Le Bernardin

We recently took a trip up to NYC. Josh had some work meetings so I went up to catch a few days in the city and see my family. As we decided where we would be interested in going, I checked to see if Le Bernardin had any openings, and they did: the Friday we would be there, a 5:15pm reservation was available. It's not bad to be the first seating. Plus, when you stay for three hours, you still leave at a decent hour.

Here is what the restaurant looked like from my seat. Not too shabby. The service was top notch. We liked our sommelier the best though.

My pictures are a bit shabby though. No flash so as not to annoy other diners. We got the higher-tied tasting menu. With the wine pairing, of course.

Here is our amuse. It was a mayonnaise-based crab salad with a couple homemade potato chips (with a sprinkling of paprika?).






First course: smoked yellowfin tuna "prosciutto"; Japanese pickled vegetables and crispy kombu. Served with Chablis, "Vielles Vignes", Domaine Savary, Burgundy 2007.

So first of all, I should probably say that I have never had so many excellent whine wines. Ever. It's probably sad for my wallet and my tastebuds that I should have my first really stellar white wine experience at Le Bernardin.

This tuna dish was good. I enjoyed it. The tuna was sliced slightly thicker than carpaccio so it had a little extra texture. The wine was stellar. I believe the sommelier said that chablis are minerally tasting, which is why they go really well with things like oysters.

Second course: Poached pastured egg; osetra caviar, mariniere broth and english muffin. Served with Krug, Grande Cuvee, Champagne, France.

Wow. What a dish. This was my favorite of the night. First, the egg. A lightly poached delicate egg. The white was just set so that its texture was barely there. When you broke it open, the yolk was allowed to mix with the broth, which was less of a clash of textures that you would expect, and instead a nice richness. The broth itself was a lightly clammy, shellfishy deliciousness. And the caviar! My first real experience with caviar, and it was awesome. No "pop" as you savor it, like there is with sushi-type fish eggs, just the delicate deliciousness. I think I'm drooling a little just recounting this dish.

The Krug was also good, but damn, the egg.

Here are the english muffins that came with the egg. Housemade, naturally. As likely intended, I dipped the muffin strips into my eggy-soupy mixture. But I thought it was excellent even without the muffin strips.


Third course: Seared langoustine; mache and wild mushroom salad, shaved foie gras, white balsamic vinaigrette. Served with Riesling Kabinett, Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau, Germany 2008.

Mmm, langoustine. Actually, as I go back and recount the courses (now a week ago), it's hard for me to pick this one specifically out of my taste memory. I remember that the foie was a very light touch, so much so that I barely noticed it was there. The mushrooms had a delicate flavor, and they went with the langoustine beautifully. And the riesling! Light, not overbearingly sweet.

Fourth course: Pan roasted monkfish; hon shimeji mushrooms, turnip-ginger emulsion, sake broth. Served with Meursault, Les Charrons, J.M. Boillot, France 2007.

A trio of monkfish slices. As you progressed through the monkfish, they got rarer and better. The mushrooms reminded me of the taste of straw mushrooms. The broth on this dish was very nice and delicately balanced. The emulsion was a nice contrast with the broth.

Fifth course: Baked lobster; pickled golden beet, fennel and citrus "a la nage". Served with Sauvignon Blanc, Klausen, Neumeister, Austria 2008.

The lobster tail was baked but the lobster claw was poached. You may know that I'm not a big fan of lobster meat itself as I find it a bit boring, but I'm certainly becoming more of a fan over time. The citrus broth was simply amazing. I want to say that there must have been some meyer lemon in there and there was a mention of mandarin oranges in the description.

Sixth course: Crispy halibut; lup cheong and beansprout "risotto". mini steamed buns, hoisin-plum jus. Served with Chateau Simone, Palette, Provence, France 1986.

This was originally slated for black bass and was replaced. The fish had a gorgeous crust on it. Josh says they use Wondra flour to get it so beautiful, and they probably do. The fish was perfectly cooked. The beansprout "risotto" was a nice green-tasting counterpoint, cut to risotto rice size and sauteed. Alongside was a small plain steamed bun with some minced/sauteed lap cheong on it.

In the only snooty experience at the restaurant, when the maitre'd stopped to put these plates down, he paused before snootily asking if I knew what lap cheong was. I looked up with derision and said, Chinese sausage! Hrmph! Maybe he didn't mean it that was, but it felt like it.

This was our only red of the evening and it was lighter than many I've had.

Seventh course: Creamy goat cheese spheres, concord grapes, candied walnut, black pepper. Served with Torrontez Sparkling-Deseado Familia Schroeder, Patagonia Argentina.

When you eat created-caviar, made from dropping doplets of liquid into a chemical mixture to seal the liquid inside, it has a light "pop" as you break it open. These goat cheese spheres were the same. Inside was a luscious creamy smoothness. And the taste was so sweet and light with only the slight tang of goat cheese. The grapes were very small and only really meh in my book.

But then, on to the wine. I had never had torrentez before but it was fantastic. Like a favorite dessert wine, except light and not overbearing like a sauternes or trockenbearenauslese, and sparkling! We were told that torrontez is only just being discovered so it's still surprisingly affordable. I definitely need more of this.

Eighth course: Caramelized corn custard, hazelnut praline, brown butter ice cream, popcorn tuile. Served with Ron Zacapa Rum, Guatemala.

Everything in this dish was delicious. The corn custard was sweet and light with a nice texture. The brown butter ice cream was a dream. The popcorn tuile even was so tasty! While very good, the rum was so strong! It gave me an intense buzz. Josh didn't even finish his.

We capped off the evening with coffee and a small dish of sweets. What a divine evening. Sated and full but not stuffed. Lightly buzzed (all blame to the rum) and happy. A short cab ride back to the hotel. Bliss.