Surprise! Part 1 (Birthday Part 2)

For two months, Rohit had booked a table for my birthday. I usually celebrate my birthday with dinner with my family, but I decided that I was growing up now, not out, and that I wanted two birthday celebrations: one with just Rohit and I acting elegant and classy at a nice place that we have always wanted to go to and one with my family where we sat in the backyard drinking, in the words of Gery's father Joska, "lot of."

I wasn't allowed to find out where we were eating until the day of my birthday, but due to a minor SNAFU, I did find out the night before. I was ecstatic! I hadn't been to Le Bernardin since I was about 15, when it didn't matter what culinary delights were going in my mouth, so long as it was edible and tasted good (actually...not much has changed). That time, my mother reminded me, we had gone with the four of us: Neil, Mom, Dad and me. Neil has gone through many strange food phases in his life and unfortunately has never gotten over this one: that he doesn't like lobster. I mean, seriously? Who doesn't LIKE lobster? Anyhow, at the time I last went to LB, we all ordered the tasting menu and we all got lobster bisque. The bisque was served in two parts- the lobster was placed down in front of us and then, while the server turned to grab the soup that he would smother the lobster chunks with, the three of us (sans Neil) grabbed the lobster and stuffed it in our mouths. Imagine the waiter's surprise when the large chunks of lobster weren't there anymore!

This story prompted Rohit and I to think about whether or not we might take our (incredibly potential and hypothetical) children to fancy restaurants such as this one. I said yes, so as to enhance their culinary openmindedness and whet their appetites for really good food. Rohit had his reservations, thinking that taking kids to restaurants like that could spoil them. Anyhow...

LB this time around, as a seasoned adult, was phenomenal. We showed up a half hour early and were seated immediately. On such a lovely evening out, you have to have a cocktail from their bar, where the waiter boasted, "We can make anything." So we got a lychee martini and a vodka gimlet. We chose the four course menu- two appetizers, an entree and a dessert, the first three of which are broken out into the following stages:
ALMOST RAW
BARELY TOUCHED
LIGHTLY COOKED

Rohit and I have this thing: we try really hard not to order the same thing. But when there is a specialty in a kitchen, you have to try it. So we both ordered the FLUKE in ALMOST RAW: White Soy-Yuzu Marinated Fluke; Seaweed and Spiced "Rice Crispies." For BARELY TOUCHED, Rohit ordered the CALAMARI: Sauteed Calamari Filled with Sweet Prawns and Wood Ear Mushrooms with a Calamari Consomme and I had another one of Ripert's specialties: SEA URCHIN Risotto with Toasted Nori and an Urchin-Citrus Emulsion. The LIGHTLY COOKED entree served Rohit and I respectively with the BAKED LOBSTER, asparagus and sauce Gribiche and WILD STRIPED BASS-LANGOUSTINE with a confit tomato aglonotti, bouillabaisse consomme and curry emulsion. The flavors were wild. The sea urchin, as well as the fluke, for that matter, melted in my mouth. The fish was so fresh, which is probably why the restaurant makes a big deal about everything being so barely cooked. It made me want to take a class on sauces and soups because I think my cooking would greatly benefit from it.
Dessert was DARK CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT CARAMEL TART with Meyer Lemon Puree, Peanut Powder and Praline-Citrus Sorbet, and RUM SCENTED CARROT CAKE with Golden Raisins, Sicilian Pistachios, and Condensed Milk Ice Cream.

Everything was perfect. Heavenly. What's even more fortuitous is that since LB is a seafood restaurant, I wasn't heavily weighed down when we left the restaurant to go bhangra dancing at SOB's.

I like me some fishies.