December 2, 2012

• NYC Eats @ Le Bernardin- W managed to book a Thursday dinner at Le Bernardin in the last minute, probably from another diner who cancelled out due to the storm.
  The story – Le Bernardin was named after a folk song “Les Moines de St. Bernardin”. It was first opened in Paris in 1973 by brother and sister team Gilbert and Maguy Le Coze, with each item on the menu being some form of seafood served with a variation of sauces poured tableside. In 1986, the duo moved to New York and established Le Bernardin as we know today. The current head chef Eric Ripert was born and trained in France, he moved to New York in 1991 to work for David Bouley, before joining Le Bernardin. Chef Ripert was the author of several books and appeared on a number of cooking shows – including being a guest judge on Top Chef. He appears to be very keen on the environment, serving only sustainable seafood on his menu. I learned that the chef is holding off on bluefin until he is sure the Atlantic variety is sustainable. In the meantime, organic-farmed salmon is frequently used.

  The location – Le Bernardin is located on the ground floor of The Equitable Center in Midtown Manhattan. The interior has undergone renovation around August 2011, the interior walls and ceiling are decorated with light colour teak wood panels, with one side of the wall franked by a large three panel painting of a sea scene. The chairs are now steel with dark brown leather. Even the exterior facade has been replaced with metal framed windows, with decorative lights shimmering. The servers are all dressed in dark colour suits, swooshing around quietly and keeping an alert eye on each table without missing a beat on service.
  

  Ginger yuzu cooler (left), Brooklyn gin with lavender honey and lemon…..
  

  Motto of Le Bernardin…..
  

  Trio of amuse bouche, organic Scottish salmon…..
  

  Amuse Bouche, (middle) uni, (right) celery cream soup…..
  

  Layers of lightly pounded Yellow Fin Tuna, on toasted baguette and foie gras, chives and extra virgin olive oil…..
  

  Close-up……
  

  Sautéed Langoustine, truffle and chanterelle, aged balsamic vinaigrette…..
  

  Shellfish medley, yuzu scented custard, smoked bonito broth…..
  

  Charred octopus ” a la plancha”, green olive and black garlic emulsion, sundried tomato sauce vierge…..
  

  Poached halibut, “black truffle pot-au-feu”…..
  

  

  

  Sautéed Dover sole, “almond-pistachio-barberry” golden basmati, brown-butter tamarind vinaigrette…..
  

  Gogi berry, black bean, basmati rice…..
  

  Plum foam, ginger, shiso, sake sorbet…..
  

  Madagascan chocolate ganache, candied peanuts, popcorn ice cream…..
  

  

  Mignardises, four bites to end the meal, (from left) salted dark chocolate, candied ginger…..
  

  (From right) toffee cake, chocolate truffle…..
  

  

  The entire dinner took approximately three hours. We had the Chef’s Tasting Menu which was very delicious and savory, this is the place to be for seafood lovers. All the seafood dishes are very creative and beautifully presented. We were really lucky to be able to dine here in a last minute notice. On our next visit, no doubt we will try Le Bernardin again.

  (W, your photos bring all these sumptuous dishes alive again, thanks a bunch!)

  Le Bernardin | 155 W 51st. Street, New York, NY 10019 | 212-554-1515 | www.le-bernardin.com

  • 11:27 am
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