creamy slices of avocado, the magnificent quality of salads, seeds and lightly roasted pine nuts. The composition of the salad is like from a different life - not from our, Moscow one, grasped with the first frost, but with another – a south one, sultry and surprisingly Italian. The used coral sprigs of frisee salad are capricious and fragile with a very fine and balanced flavor. It was a pleasure for the eye and tongue.
Everything together - pure pleasure. In ecstasy of the exquisite combination – a salad inside the salad. And the airiness and freshness of the herbs. Ah, butterflies! These delicate carrot butterflies on beet slices under a light fan of spicy rucola - very cute. And the mood soars skyward as a white dove.

I almost forgot - the spring rolls. Probably because I wasn't the one who ordered them.
I was totally delighted by freshness of the salad, almost meditating on the combination of flavors. After strong suggestions of my husband I tried and assessed his choice. He liked the rolls, actually he more than liked them. And he is not indifferent to them after visiting China 49 times. And so what? The look of the spring rolls was also refined, even sophisticated. You can "eat with your eyes". In two large cut in half pancakes laid a delicious vegetable julienne, framed with ethereal feathery leaves of salad. Thin strips of carrot argue for grace with feathers of chives. And, dear me! There are rhythmically swirling snowflakes outside, while the spring rolls are decorated with daisy flower petals. It was they who gave a special piquancy and bitterness to everything they touched. Daisy petals perfectly joined this symphony of taste. This nuance has brightened a very delicate plum sauce, which seriously enriched the flavor of the dish. Julien as a filling, is very tasty and not simple. And, as usual, beforehand rolls of wet towels were served, as some people like to eat with their hands. It is for those, who find the tangible the most important. The leading system of cooperation and recognition of the world. I am of those kind of people.

The dishes are large enough, as rated by my husband: adult portions. By the way, I shared with him both the salad and a steak. Otherwise I won't be able to manage.

A great sauce, a nicely balanced plum one, and the julienne is marvelous in the rolls. With finer arrows of fragrant chives as a bonus. Ah, that wonderful shallot! And the opening of the evening - burgundy petals of daisies, like frozen smears of burgundy nail polish. I just wanted to share my opinion, but now it turned to an ode to crispy spring rolls with vegetable julienne and pork with a spicy sauce. For the price of 390 rubles, and the weight of 180 grams you get extraordinary, great spring rolls.
However, I have tried them not just when they were served, but when they cooled down a bit and lost crunchiness. But the bubbles in the pastry remained similar to air, as it is a special dough batter that is made by the Japanese and a cr;pe made by the French. At the same moment. The dish is served with the mood and some gallantry - openwork lettuce leaves and petals of a daisy. They are like traces of nail polish on the polished surface with a bright saturated color and a slightly bitter but pleasant taste and a special aftertaste: the trace of freshness.

In general, all the dishes have their trace effect. This, in my point of view, has a special charm and shows a high quality of cooking. You will not believe, but this nuance completely transformed and improved our mood. And the salad was magnificent. And the spring rolls were excellent, and the portions were big enough. I even hesitated in my order, since it was obvious that there is almost no place for the ordered meat. And the thought of dessert evaporated by itself. I even regretted ordering a hot dish. As it turned out, hastily.

The entrecote was super! It's rare when you have an opportunity to enjoy steaks from incomparable meat. It is commercially quite profitable, it has just a crazy cooking technique. First, it is beef and the cow (or bull) never ate grass - only grains. The technology is time-consuming. And specifically as the meat fat is removed, diluted to a density of sour cream. It turns to the filtered fat, and with this "milk" the meat is rubbed. 21 days hanging it in a special refrigerator at the temperature of +4 and humidity of only 40% in a special wooden box. From 10 kg of meat 60% of the weight is lost. But at that moment we didn't know that yet.
And as soon as we tried, we were stunned immediately. It is really tender, like a cloud. It was totally unusual meat. And this is my entrecote... The main thing is not to scream because of overabundance of feelings. The peculiarity and specificity of dishes: when frying entrecote to medium RARE - there is no blood at all. I mean, there is no meat juice with the drops of blood, which sprinkles dishes while cutting an entrecote. As if all this meat is confined with all this juice. Amazing! It is like... "milked" meat. The meat we were eating is airy like a cloud. Fantastically delicious! With a completely inimitable taste. Suddenly all cult steak-houses of Manhattan activated in memory. After New York we haven't tried such meat nowhere in Moscow, before that entrecote from Michel Lombardi.
My advice is straightforward: try only this special menu, because it won't be possible in another life - the meat is cooked specially for the festival, to surprise and delight guests of the restaurant. It is too expensive pleasure! - from 100% of original meat finally you have only around 35%. It is art for Michel, that exact GastroArt, where he can show the extent of his virtuosity. For a business this meat is too expensive.

What can I say? Of course, a fusion cuisine is as a reflection of the chef’s origin and the geography of his life. He clearly is a cosmopolitan. This comes forward in the exclusive interpretation of national specialties and gourmet cuisine. Yes, the strictest quality control of the starting material and exceptionally fresh vegetables. And the juice, nothing can be compared to his great fresh celery juice of immaculate quality. The celery is so juicy and tender and has such a soft and voluminous taste. And that besides the already excellent quality of the starting material. Who loves the celery juice - will understand me.

Everything is prepared by star showered Michel himself and this is the main surprise of the evening. It is curious and informative. It is like having a Master Class from a virtuoso of Big Gastronomy. By the way - my stomach was happy to be in harmony and lightness, and this is after a weighty piece of entrecote with exquisite garnish, which I had just tried. It's a shame, because it was a thin, translucent petal of potato, gently baked in milk gratin.

It was a delightful evening with the wizard of GastroArt Michel Lombardi.
And I'm glad to share my discovery, and that you are also sharing it with me. That’s why we are being surprised by our findings. The only pity is that soon you will need to book a place a month in advance. Well, let’s put a cleave to concierge service