NYC 2011 Part 2

With my dad in town this time around, we made sure to hit up some of NYC's big hitters including Eric Ripert's Le Bernadin.  Unfortunately there are no photos because this place is not for tourists and I'm pretty sure they would have asked me to stop or leave if i had continually snapped pics throughout our seven course tasting menu.  The Le Bernadin tasting menu focuses on seafood and french techniques which were all beautifully presented with exquisite flavor.  Both the food and service were excellent and my favorite included the charred octopus appetizer which was tender and smokey and the liquid pear bubble in the dessert course which they suggested you let explode in your mouth with a little of the chocolate parfait.

Plate Score: 9.5 (The price hurts a lot even if i wasn't the one paying for it)


Though dinner was fantastic, a 5:15pm reservation would not hold us over till morning so we fixed it with a delivery of this new york solution around 10 :)

For lunch on Saturday, my sister introduced us to Blue Ribbon Sushi on 58th near Columbus Circle.  From what I understand it is of the same caliber as Nobu just not as famous.  Everything on the menu was delicious from the sushi and sashimi to the rice and noodle dishes and dessert.  One of the highlights was the japanese style oxtail fried rice with bone marrow.  So terrible for you but it was so good that it even caught my dad's attention.  He suggested that we return the next day.  

Plate Score: 9.5

On Saturday night I did manage to snap a few pictures from David Burke's townhouse as we were seated, with the exception of the servers, in an area of virtual isolation.  The culinary approach of this restaurant is whimsical modern american.

The parfait of salmon and tuna tartares with 3 sauces and a layer of creme fraiche was beautifully prepared and incredibly fresh

Normally you think about crab cakes in a circular fashion, and when it said "pretzel crusted" on the menu i imagined crushed pretzels would serve as a binder.  Instead I was pleasantly surprised with this rectangular log of fresh crabmeat wrapped with pretzel sticks and dusted with sesame seeds. The sauteed soft shell crab appetizer behind was delicious but a tad bit oily.

This is the lobster "steak".  For $46, it was a great deal with the lobster claw that sat atop of chopped lobster meat packed into the shape of a filet mignon, hence the word "steak".

Dessert were drunken donut holes with chocolate baileys, strawberry daquiri and salted caramel sauces.  The donuts were a tad dense, but who can refuse fried dough?!

"Opera on the park bench"  Do you see it? hazelnut cream cake and espresso ice cream. Perfect

                                                    
Plate Score: 7