There may not be a better restaurant for extraordinarily pure and creative French cuisine than what the young, 29-year-old Grégory Pugin serves at Veritas. His food is outrageously superb. Moreover, the fabulous wine service from a team of very knowledgeable sommeliers led by Tim Kopecas well as the entire service is Michelin three-star all the way. If you have never been to Veritas, keep in mind, this is a tiny jewel of a restaurant, seating only 35 to 45 people, unless you are willing to sit at the bar for your dinner. The food this night featured black truffles, which had just come into season, and one of the most remarkable dishes I had in the last year was what the chef calls “Truffle Paper,” which was a remarkable, delicately thin pizza, in a sense, with Cipolini onions, shards of bacon, and copious quantities of very thinly sliced black truffles. It was light as a feather, and just an amazing dish. Much more intense and rich was the extraordinary steak tartare made from Waygu beef that was served. This was followed by one of the classic dishes that no one does better than the chef here, the Lobster Nage, which is perfectly cooked lobster in a rich, creamy sauce. I loved the seared diver scallops, but the truly decadent dish was the roasted squab stuffed with foie gras and served with braised red and green cabbage. The purity, lightness, yet intensity of flavors of all of Chef Pugin’s cuisine is extraordinary and highly recommended.

All the dishes were enjoyed with exquisite wines from Châteauneuf du Pape, aside from a marvelously pristine magnum of 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne. The Châteauneuf du Papes, which I had the night before at the great sushi bar of Masa Takayama, were all in line with the new offerings this night. The fabulous duo from Domaine du Pégaü included the extraordinary 2003 Cuvée Réserve, which is pure garrigue, licorice, and kirsch, with meaty notes in a very full-bodied, fleshy style that should drink beautifully for another 20 years. It reminds me of how their sumptuous 1990 tasted at a similar stage of development. Even richer, dark, and more brooding, but absolutely spectacular was the 2003 Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée da Capo. Not surprisingly, the other wines were just as great as they were the night before, and dinner with the owner of the restaurant, Park B. Smith, is always a treat. A joy to be with, this ex-Marine and entrepreneur ONLY drinks Châteauneuf du Pape, and as he says, “Why not?” He has had the best Burgundies, Bordeaux, California wines, and wines from all over the world, and at 77 years of age, he’s decided he will only drink the wines he loves the most for the rest of his life. Who can disagree? Congratulations to him for having a great restaurant in New York, and for replacing a fabulous chef, Scott Bryan, who was the original chef at Veritas, with an even more compelling talent, Chef Grégory Pugin.