Le Bernardin (46/50)

http://www.le-bernardin.com/restaurant.html

INTRO: Le Bernardin has been praised by many critics as one of the best, if not the best, French seafood restaurants in America. My friend has an expense account which he needed to use up, so I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to eat for free.

FOOD (19/20): The food was meticulous. Of course, everyone at the table ordered the chef’s (Eric Ripert) eight course tasting menu. See pictures above & follow the link to see exactly what we got. Every piece of food was cooked to perfection. I believe that everything chef Ripert wanted to convey was executed brilliantly by his cooks. The fish was seared precisely to enhance the texture. The lobster reached an unfathomable balance between cooked and raw. As with everything French, each dish was paired with a thoughtful sauce to cultivate the flavor of the dish. The result was stunning and unmistakably the highest cooking caliber anywhere in the world. On its own, each dish was miraculous and the subtle flavoring was nothing short of amazing.
The yellowfin tuna carpaccio was pounded to be translucent thin topped with olive oil and chopped chives. Underneath the bed of tuna rested a piece of thin toasted baguette with foie gras terrine. The foie gras added to the richness of the olive oil and tuna while the baguette’s crunchiness raised the tuna’s texture and sophistication. The caviar pasta was the heaviest dish of the menu but the raw quail egg hidden in the middle of the small pasta stack was an excellent addition. Once the egg was mixed into the pasta, the texture was immediately given airiness so that the caviar and bacon could provide their bold taste without giving you food coma. The most controversial dish of the night was by far the monkfish. The entire entourage agreed that this was their least favorite dish of the night. I was the only one to disagree with them, but I did understand their gripe. They thought that monkfish was rather bland and the potato slice with pepper sauces actually had better texture and flavor than the fish. I thought the monkfish had a subtle mild taste but the technique was so well executed, as a cook I couldn’t help but be impressed.
However, once you reach the top restaurants in NYC, you need more than great execution and well planned dishes to become the number one restaurant in NYC. There needs to be innovation. While each dish was brilliant in its own right, there was no excitement. By the last two dishes, all the sauces began tasting similar. Ripert’s sauces are all subtle and only distinguishable to the most trained tongues. To the average eater, the tasting menu might not have enough variety to satisfy the taste buds. There were no catalysts, such as lime sorbet to cleanse the palette, to enhance the tasting experience. This is my only critique about the otherwise perfect food.
Imagine if someone wore Giorgio Armani suit everyday. Yes, they are dressed incredibly well, but wouldn’t you feel like there is something missing? Even though that person technically has style, but you can’t quite pinpoint why you don’t think he is the best dressed person you know.

SERVICE (9/10): The service was as expected of a great restaurant in NYC. Everyone was courteous, friendly and helpful. They did not get the full ten points for several reasons. First, one wait staff brought a cup of coffee to the table too abruptly. The coffee was in mid-flight during a friend’s hand gesture and consequently the coffee spilled all over one of our guests. My guest was PISSED and rushed to the bathroom to towel off the coffee. It’s easy to say that it’s his wife’s gesture that caused the accident, however I believe that it’s the staff’s fault because he was bringing the coffee from behind. Had this been a car accident, there’s no doubt that the waiter rear ended my friend. Second, the staff was rough around the edges. The bread server semi-tossed the bread on each plate. When serving the dishes to us, the waiter was not gentle enough when placing the plates in front of us. These are the small things that earn 10 points on my scale.
On the flip side, Ruthless fell victim to food drip of her own fault, not unusual. During her attempt to clean up the mess off her Red Carpet dress, our tables head waiter was quick to bring club soda to help with her clean up efforts. That was a small, but vital gesture of its top restaurant status.

ATMOSPHERE (9/10): The dining room was elegantly decorated. There is a small bar/waiting area for boozing up before you are seated. There is a hint of stuffiness, but they are not snobbish about it at all. We went in there like a couple of professionals suited up in pimpy outfits and put on our best cubic zirconia to out bling the classy folks in there. The patrons generally keep to their own table conversation and do no pay much attention to other tables. There were attractive people of all ages who seem to be enjoying themselves. It’s a mature setting with mostly middle aged people. If you are not comfortable in that environment, go elsewhere. FYI, 70% were women.

VALUE (9/10): The tasting menu was $155. We got three bottles of white wine at $80 per bottle, the average price on the wine list. The bill ended at $230 per head. I would eat here again to celebrate a special occasion. But since Ruthless thought all the dishes were too similar, I don’t think that’s going to happen. If money is not an issue for you, which is probably not the case if you are reading this, then you should eat here.

CONCLUSION: If you have an extremely refined pallet or like food that is gentle on the tongue and stomach, this is the place for you. Oh, again if money is not a problem then you should eat here. The only other restaurant in NYC that I can draw a comparison to is Per Se. Execution wise, I think Le Bernardin barely edges out Per Se. However, the upper hand goes to Per Se because they have innovation. Le Bernardin also lacks the theatrics that Per Se brings to its menu. My conclusion is that Le Bernadin is great alternative if you can’t get a reservation at Per Se. There is a reason why Per Se has a two month waitlist while we got a reservation for a party of 7 at Le Bernardin two weeks in advance.

Le Bernardin
155 West 51st Street
212-554-1100