Had anniversary dinner at Le Bernardin tonight. Holy cow, I had forgotten how divine the food was. My favorite course was probably the kampachi/steak tartare topped with caviar on a dashi gel. *drool*

I’ll throw a picture up tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary!!!

What a coincidence! I just made a reservation there for next month. Did you have the chef's tasting menu?

I ate at the Araki in London last night. It was a blissful experience. The chef was kind and friendly. His English wasn't the best but he tried, and one of his assistants explained each dish in perfect English. The staff had a holiday to Umbria where they personally hunted for white truffles that they used throughout the meal. There were 3 appetizers (turnip marinated in dashi stock topped with beluga caviar and wasabi; fatty tuna belly marinated in soy, ponzu, and egg yolk, with avocado, tomato, and buffalo mozzarella covered in white truffles; and steamed black bass with shiitake mushrooms and albino caviar in a soup of the fish's bones), followed by loads of nigiri and two hand rolls at the end. The nigiri was incredible, with the rice at the perfect temperature and with just the right touch of vinegar. Nigiri included 2 pieces of medium fatty tuna belly, 2 pieces of extra fatty tuna belly, seared yellowtail, fatty tuna belly with white truffle, seared tuna belly, squid, sea bream, abalone topped with albino caviar and sudachi, salmon tartare mixed with miso, ginger, and onion topped with beluga caviar, and then the two rolls were Scottish clam topped with yuzu zest, and the most incredible grilled eel hand roll. Oddly there was no tamago, but the dessert was a splendid creation of mochi, pistachio, macadamia nuts, and matcha. The Araki is the most expensive restaurant in London at 300 GBP + 15% service charge, for the food alone. But never have I had a more intimate meal of such opulence. And every flavor was mouthwateringly wonderful.

Looks like Bangkok has a Michelin guide now. Gaggan was awarded two stars. We ate there last year and it was quite an experience.

Bangkok's first Michelin Guide showcases culinary stars | CNN Travel

This was our review of Gaggan: Gaggan-Asia?s Number 1 Restaurant - miles away

Yep the awards are out for BKK. Sadly our restaurant missed out, but there is always next year.

I agree with most of the stars given (besides one or two), but there are some restaurants that are arguably much better than missed out. But that's obviously my opinion.

Eleven Madison Park
 

I had lunch recently at Eleven Madison Park. Here are my thoughts (I'll post some pictures later)

Upon entering the restaurant, I was immediately greeted and asked for my name. My coat and backpack were also taken. I was then escorted to my table by the GM, he was a really nice guy and stopped by several time to see how things were going and to also to just chat, which is something that I have not seen at many Michelin 3* places, he seemed genuinely interested in talking with guests.

At my table were a series of presents to open that included about 5 different amuse bouches as well as my napkin and utensils. It kinda bothered me that the napkin was on the bottom, it was the last thing I opened and I had already started eating, and naturally spilled on myself already! The different amuses were as follows:

• Caviar with creme cheese, egg, and mini everything bagels
• Beet with trout roe and apple
• Cucumber with pumpernickel chips and salmon
• Potato with quail egg and mustard
• Mackerel with fennel and salmon

Each tasted very good, I had mentioned that I do not like egg, so they brought another to have in lieu of the potato and quail egg. The mini everything bagels were especially good!

At this point, I was given several options for the appetizer, fish course, and main course. I chose the seared foie gras, lobster, and duck.

The first dish was seared foie gras with beets, rye, and horseradish. Simply a great tasting dish.

Then came butter poached lobster tail with potato and chanticleers. The lobster was somewhat chewy and hard to cut, but each component of the dish tasted good.

Next, a whole-roasted pumpkin was brought over and cut open in front of me. Then it was brought back to the kitchen to be plated. I was apprehensive about this dish, but it tasted very good, and the pumpkin was bacon wrapped, which always makes things taste better!

The main course was dry aged duck with honey, lavender, and apple. Probably my favorite dish of the afternoon, the crust on the duck was simply amazing. This was served with some brussel sprouts and potatoes on the side. I've never liked brussel sprouts, but the potatoes were good.

At this point, I was asked by the GM if I would like to see the kitchen, and naturally I agreed! I was brought in the back to have a mini pastry cone filled with truffle mouse and topped with black truffle. This was also fantastic, I love black truffle and this really hit the spot. It was also neat to see the kitchen, everything was spotless and it was cool to see after the renovation when everything was still new.

Next was the cheese course, which was pretzel bread topped with a cheddar beer cheese. Again, a fantastic dish.

Last up was an apple cider doughnut with cinnamon ice cream. It was served steaming hot and I devoured it so quickly! I was even offered another seeing how fast I ate it, but I was so full, I couldn't eat another!

With the check (for my wine), I was presented with a chocolate covered pretzel which was not that good.

Overall, the meal was really good, but not the best in the world IMO. The two standouts on the staff were the GM and the sommelier. They both seemed genuinely interested in having conversations with guests. My table captain seemed nice, but not really interested in talking more than he had to.

I also though some of the dishes came out a little colder than they should, but the overall flavors and dish execution seemed to be there and still Michelin 3* quality.

Some other random thoughts: the dining room was never full, I counted at least 4 empty tables that were never occupied during my 3ish hour lunch. At some points, both my water glass and wine glass were empty, a big no-no. And there was a clear hierarchy of tables, not all groups were asked to go back to the kitchen and some were really doted on. There was one table in particular that seemed to always have someone checking on them.

This visit was a lot better then my last experience, about 6 years ago. I would like to go back, but it did not live up to my expectations of being "other-worldly" as had been reported and given their best restaurant in the world award (which I understand and agree is a very subjective list). I can think of a few meals I have had this year that were better.

Thanks for your review. The next time we're in NYC, Eleven Madison park is a must-do for us. My husband would love the "present" concept.

Happy to hear your thoughts on EMP, United747. I had the best meal of my life there in summer 2016, and felt vindicated when they were crowned Best in the World. Not sure when I'll be back for the new menu, but definitely some point next year.

A friend was visiting London last weekend, and we made it to Le Gavroche (2*), Helene Darroze at the Connaught (2*), and Hakkasan Mayfair (1*). I was very pleased all around. I was especially impressed by the premium wine pairings at Helen Darroze. The sommelier asked if I had any special requests, and I told him I'll leave it up to him to pick what went best with my menu but let him know that I am fond of white Burgundy. And boy did he deliver, serving a Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2008 with my halibut dish. I also received Tignanello 2006 with my venison and pumpkin, and Chateau d'Yquem 1996 with my pear, ginger, and honey dessert. I didn't enjoy the d'Yquem 96 as much as the 98 Yquem I have previously had at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester.

Ha, we had the 98 last weekend, too!

Taverne zum Schäfli, Switzerland
 

This autumn I visited two Michelin-starred restaurants: Taverne zum Schäfli (2 stars) in Wigoltingen, Switzerland (near German border close to Constance) and Maison des Têtes (1 star) in Colmar, France.

I wrote a short review of the Schäfli in my blog with photos of each course, see Taverne zum Schäfli - Fine Dining Switzerland

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Truffle anyone? This one was really good...
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Here is the gist of it:
I have to admit that I expected a little more - to me it was rather a one star experience, which is still great, of course (first world problems). But there was no common theme in the dishes and there were some (very) minor flaws at times. Service was flawless, though.
Overall it was still great, but I had direct comparison to the 1-star Maison des Têtes in Colmar and that seemed more consistent and I can still remember single dishes now. Considering the price difference (300 CHF vs 160 EUR overall for one person) I would vote for the Maison des Têtes ;) Review of the latter with photos will follow soon.

Earlier this year I had a fantastic experience in Hamburg, Germany at the Jacob's Restaurant (2 stars), btw: Jacobs Restaurant - Fine Dining Hamburg

We truly do have first world problems on this thread! But life is short, so why not end the meal with something nice.

EMP Pictures
 

Bless you. Your review was sufficient to persuade me that 11 Mad is where I want my wife and me to celebrate our first grandchild. ^

Just finished our annual culinary weekend in San Francisco.

Dinner at 2* Acquerello: we thought the food was worthy of 3*, a little on the sweet side as has been described previously, and the wine pairings and wine service was closer to 1* (but improved after complaints about service temperature). Overall, really enjoyed our meal. Would return.

Lunch at 1* In Situ: loved it as much this time as we had last year. The only repeat dish was Osteria Francescana's Oops I Dropped the Lemon Tart, which was executed a bit more sloppily this year than last. All the dishes were truly delicious. We had dishes here that we had enjoyed at Central in Lima and at Mikla in Lima, and they were as good as we remember (while being a bit distinct). Will return for sure, probably an annual trek for us.

Dinner at 3* Coi: we really enjoyed this meal, despite the latest chef change. We were underwhelmed here 3 years ago. The food was fantastic, more adventurous and bombastic than I remember from 3 yrs ago, definitely more worthy of 3*. Service was fabulous. Fun staff, like we remember from 3 years ago. Will be eager to try out the new chef's menu in another year.

We've always enjoyed Acquerello and, as a repeat visitor, the service becomes much higher touch and conversational. That said, Ms. Boh generally infiltrates herself into the kitchen at virtually every restaurant we visit and ingratiates herself with the chefs as well. At Acquerello that seemed to earn us several more dishes than originally specified.