ALL THINGS FOOD: Le Bernardin by Chef Eric Ripert

www.le-bernardin.com

Visit date: October 07

Almost Raw
Hamachi - marinated hamachi vietnamese style; nuoc mam vinaigrette
Fluke - fluke sashimi; crispy kimchi in a chilled citrus, soy, jalapeno nage

Barely Touched
Calamari - sauteed calamari filled with sweet prawns and shitake mushroom; mushroom froth-pistou sauce
Crab - stuffed zucchini flower with peekytoe and king crab; "fine herbs-lemon" mousseline sauce

Lightly Cooked
Monkfish - pan roasted monkfish; hon shimeji mushrooms; turnip-ginger emulsion; sake broth
Black bass - crispy black bass; lup cheong and beansprout "risotto", mini steamed buns, hoisin-plum jus

Dessert
Passion fruit - passion fruit parfait, ginger caramel, peach-lemongrass sorbet
Black sesame cherry - black sesame panna cotta and pain de genes, sour cherry sphere, shiso, mandarin sorbet

As we walk in, the atmosphere is more relaxed than most high-end French restaurants. This feeling should not be confused with thinking the food is anything but the best. Eyeing the big bold chairs, I am reminded of a steakhouse, but the use of a more orange colored wood lightens the mood immensely. French classical contemporary. (An interesting detail I haven't seen before is the placement of small stools next to women for setting their purses on.)

Waiters and sommeliers abound, ready for our every need. We have one sommelier introduce himself, and another make recommendations and pour our first glasses of wine. We have one server hand us our menus/pour water/change flatware, another answer menu questions, and yet another take our order. Ultimately, we do have one waiter, just hard to differentiate at first.

It can be argued the restaurant is more about food, allowing anyone to perform tasks specific to their position of waiter or sommelier. Normally, I wouldn't mind but given Le Bernardin's Michelin rating, I expect a little more cohesion. On the other hand, I'm not a professional food critic.

Moving from front of the house to the kitchen... the food is amazing! My 4 course meal consists of fluke, calamari, monkfish and passion fruit. Steve has hamachi, crab, black bass and black sesame cherry.

Hands down, my favorite dish of the evening is the monkfish. The sake broth is deliciously light and paired sublimely with turnip-ginger emulsion, poured tableside. (I find myself asking the waiter to keep the leftover emulsion at the table, not wanting it to go to waste.) The texture of the emulsion is similar to well-beaten egg whites at medium stiff peak. The flavor reminds me a lot of a soup I make at home with turnip, ginger, pork and Chinese flavorings. They are flavors I can easily relate to but elevated ten times with techniques of a very learned chef. Steve says the dish is more Japanese influenced because of the slight sake flavor, but I disagree, it's Chinese. Honestly, I can eat the luscious sauce by itself all day or with some bread to sop it all up. The texture of the sliced monkfish is cooked rare, reminiscent of sashimi. What a delight!

Steve's favorite dish is the hamachi. After his recent business trips to Vietnam, it really conjures memories of authentic Vietnamese cuisine which focuses a lot on seafood and fresh produce, not the American staples of pho and imperial/spring rolls. With a twist, the hamachi wraps around mint and basil leaves into the shape of a sushi roll, surrounded by a fish fume infused with lime and garlic – Chef Ripert's version of fish sauce, if you will. What is even more surprising is the wine pairing of the sommelier's choosing – a fragrantly fruity white from Austria, the name which sadly slips my mind. The fruitiness cuts through the acidic fume/vinaigrette perfectly.

I am thoroughly impressed with Chef Ripert's knack for Asian inspired cuisine given his formal French background and Catalan influence during his adolescence on the Spanish-French border. But don't be fooled, there are plenty of other selections for those more Euro-centric in their food choices – foie gras, caviar, duck, lamb and more. And for those looking to save a little money, Le Bernardin offers the same menu during lunch, Monday-Friday, with a price tag $42 cheaper.

See additional posts:
Daniel by Chef Daniel Boulud
Chef Ripert or Chef Boulud