A friend of mine lent me an Eric Ripert book 'On The Line', which brought back so many good memories of my trip to Le Bernardin in February this year. Having just gone to Per Se the night before, I couldn't help but compare Le Bernardin to Per Se. My vote is for Le Bernardin and would love to go back there again (and soon please).
Completely stoked when I managed to secure a 5:15 pm reservation for one person, I entered the restaurant and there was only one table that was occupied. The restaurant personnel far outnumbered the dinner patrons at this early time, and I was initially overwhelmed but was immediately put to ease by the extremely professional but also friendly service. This is part of their signature service described in the book.
I chose the 4 course prix-fixe with 2 different white wines - a crisp Gruner Vetliner and a buttery Chardonnay from California. The pictures below are the four courses that I picked out that night -- each was heavenly and almost orgasmic! ;-)
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| TUNA - Layers of thinly pounded yellowfin tuna, foie gras and toasted baguette, chives and EVOO |
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| LANGOUSTINE - Sauteed langoustine, summer truffle and chanterelle, aged balsamic vinaigrette |
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| HALIBUT - Poached halibut, 'black truffle pot-au-feu' |
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| Black Forest - Dark chocolate cremeux, kirsch bavaroise, belgian krick beer sorbet |
