[BottlesOf]

Both very good. Le Bernardin was better.


The maitre'd and ownwer of Le Bernardin, Maguey Lacoze, was wearing what appeared to be the poofy shirt from Seinfeld, and I almost cracked up. The fish, while outstanding, should be served hot, not warm, like it was. I'm pretty sure this is deliberately done and that fish is not supposed to be served at the same temperature as meat or poultry, but I would've preffered the cooked food to be hotter.

The lobster entreeat Le Bernardin (Baked Lobster; Braised Endives, Enoki and Black Trumpets; Bourbon-Black Pepper Sauce) was far superior to the equivalent poached lobster dish at Cru, the latter had a consistency of being a tad rubbery, as if undercooked, although the color of the flesh suggested it was cooked fine.

While I don't usually go for halibut, it was the best fish item I tasted on the menu (Tasted about 4 or 5) (Poached Halibut "Salsa Verde": Clam Juice, Roasted Garlic, Herb Purée and Lemon Juice; Warm Crab and Raw Matsutake Mushroom Salad)

Cru had better freebies from the chef. Serving a canape, and then a plate of 3 amuse bouches. Le Bernardin won in the petits fors battle with an awesome dark chocolate doohicky and tiny lemon custard thingy which was just awesome.

If I had to assign Zagat ratings for the experience, I'd give LB a 27 or 28 and Cru a 25 for food. If I were the NYT, I'd give Cru 2 stars and LB 3.