Le Bernardin Keeps Top Spot on La Liste

I'm not a fish lover …. but Maguy Le Coze's dining room is close to perfect, if only I could get Eric to grill a perfect pork chop, then all would be good with the world.

As my mother would say, my wife and I are good eaters. We had the best dining evening of our lives a few years ago at Le Bernardin. The tasting courses ran from excellent to sublime -- a few were revelations in the way the kitchen paired fish to sauce. The wine pairings were fun and interesting, and that's said by a jaded palate. Best of all the staff was relaxed, friendly without being intrusive, and genuinely delighted by our happiness. We were treated to a few samples of wines not on the pairing menu by a somm who was super excited to share a little goodness. The experience put to shame the two dinners we had at The French Laundry, where the staff could not have been more pompous or condescending -- at several hundreds of dollars per guest. How I wish we had Ripert and Le Coze in San Francisco.

I prefer restaurants that don't remind you that your seat is only good for 2 hours, but that's just me. Le Bernadin felt to me a restaurant better served for fine dining regulars who just want a delicious, high end meal. Restauranteering in New York CIty is obviously a perilous, low margin endeavor, and only those fine dining establishments who cut corners where they can while exuding luxury and offering excellent food can succeed. The food is indeed spectacular, but those cut corners were just way too obvious - a rushed, "get out of here so I can turn this table over" feel, relatively uninspired wine pairings, in addition to some of the clunkiest stemware in a reputable NYC restaurant I've had (somewhat unexpected since Aldo Sohm is a representative for Zalto glassware). I don't need an EMP circa 2015 length meal, and I honestly preferred Le Bernadin's food, but at least I walked out of EMP feeling like I still had a wonderful experience, in no small part to warm and impeccable service. I walked out of Le Bernadin having eaten one of the finest meals in my life but with a sour taste in my mouth.

In the fall of 1997, I proposed to my wife at Le Bernardin. I was 24 years old, and could barely afford the meal. We looked like children who were accidentally let into the "adults" dining room. I stupidly ordered a lobster appetizer and lobster entree because all of the fish courses seemed intimidating and unfamiliar to me. None of this mattered to Le Bernardin. The restaurant treated us like VIPs giving us free champagne to celebrate my then girlfriend saying yes. We felt special, pampered and taken care of even though we weren't high rollers. Over the years, we've been lucky enough to dine at Le Bernardin many times. Each time it's special and rekindles the feeling I had on that nerve-wracking day back in 1997. Congratulations to Madame Le Coze and Chef Ripert for continuing a legacy of excellence.

Excellent news. Long live the immutable glory of Le Bernardin! A new trend is emerging in Paris, amalgamation of the two cuisines of seafood without equal -- the French and Japanese. Perhaps the initial efforts in this direction were due to the late Joël Reblochon and the popularity of the bouillabaisse in Japan. The name in Japanese is pronounced almost like in French and it is written in four syllabic characters of katakana or hiragana.

Makes me proud that a long time ago we ate at Guy Savoy and Le Bernadin in Paris during the same vacation week. How long ago? We ate at Le Bernadin the same night their brand new restaurant in New York was opening. 1986. Great meals at both.