Ok, full disclosure here--Pat and I went up to NYC this past week *explicitly* for the purposes of dining at Le Bernadin. We braved 7 hours of traffic, snow drifts, giant slushy puddles, and even--seriously--frost nip to eat at Eric Ripert's 3-Michelin-starred flagship restaurant. I think, overall, it was worth it. Except that I totally missed my celeb chef sighting by, like 5 minutes. That was a bummer.
The service was impeccable, even from the get-go. The hostess practically walked me into a stall when I inquired where the bathrooms were. *Everyone* there has a French accent. And there was a little cute bench for my purse to sit on beside our table. Yes. Even my PURSE felt the Le Ber love!
We went with the Chef's Tasting Menu, which ordinarily is the more expensive of the two tastings, but because it was the holiday season, they decided to replace the cheaper option with an even pricier holiday tasting menu. Which probably should have come with an application for a reverse mortgage. Just saying.
In any event, the food was flawlessly cooked and very interesting. The wait staff used all the right words: "caviar," "sea urchin," "langoustine," "foie," "squid ink tapioca." The bread was delicious and offered generously, which is sometimes unusual in a restaurant of this caliber. My biggest complaint I think is that Chef's unusual food combinations sometimes led to elements being overshadowed. The caviar and sea urchin were difficult to distinguish in a parmesan sauce; the chorizo sauce overpowered a white fish. He apparently also likes to pair seafood with mushrooms, which, although sometimes bizarre, worked more often than not. A personal favorite was squid stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and accompanied by two teeny tiny fried squid babies. There were, of course, a gazillion things on the regular menu that didn't make it onto the tasting that I would have loved to try: to wit, "Charred Octopus; Fermented Black Bean - Pear Sauce Vierge, Ink - Miso Vinaigrette; Purple Basil" and "Barely Cooked Organic Salmon; Braised Burgundy Snails; Heirloom Potatoes; Sweet Garlic Parsley and Pernod Scented Sauce." I'd say I'll try those next time, but let's be honest. Unless I win the lottery (yes, I did buy tickets) or the Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes (which I also, sadly, entered), there's not going to be a next time.
The wine pairings were fine, but not memorable. Although the sommelier's Flava-Flav chain totally was. :) Unexpectedly, and to my delight, the desserts shined. From "pre-dessert" to tiny finishing cookies (and the *two* desserts in between), there was not a crumb left on my plate. If it's possible to just have dessert at Le Ber, I would recommend it if you're not up for the full deal.
And finally, THANK YOU to my amazing partner in gluttony for taking this trip with me and for footing the bill, and to Andrew for taking the plunge with us! (portions x-posted to yelp.com)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Torrisi Italian Specialties (NYC)
Joe, who has never steered me wrong when it comes to food, suggested we go to Torrisi for a last-minute dinner reunion. This place is an Italian deli during the day, but turns into a small, first-come-first-served dinner at night. At 6:15, we managed to snag the very last spot in the place--a three-person window booth, perfect our party!
Because I am quite possibly the worst decision-maker of all time (not that I make bad decisions, I just can't bring myself to make any in the first place), Torrisi's menu is perfect. Everything is already decided for you, with the exception of the entree, for which you have only two options. And the wine selection is also small, but clearly developed by someone who knows wine--even the one we chose, one of the cheapest on the menu, was delicious!
We started with four antipasti to share. First was a giant ball of house-made mozzarella with a few small garlic toasts. I'm not really a huge fan of mozzarella, but this was phenomenal. Very flavorful, not too airy or too gummy. The bread was a bit salty, but overall--YUM. The other apps were okay, but did not hold a candle to the cheese: a beet and apple salad with fried brussels sprouts leaves (decent), halibut dressed with balsamic (too fishy for me), and a pickled lamb tongue and celery salad with a black peppercorn vinaigrette that I thought was kind of slimy and not that good.
Next was the pasta course. With the exception of it also being over salted, it was pretty freaking amazing. I could have eaten a mixing bowl full of this, provided it came with a gallon of water. The pasta was PERFECTLY cooked, and the "dirty duck ragu" that topped it was tender and divine.
For my entree, I ordered the grilled pork chop with sauteed bell peppers. This was incredibly flavorful. Its only flaw was that the chop was very fatty. Pat ordered the skate with a tarragon, lemon and butter sauce, which was a bit buttery for his taste but cooked to perfection. I had no idea skate could be quite so tender and sweet.
To clean our palates, the waiter brought out tiny paper cups of lemon Italian ices, and our dessert was an assortment of bite-sized Italian petit-fours. These were all good, and generous considering there were six or seven different types (three of each so we didn't have to fight over them). Neither Joe nor Pat seemed wowed, but I was happy.
Honestly, I'm not a big Italian food eater, but this was some of the best Italian food I've eaten in a long time. As long as you're not watching your sodium and don't mind an early dinner (or a potentially long wait), this is a great, lesser-known dining option for a Big Apple visit! (portions x-posted to yelp.com)
Because I am quite possibly the worst decision-maker of all time (not that I make bad decisions, I just can't bring myself to make any in the first place), Torrisi's menu is perfect. Everything is already decided for you, with the exception of the entree, for which you have only two options. And the wine selection is also small, but clearly developed by someone who knows wine--even the one we chose, one of the cheapest on the menu, was delicious!
We started with four antipasti to share. First was a giant ball of house-made mozzarella with a few small garlic toasts. I'm not really a huge fan of mozzarella, but this was phenomenal. Very flavorful, not too airy or too gummy. The bread was a bit salty, but overall--YUM. The other apps were okay, but did not hold a candle to the cheese: a beet and apple salad with fried brussels sprouts leaves (decent), halibut dressed with balsamic (too fishy for me), and a pickled lamb tongue and celery salad with a black peppercorn vinaigrette that I thought was kind of slimy and not that good.
Next was the pasta course. With the exception of it also being over salted, it was pretty freaking amazing. I could have eaten a mixing bowl full of this, provided it came with a gallon of water. The pasta was PERFECTLY cooked, and the "dirty duck ragu" that topped it was tender and divine.
For my entree, I ordered the grilled pork chop with sauteed bell peppers. This was incredibly flavorful. Its only flaw was that the chop was very fatty. Pat ordered the skate with a tarragon, lemon and butter sauce, which was a bit buttery for his taste but cooked to perfection. I had no idea skate could be quite so tender and sweet.
To clean our palates, the waiter brought out tiny paper cups of lemon Italian ices, and our dessert was an assortment of bite-sized Italian petit-fours. These were all good, and generous considering there were six or seven different types (three of each so we didn't have to fight over them). Neither Joe nor Pat seemed wowed, but I was happy.
Honestly, I'm not a big Italian food eater, but this was some of the best Italian food I've eaten in a long time. As long as you're not watching your sodium and don't mind an early dinner (or a potentially long wait), this is a great, lesser-known dining option for a Big Apple visit! (portions x-posted to yelp.com)
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