Le Bernardin

Friday night, Mimi joined me at Le Bernardin. Ostensibly it was a birthday dinner; we weren't alone. Candles appeared on numerous desserts set on tables around us. The room was pleasant and softly lit, but had the strange air of a hotel restaurant. Miscellaneous art lined the walls. Conversations murmured around us, never so loud as to distract us from our own, though Mimi became fascinated by a couple near us who seemed to be experiencing relationship troubles.

We ordered the chef's tasting menu and prepared ourselves for the onslaught of courses. Mimi asked about the menu; it looked as if it had changed. Luis, our waiter, said it had, just three days ago.

We began with scallops, thinly sliced, splashed with lemon and extra virgin olive oil and topped with chives. The scallops were enormous, served with toast. They were delicious, an early high point to the meal. Mimi wasn't sure she wanted them with toast, but once she had them together, she could see how they complemented each other perfectly. The toast offered a texture to counterpoint the buttery richness of the fish.

Next, we were served poached French white asparagus, topped with Iranian osetra caviar sabayon. The asparagus arrived first, and then our waiter dished out the sauce. The sauce was tasty, nicely salted by the caviar, but knowing there were four courses to come (plus two courses of dessert) I refrained from licking the plate. Mimi had no such qualms.

A small fillet of Hawaiian escolar arrived next. Slowly poached in extra virgin olive oil, it came served with a petite salad of lettuce hearts and tomato confit. The salad was refreshing (though Mimi complained about the cucumber); the tuna was fine.

Lobster was the next course, baked and served with a citrus-mango emulsion, endives, and sheep's milk ricotta gnocchi. The cheese paired with the lobster was the most surprising and tasty combination. Combined with the sauce it easily lept to my second favorite dish of the evening.

A barely cooked salmon was next, paired with a wasabi pea purée, fava beans, and asparagus in a yuzu (the fruit of the moment) butter. The wasabi was barely hinted at, and the mixture of sauces made them hard to discern.

The final entree was a pan roasted codfish served with sauteed baby artichockes, pistachio and parmesan in a sage and garlic perfumed broth. The cod, while not my favorite fish, was exquisitely prepared. Paired with the broth it moved just behind the lobster to rank third in my favorite dishes of the evening. I tilted the bowl to ladle out the last bit of soup.

When our first dessert arrived, Mimi said she had been waiting the entire meal for this moment. A millk chocolate pot de crème was served in a hollowed out egg shell, topped with caramel foam, maple syrup, and maldon sea salt. The sea salt brought out the caramel, and let it linger on the tongue as you reached the chocolate underneath. Mimi's raves were well-justified.

The second dessert was an almond pain de gênes, with vanilla-roasted pineapple coconut sorbet and crushed pistachios. The dessert was good, but paled compared to the pot de crème. I said I loved pineapple, and Mimi concurred. "An underrated fruit," she said. I said it was so good by itself that I wondered why people bothered roasting it or changing its flavor. She agreed.

Before a final sampling of sweets arrived at the table, a citrus parfait appeared with a candle stuck in the center of it. Mimi said she wondered when it would appear. I made a quick wish and blew out the candle. We slowly ate our dessert and looked around the now almost empty room. We had arrived at 8.30 and it was now nearing midnight. The food was very fresh and well prepared, but I found myself less than completely impressed, given the cost. Maybe it's a type of food and a way of preparation I'm not accustomed to. I was glad I went, but I didn't think I'd be returning.

We walked down Seventh a ways before finding a cab. We walked through Times Square and watched, along with the crowds, various artists plying their trades. Every few blocks we seemed to see the same styles: the Chinese artists painting names, the spray paint artists painting futuristic scenes of the city. Mimi said she never walked there and said it was like being on vacation. Posted by eku at June 13, 2005 9:15 AM