"What's your take?" I wave my little grape shisha at them all and grin, "I'm into it!" then take a delicate puff.
And the cuisine is just as impressive, as young chef Alessandra cleverly presents classic Piedmont dishes in a light, creative way: delicate puff pastry stuffed with succulent porcini, crunchy cardoons oven-roasted with sausage, a fabulous salad of freshly picked spinach, goat's cheese and wafer-thin slices of black truffle.
A delicate puff under the eyes.
But variations there are, from hand-raised hot-water crust specials to delicate puff-pastry pithiviers, lattice-topped fruit stews and Greek spanakopitas: the pie is about as old as eating itself.
Not all clematis seed heads are alike, she said, but all are airy, delicate puffs.
From delicate puffs tufted with cream and chocolates crowned by flecks of gold leaf to nougat-and-jam-filled wedding cakes and the bijou -- a museum-quality sugar sculpture presented in a glass box -- every morsel counts for the 16 chefs who hope to reap a medal, a title, and the handshake from President Nicolas Sarkozy.
An elegant mound of tiny Cabrales blue cheese beignets drizzled with a peppery honey gastrique -- Blue Velvet's savory take on the traditional French doughnut incorporates delicate puffs of fried choux paste, a dramatic departure from the fried yeasted squares served under a sprinkling of powdered sugar that are so popular in New Orleans.
Another appetizer success was the delicate, airy puff pastry pockets filled with a great combination of ground beef and blue cheese.
Cake salé is like a homey and crumbly equivalent of the delicate cheese puffs gougères: a salty, cheesy excuse to open a bottle of wine.
And I even liked the foie gras funnel cake — the notorious carnival fried-dough snack was crisp and delicious, scattered with strawberries, shaved fennel and red sorrel leaves hiding delicate, airy puffs of foie gras mousse.
The delicate "pizzaleta" of puff pastry with langoustines or the virtually pasta-free lasagne of roasted vegetables, followed by a perfect rump steak and strawberries in five guises -- fresh, wild, sorbet, chutney and liqueur -- were superb.
