Food: Le Bernardin

Le Bernardin, which specializes in a French presentation of seafood, is ranked the number one restaurant in NYC by New York Magazine, and number one in America by the reader-reviewers of Zagat. Uploaded by boston.com.

This elegant restaurant, located in midtown Manhattan, is consistently ranked as one of America’s finest restaurants. Since its opening in 1986, it has consistently received raved reviews from the food press – and from satisfied diners.

I’ll admit right off that Le Bernardin is above my pay grade. I’ve never had the pleasure of tasting its gourmet fare, so I’ll let the food and wine press speak to its merits:

Chef Eric Ripert. Uploaded by nytimes.com.

From Gourmet: “There is a reason why Le Bernardin is constantly rated at the top of every New York restaurant poll: It may be the most perfect combination of France and America that can possibly be achieved in a restaurant.”

From New York: “The city is full of ornate restaurants, but none of them manages to exude the glamour and class of Manhattan the way this one does, without any overweening glitz.”

From Zagat: “Everything in (Chef Eric Ripert’s) elegant French seafood-based cuisine – from the bouillabaisse to the raw/almost raw fish and seafood selections, to the extensive wine list and dreamy desserts – conspires to ensure an unforgettable experience.”

From Forbes: Le Bernardin remains the gold standard of seafood restaurants.”

Related Articles

• Le Bernardin Wins Luxist’s Editors’ Choice Award for Best in Fine Dining (luxist.com)

Food: Peter Luger Steak House

 

The star attraction at Peter Luger is the porterhouse, cut to serve one to four people, and served pre-sliced with creamed spinach and German fried potatoes. Uploaded by roadfood.com

There are lots of world-class steak houses in New York City. Some are new and innovative, such as The Strip House and BLT Prime. And some have become institutions; Sparks and Smith & Wollensky come to mind. But one restaurant is the institution, the must-have steak in the Big Apple: Peter Luger Steak House.

Uploaded by bridgeandtunnelclub.com.

Located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Peter Luger has been delighting New York carnivores since 1887. The main attraction is a large porterhouse, prepared for one to four people. The steak comes to your table pre-sliced, served with signature creamed spinach and German fried potatoes.

Just how great is Peter Luger? The readers of the much-respected Zagat (Great American Things, July 26, 2010) New York Restaurant Guide have chosen it as their favorite for an astonishing 26 consecutive years. Here’s the Zagat commentary, in its unique style:

Now in its 26th consecutive year as our surveyors’ “favorite” steakhouse, this Williamsburg porterhouse specialist “lives up to the hype” as a “quintessential NY experience”, with lots of imitators but “none that compare” to the “real thing”; despite prime prices, theatrically “grumpy service” and an “inconvenient” no-credit-card policy, its worth the trek for what fans call the “best steak in the world – period.”

Related Articles

• The Last Great New York Strip Steak (esquire.com)

Food: Patsy’s Pizza

Photo courtesy of Flickr, uploaded by Captain Scooter.

The American pizza community is basically divided into three camps. First, those who like thin crust pizza (let’s call them the “Smart” pizza lovers). Second those who prefer the deep-dish style (also known as people who don’t understand what pizza is all about). In geographic terms, it’s New York vs. Chicago. The final group is California “pizza”, dough topped with goat cheese, bean sprouts, and other things God never meant on pizza.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit biased on this subject. (You think?) I love a crunchy crust, and nothing is crunchier than a pizza made in a coal-fired brick oven. Patsy’s way.

Photo courtesy of Flickr, uploaded by Home Slice Pizza.

The original Patsy’s is in East Harlem, going strong since 1932. From most places in Manhattan, it’s a longer way to go for a pizza, not as easy as going around the corner. And its atmosphere can best be described as what atmosphere? But it’s worth it for the pizza… Read what Michael Stern of Roadfood.com had to say about it:

It is the simplest pie imaginable, easy to hoist slice by slice, built on a marvelous thin crust with charred spots all along the edge that have the smoky flavor that only a coal oven delivers. Two versions of plain cheese pizza are available: fresh mozzarella, with thin pools of creamy sliced cheese spread out within the microthin layer of tomato sauce, and regular mozzarella on which saltier, slightly oilier shredded cheese is spread evenly all across the surface. They have a very different nature, topping-wise, but they both sport that marvelous wafer-thin charcoaled crust.

This is one of the Great American Things I haven’t personally had the opportunity to try yet. Next trip to NYC, it’ll be a must-do. The only problem is, I may never be able to eat Pizza Hut or Papa John’s again…