What has....Four New York Times stars. Three Michelin stars. Two James Beard chefs in the house...
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. It's the ONE and only: LE
BERNARDIN. This weekend marked the beginning of a new epoch: my epic
graduation from gluttony to gastronomy. Throughout the entire course of
dinner, I must've had 5 sets of flatware changes (some utensilsl I
didn't even recognize), they swapped out the butter when it softened,
and just about every course was accompanied by "French gibberish" sauce
that was plated table side.
Amuse bouche trio: tuna tartar, salmon and dill, watermelon
gazpacho. I could totally taste oyster sauce in the tartar. Tiny
precursors of the delights to come. French with a refreshing Asian
twist.
I decided to save the drama for your mama and got a simple assortment of fresh oysters on the half shell w/ a dual of house cocktail sauces to start.
Layers of Thinly Pounded Yellowfin Tuna, Foie Gras and Toasted Baguette Shaved Chives and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I love carpaccio and I love sashimi. Needless to say, this was love at first bite. A delightful surprise: finding the crunchy fried foie gras at the bottom.
What's a little bright and buttery, slightly acidic, and kinda rough around the edges? Nope, not me. It's Wild Striped Bass Tartare; Baby Fennel, Crispy Artichoke, Black Olive Oil and Lemon.
Fluke "Sashimi"; Micro Watercress, Avocado, Jalapeño-Lime Broth. Very well conceived. I love the bite from the jalapenos. As Paris Hilton would say, "That's HOT."
Ultra Rare Seared Tuna; Marinated Fennel, Basil and Capers. This plate is a teleportation device to Barcelona. The unexpected, rustic smokiness takes me back to Spain, a country who does seafood poignantly well.
“Ultra-Rare” Arctic Char; Truffled Peas and Favas Butter Lettuce-Tarragon Emulsion. Hands down the best dish of the night. When diners and critics alike describe fish as "buttery," I have the tendency to call shenanigans. When you pan fry fish in butter or broil it (the 2 most conventional modes of preparation), it flakes; it's not aptly described as buttery. This however, was a different story. I'm guessing they pressure sealed this to "cook" it in some sort of emulsion. End result is creamy and permeated with flavor. I can't believe it's not butter!
Since it's my birthday, I was immediately drawn to Baked Lobster; Stuffed Zucchini Flower, Sake-Miso Sauce.
Surprisingly pedestrian. Maybe I was expecting too much, but this was
largely underwhelming. The lobster tail had stiffened up from being
cooked too long and it lacked flavor, even with the moat of sauce.
Curry Crusted Cobia; Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette, Coconut Lime Broth. Meaty and creamy. If Thai yellow curry had a prettier, gentler sister, this would be it.
Crispy Black Bass; Roasted Shishitos and Acorn Squash “Ceviche”, Peruvian Chicha Sauce. Exceptional preparation, but I didn't understand how shishitos and squash go together.
Barely Cooked Wild Salmon; Asparagus, Wasabi-Bean Purée, Yuzu Emulsion. I'm guessing it was caviar in the sauce. This was as close to American as Eric Ripert gets.
Me, skip dessert? Of course not, that would be sinful.
Banana bread, Caramel Sauce, Chocolate Mousse, Vietnamese Cinnamon Ice Cream. Eric Ripert draws inspiration from my mother's motherland.
Madagascan Chocolate Ganache, Peanut Mousse, Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Taste bud workout: Savory, sweet, salty, sour, bitter.
Madagascan Chocolate Ganache, Peanut Mousse, Salted Caramel Ice Cream. The Queen of England's Reese's peanut butter cup.
Your typical complimentary palate cleansers. Banana bread, macaroon, apricot pate, and a chocolate bonbon of some sort. So much better than a peppermint.
What dining experiences have you had that changed the way you thought about food?
I used to work at Le Bernardin. Suffice to say, you were way out of your depth reviewing these dishes. Before going from "gluttony" to gastronomy, it might have been helpful if you actually learned a bit about cooking and gastronomy. Ultra rare Arctic Char is not buttery because it's been cooked sous-vide. It's buttery because it's ultra rare, and that is the natural texture of the fish. Secondly, pan frying and broiling are NOT the two most conventional ways to prepare fish, and flaking is not a function of the cooking method, it's the result of how much the fish is cooked. The seared Tuna with basil and capers is way more evocative of Provencal or Southern French cuisine than it is of Barcelona (my family is from Barcelona, so I know the food intimately). Furthermore, food is not "poignantly" prepared. Look up the word to understand what it means. For someone who self-admittedly was a glutton and not a gourmet, how would you know if the Fluke Sashimi was "well-conceived?" You didn't understand how shishitos and kabocha squash go together? It's simple: they are both Japanese ingredients. Japanese cuisine is a huge influence in Peruvian food, so Chef Eric made that connection explicit by putting Japanese ingredients together with a Peruvian sauce. They "go together" because he put them on the plate together. If you didn't like the flavor combination, that's another story. The "caviar" in the salmon is not caviar, because caviar is only from sturgeon and is dark in color. That's salmon or trout roe. The lobster dish is simple, but hardly "pedestrian." Pedestrian would imply very common and everyday. When was the last time you saw lobster with sake-miso dressing or stuffed squash blossoms? Underwhelming, maybe, but not pedestrian.
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