The Cuisine of Top Chef Judges

Last week, I met with some blog readers, one of whom made mention of my boyfriend, since he tends to make the blog quite often.  He is my constant dining companion.  He loves food and he is always willing to debrief a meal with me. 

You may also notice sometimes that for a girl who blogs about deals, I occasionally hit up a restaurant way out of my price range.  Sometimes this is because I am celebrating an event.  But for the most part, my trips to restaurants of luxury are courtesy of two people, who I happen to call Mom & Dad.  They are very generous people, who also greatly enjoy food, wine, and all sorts of restaurant adventures.  Recently, these generous folks treated me, and Alex too of course, to dinners at Colicchio & Sons and Le Bernardin.  As you know, Tom Colicchio is the Head Judge on Top Chef, and the Chef of Colicchio & Sons, and Eric Ripert was a judge on Top Chef this past season, and he is the Chef at Le Bernardin.  So, we were on a mini top chef tour.  Between these two reservations, Alex's brother came to town and we checked out Craft, another restaurant of Tom's.  Needless to say, the past month has been a great month for food.

Wait, where are my pictures?  Sorry.  I just couldn't do it.  The restaurants were so nice, and I was squealing with excitement, that I could not bring myself to distract my attention away from the experience and into the photos.

Colicchio & Sons in Chelsea replaced Colicchio's Craftsteak.  The setup is basically the same.  The waiters are quite chummy, which is nice.  It has a very trendy and classy vibe, which I liked a lot.  I faced away from the dining room and stared at bottles and bottles of wine, which is like staring at gold in my world.  The pull apart rolls at this restaurant are fantastic.  And I recommend the heirloom tomato salad - you have never seen nearly as many delicious tomatoes in your life!  The portions at this restaurant are reasonable to more than reasonable, so you will get your money's worth.  The pork belly appetizer is another must, and really any fish entree should tickle your fancy.  Whatever you do, ORDER THE DOUGHNUTS FOR DESSERT.  Best doughnuts ever!  

I would say Colicchio & Sons is worth a trip.  The food is prepared nicely and not presented in an overly pretentious way.  The restaurant seems to focus on how good the food is, not in what weird way to present it to make it look more expensive than it is.  

As for Craft, I did the tasting menu and Oh.My.God it was fantastic.  And seven tastings of Tom Colicchio's food for $108 is so worth it. The pork belly was fantastic.  Pork belly must be a Colicchio staple, and I am not complaining.  My favorite dish was the zucchini agnolotti.  This pasta was a perfect step up in heartiness after the hamachi.  Word to the wise though - if you are not into duck and other meats, don't do the tasting menu.  Meat is the name of the game at Craft, so go for the meat! 

Le Bernardin was a different experience from the Colicchio experience.  First off, Le Bernardin is a lot less modern looking than Tom's restaurants.  It has more of a classic feel.  And note that this restaurant is prix-fixe, at $112 for four courses.  There is no a la carte.  You have to be ready to spend that  much money.  The tasting menu is $138.  There are more exclusive tasting menus and some wine pairings too, which far exceed $150. 

I bet you weren't dying to know what the bread was like at Le Bernardin, but it was so good!  The bread man comes over and offers you about 7 different bread choices from potato brioche (oh yeaaaa) to whole wheat to sourdough to all sorts of other things.  Bread man is very present, and he will give you as much bread as you want.  Treat him with respect.  

As for the four courses, two are appetizers, one is an entree, and one is dessert.  Although all of the food is good, I would say the appetizers are the best, and the desserts, although good, are not overly exciting.  Now, you will not be at a loss for choices, because there are several choices for each course.  The menu will be explained to you in full, and the waiters are more than happy to help you make selections.  The fluke was perfect.  The calamari was original, as it was stuffed with prawns.  I found it fascinating, and tasty too.  And the red snapper is a great choice for an entree.  I got a special birthday dessert, which was super sweet considering we never told anyone and they must have just overheard us talking about it.

So what separates Le Bernardin from other restaurants?  The service is impeccable.  There are least 5 people waiting on you.  There is a person for your bread, for your wine, to put your bag on a stool so it doesn't fall, a person for the menu, a person for the plates, and all sorts of other people.  It is kind of like being at a showcase of food, because the whole restaurant is like a well oiled machine.

Next time you are deciding what fancy place to check out, let me know what your goal is.  Each restaurant seemed to have a different goal.  At Colicchio & Sons, the goal is to give diners a modern dining experience, with familiar ingredients cooked to perfection.  At Craft, the goal seems to be to serve dishes with unique and surprising twists.  And at Le Bernardin, the goal is to deliver a holistic dining experience from beginning to end, complete with bread, wine, food, and service.

What fancy place should I try next?

Have a delicious day!

NYC Menu Girl