Tuesday's lunch reservation was at Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin, one of the finest restaurants in the world. We dine at Le Bernardin whenever we're in New York City, but this visit would be special. The French seafood restaurant offers a three course prix fixe menu — first course, main course and dessert. We ordered a nice Sancerre, which we enjoyed with Le Bernardin's signature amuse-bouche salmon spread.
We shared two first courses, the hamachi and the calamari. Both were excellent. The hamachi was melt-in-your-mouth, bathed in an addictive black garlic-ponzu sauce. The tender calamari was perhaps a bit overpowered by the spicy red pepper jam, although the sauce was delicious.
Flash Marinated Hamachi; Sea Beans and Daikon, Black Garlic-Ponzu Sauce
Charred Calamari; Spicy Espelette Pepper Jam, Sauce Basquaise We shared the merluza and the halibut as our main courses. The Spanish cod-like merluza was hearty, flaky and tasty; it was perfectly complimented by the rich sofrito-achiote sauce. The halibut was unbelievably tender. Eric Ripert's fish purveyor is in the Bronx; Eric selects his fish in a separate room, ahead of everyone else. Who else could successfully immerse tender halibut in a corn chowder? This corn chowder worked perfectly; it was light and didn't overpower.
Sautéed Spanish Merluza; Scorched Baby Lettuce, Sofrito-Achiote Sauce
Poached Halibut; Razor Clams, Aki Nori; “Sweet Corn Chowder” The waitstaff at Le Bernardin is second to none; most have worked there for many years. Our delightful waiter, Julio Yela, had served us many times in the past. Julio knew Marlene wanted to meet Eric Ripert — so he escorted us back to the kitchen!
Eric couldn't have been more gracious. We chatted and were given a grand tour of his kitchen — the kitchen that produces the most incredible dishes in the world.
Our waiter, Julio Yela, explained how each table and its diners were tracked on a whiteboard
Chris Muller, the culinary director
Preparing Le Bernardin's incomparable yellowfin tuna, with foie gras & toasted baguette
Jose Almonte, pastry chef We arrived back at our table and ordered a dessert wine, a delicious German Beerenauslese. And then we finally ordered dessert.
Candied Peach Compote, Pistachio Gelato and Raspberry Sorbet "Swirl", Tahitian Vanilla Custard
Slow Roasted Apple, Caramelized Puff Pastry, Canelé Ice Cream And since sharing two incredible desserts wasn't enough, Julio and the kitchen sent out another!
Roasted Figs, Warm Mascarpone-Almond Cake, Jalapeño, Vanilla Ice Cream Our lunches at Le Bernardin are always special; this one was magical. After lunch, Marlene and I went our separate ways, and I headed uptown to the Nespresso Boutique Bar on Madison Avenue, where I met with Circassian filmmaker Amina Zhaman. Amina directed and starred in a screen version of Eugene O'Neill's one-act play Before Breakfast. She was delightful.
That evening we had tickets to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. From Ben Brantley's New York Times review: "Adapted from Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel about an autistic boy’s coming-of-age, this is one of the most fully immersive works ever to wallop Broadway." It walloped us.
For dinner, we downshifted and walked the few blocks to Orso, the longtime eating place in the theatre district. It's utilitarian Italian cuisine; you pour your own wine. But after a lunch at Le Bernardin, it was the pause that refreshed.
Misticanza Salad - kale, watercress, escarole, radicchio, tomato, red wine vinaigrette, parmesan
Orso Pizza - sweet Italian sausage, tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesan
Tagliarini - rock shrimp, tomato, lemon zest, hot pepper, parmesan Copyright © 2014 TwoForTheTable.com |
