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I haven’t been to Le Bernardin in at least a decade, so was pleased to get to dine there last week. If recollections are remotely sound, the menu is far more refined, and there has been a shift from more a more European-style approach toward a more Asian-style. It’s not like the place was ever bad - it’s just different now.
Now the context of the meal has to be within that of some wonderful meals I’ve had the last year. While this will clearly be one of the finest meals I have this year, it clearly won’t be the finest. The high points are exceedingly high, but a couple things left me a bit cold.
The pre-ap salmon spread was good and was homey, and I gobbled it up while drinking a gimlet. (After that I moved on to a split of 2007 Puligny Montrachet Domaine Leflaive, that nicely went well with just about everything.)
The Wagyu tartare with caviar to really start may have been my favorite dish. It played up the saltiness in a way that the tartare needed - really nice. The peekytoe salad was nice, but the apple-lemongrass nage was very odd to me - is it a salad or a soup? The nage was also room temp, which made the dish even weirder. It was good, but threw me off.
The octopus was a hit, and was pure Mediterranean, with olive and black garlic emulsion - completely solid dish. The sea medley was good, but the custard at the bottom of the rather challenging to navigate bowl did not taste of Yuzu to me - though my biggest (if quite unfair) problem of the dish was that it echoed Robuchon’s uni in potato puree, while being inferior to it - a custard that kind of breaks up in a broth is just not all that elegant. Nice flavors, but ho hum.
The artic char was all Spring, with peas and favas, and another home run. The monkfish (I’m guessing this is a signature dish) was tasty and perfectly prepared and the broth was fabulous, but (as cool as it looked) I thought the mustard greens and daikon ‘sandwhich’ didn’t work, because the daikon (within the context of the plate) is really jarring. Desserts were good. Service was great.
The week prior I had been to Yasuda Sushi, which was fantastic. Everything was consistently beautiful, but I loved the ‘Fish and Chip’ of Kimmedai and fried skin. There were some really nice pairings - a freshwater eel & a saltwater eel; sockeye salmon & Arctic char. I ended the meal with a uni handroll, which seemed like the most indulgent thing since the Foie Gras Double-Down. Too much good food to name, but just a wonderful place, only a couple of blocks from Grand Central. Sushi Yasuda
Finally, for the suburbanites, I’ve eaten close to ten times this year at The Whelk in Westport. The chef/owner Bill Taibe also has Le Farm in Westport (a cult-y if somewhat over-rated farm-to-table joint in Westport, wth a customer-unfriendly corkage policy) and Napa & Co. in Stamford. The Whelk is, surprisingly, the first higher-end seafood place that has opened in Fairfield County (though it has a casual, if buzzy, vibe like Nashville’s City House or (gulp) Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon or Momofuku Ssam Bar). I was excited to try it - because of the previously unfilled niche - but ready to be skeptical because I hadn’t loved Le Farm. Well, folks, I’m 100% sold. This is great seasonal seafood - and there are items (like periwinkles) that you don’t find anywhere else in Fairfield County. Any downsides only reflect the success - it’s loud and reservations are mandatory (except for the bar, and that tends to be a wait). But the service was great from my first visit (at two weeks open), they have great bartenders concocting food-friendly cocktails. And I’ve had more good seafood dishes than I can name - off the top of my head, octopus with black olives and preserved lemons were great. Shad Roe made me understand shad roe (eggy but not fishy). Rarely the slightest misstep from the kitchen. Only six months open, it is clearly at the top ranks of Fairfield County restaurants. Rock-solid suburban fare!