Le Bernardin

All those years we lived in New York City we never got around to eating at Le Bernardin, the legendary three-star Michelin restaurant by Eric Ripert which opened in 1986.

So, on this last trip, we made the reservation and I’m really pleased we did. Eric did not let us down. Everything was great: service, ambiance, of course, the food, and even the plates (see below).

By the way, if you are hankering for a big juicy New York-style steak, forget it. (Or as we like to say in New York “fuhgeddaboudit.”) This is a fish restaurant. Fresh, simple, and elegantly presented.

You may not know Eric. He’s not a big TV chef, always galivanting around the big cooking show competitions. And he hasn’t opened a zillion restaurants around the world (and especially in Las Vegas) like some chefs who lose focus on what made them famous. He’s focused on Le Bernadin, that’s it.

Although you might remember he would turn up on Anthony Bourdain’s show once in a while. They were funny together. Eric was always the straight man to Anthony’s shtick.