00:00:00
[Music]
00:00:00
leer is not only one of the best
00:00:02
restaurants in New York City it's one of
00:00:03
the best in the world led by Chef Eric
00:00:06
repair The Establishment has maintained
00:00:08
three Michelin stars ever since the
00:00:09
guide came to New York I went for dinner
00:00:11
and had their eight course Chef's
00:00:13
tasting
00:00:15
menu it proved to be one of the best
00:00:17
meals of my
00:00:19
[Music]
00:00:28
life
00:00:34
it's a rainy miserable day here in
00:00:36
Midtown Manhattan but I cannot contain
00:00:39
my excitement I'm going to a restaurant
00:00:41
unlike any that I've ever experienced
00:00:43
before this restaurant has achieved
00:00:45
almost every major Accolade a restaurant
00:00:47
can get it has three Michelin stars it
00:00:50
maintained three Michelin stars ever
00:00:51
since the Michelin guide came to New
00:00:53
York City it's got multiple four-star
00:00:55
reviews from The New York Times the list
00:00:57
goes on and on the place is absolute
00:01:00
icon New York City and I'm talking about
00:01:03
Le burad two dates I've been to 72
00:01:05
Michelin started restaurants with the
00:01:07
majority of those being one star
00:01:08
establishments I've been to a handful of
00:01:10
two star restaurants but never a three
00:01:12
star but that's going to change in about
00:01:14
a half hour I mean the real reason why I
00:01:17
haven't been to a three star yet is
00:01:19
pretty much money and the fact that
00:01:20
there's just not a lot of them they are
00:01:22
literally the best of the best I've
00:01:25
always wanted to go to Le bardad I've
00:01:26
wanted to go there for years and I kept
00:01:29
saying someday someday I'll go to that
00:01:31
restaurant well someday is today
00:01:34
yesterday I went to the restaurant's
00:01:35
website looked up reservations and saw
00:01:37
literally one available for today at
00:01:40
5:00 p.m. I took it I mean I had some
00:01:44
hesitation because it is a lot of money
00:01:46
for me but when opportunity like that
00:01:48
strikes you just got to seize it because
00:01:51
Life's Too Short just to always say
00:01:53
someday and with that being said it's
00:01:55
time to make the long walk to the
00:01:56
restaurant which is literally right
00:01:58
behind me and make make a dream come
00:02:00
true leeran didn't have it start in New
00:02:02
York rather it opened in Paris back in
00:02:04
1972 by siblings Maggie and jiler Laos
00:02:08
in France leodan was a success it earned
00:02:10
its first Michelin star in 1976 and its
00:02:13
second in 1980 but in 1986 the laosa
00:02:16
made the Bold move of bringing leeran to
00:02:19
NYC the risk paid off only 3 months
00:02:21
after opening The Establishment received
00:02:23
a fourstar review from The New York
00:02:24
Times and have maintained their four
00:02:26
stars to this very day it was after the
00:02:28
unfortunate passing of head chef jilber
00:02:30
Laos that Eric repair took over and
00:02:33
brought the restaurant to new heights
00:02:34
when the Michelin guide came to New York
00:02:36
in 2005 LE Berard Dan earned three stars
00:02:39
and have kept them to this day needless
00:02:41
to say I was pretty damn excited after I
00:02:43
was seated I got a good look at the
00:02:45
dining room it was in 2011 that LE
00:02:47
Berard Dan closed for about a month to
00:02:49
undergo Renovations the next year The
00:02:51
Establishment received a James Beard
00:02:53
award for best restaurant design however
00:02:55
these days leberna Den has received some
00:02:57
criticism for its somewhat outdated
00:02:59
interior but to me the restaurant still
00:03:01
maintains a sense of Elegance and class
00:03:03
it has high ceilings it's spacious and
00:03:05
it's comfortable it wasn't long before I
00:03:07
was greeted by one of the restaurant
00:03:08
samay who presented me with the wine
00:03:10
menu which is extensive Le Berard Dan's
00:03:13
wine director Aldo s has earned a number
00:03:15
of accolades for himself and leeran Sam
00:03:17
joined the restaurant in 2007 when he
00:03:20
was awarded best samay in America and
00:03:22
the following year he was voted as the
00:03:23
best samay in the world leard Dan's wine
00:03:26
collection is massive with over 15,000
00:03:29
bottles which includes vintages dating
00:03:31
as far back as 1875 in terms of price
00:03:34
there are some good affordable options
00:03:36
while there's also the insanely priced
00:03:38
Rarities for instance I spotted a 2003
00:03:41
DRC Magnum for
00:03:43
$50,000 yeah that one was a bit out of
00:03:45
my price range instead I ordered a glass
00:03:48
of the 2021 Satler Hoff salvon Blanc
00:03:51
which at $17 was the most affordable
00:03:53
glass of white wine the restaurant
00:03:55
offered however if I did have more money
00:03:57
to spend I would have chosen the wine
00:03:58
pairing but nevertheless less I still
00:04:00
enjoyed myON Blanc it was crisp and
00:04:02
clean and for the most part it paired
00:04:04
very well with most of the courses in
00:04:06
regards to the food menu it's incredibly
00:04:08
impressive with the sheer number of
00:04:10
options one is presented with I went
00:04:11
with the chef's tasty menu which
00:04:13
includes eight courses for $310 but in
00:04:16
addition there's a vegetarian tasty menu
00:04:18
which includes eight courses but for
00:04:20
$240 plus there's the dinner four course
00:04:23
prefix menu which contains numerous
00:04:25
options it astounded me just the sheer
00:04:28
amount of food the restaurant offered
00:04:29
for such a large dining room not to
00:04:31
mention the fact that the lounge area of
00:04:32
laad Dan has its own menu as well to be
00:04:35
able to handle such a wealth of orders
00:04:37
and to serve that food in an appropriate
00:04:39
time frame is very impressive to me and
00:04:40
speaks to the incredible professionalism
00:04:43
of the kitchen after placing my order I
00:04:44
was presented with the bread there were
00:04:46
four different kinds and throughout my
00:04:47
dinner I got to sample all of them but
00:04:49
the first one I tried was the Brios
00:04:51
which ended up being my
00:04:54
favorite it was light fresh very flaky
00:04:57
and absolutely delicious
00:05:01
the butter was topnotch as well it was
00:05:03
so smooth and had the most satisfying
00:05:07
flavor before my first official course
00:05:09
of the tasting menu I was presented with
00:05:11
three AMU bues the first was an oyster
00:05:14
with a mouette and it hit the
00:05:18
spot the second was a warm Fritter and
00:05:21
it was a very good
00:05:24
bite the third was my favorite it was a
00:05:27
lobster bisque topped with what I
00:05:28
believe was was a Teragon
00:05:30
[Music]
00:05:33
foam it was very rich and flavorful and
00:05:36
contained some pretty large chunks of
00:05:39
lobster finally I was presented with the
00:05:41
first course of the chef's tasting menu
00:05:44
it contained thly sliced tery with a
00:05:46
saffron Jal and extra virgin olive oil
00:05:49
it's something that I've never had
00:05:50
before terrai is a clam which is a
00:05:52
specialty from Japan and it's something
00:05:54
that's not often seen in the US in fact
00:05:56
that massive shell serving as my plate
00:05:58
belongs to the the tery clam which made
00:06:00
for a great
00:06:02
presentation it tasted unlike any other
00:06:05
clam that I've ever consumed it had a
00:06:07
firm almost meat-like texture but with a
00:06:09
great flavor however the olive oil while
00:06:11
nice might have been just a bit too
00:06:13
potent and was a distraction from the
00:06:17
shellfish in addition toasted bread
00:06:19
accompanied the dish to provide another
00:06:21
textural element and while it was good I
00:06:23
thought there could have been something
00:06:24
better to pair with the plate as the
00:06:25
flavor was once again somewhat strong
00:06:28
but still I certainly enjoyed the course
00:06:29
I just felt like there were certain
00:06:31
elements that could have been a bit
00:06:35
better before my next course the bread
00:06:37
man came back to my table and this time
00:06:39
I chose the mini bagette and the faka
00:06:41
with rosemary both were good and out of
00:06:43
the two I enjoyed the faka the most soon
00:06:45
though I was presented with my next dish
00:06:47
and it made my eyes light up ofal
00:06:52
and finish with our Mariner BR mus clam
00:06:57
white wine lemon juice and shine nice it
00:07:01
was a warm scalloped tartara with a
00:07:03
sizable Canal of a cetra caviar swimming
00:07:06
in a mirer sauce the dish was pure
00:07:09
luxurious
00:07:13
decadence the flavors were astounding
00:07:16
the scallops were nicely warmed but how
00:07:18
they were coated in that sauce made them
00:07:20
Heavenly now you would think with that
00:07:22
much caviar that the saltiness would
00:07:24
overwhelm the dish but it didn't
00:07:26
everything was perfectly balanced it's
00:07:28
also one that probably costs a pretty
00:07:30
penny considering the fact that if one
00:07:31
were to choose the course of the $28
00:07:34
four course prefixed dinner menu you
00:07:36
would still have to pay a $50
00:07:38
supplemental charge all I can say is
00:07:40
that I was immensely thankful to have
00:07:42
consumed such a culinary
00:07:46
Masterpiece and the lemongrass Lobster
00:07:50
chry broth excellent thank you so much
00:07:52
up next was a lobster kpao with a squash
00:07:55
herb salad and a Thai curry lemongrass
00:07:58
Boolean
00:08:02
the lobster was of course delicious but
00:08:04
it was the Boolean that really made the
00:08:06
dish it was fresh and herbal and while
00:08:08
Le bardan is a thoroughly French
00:08:10
restaurant there's no doubt that Global
00:08:12
flavors have found their place in the
00:08:16
menu once again I enjoyed another winner
00:08:19
of a course following that the bread man
00:08:21
returned which allowed me the chance to
00:08:23
try the one variety of bread that I
00:08:25
hadn't yet which was the raisin bread as
00:08:27
expected it was solid and I appreciate
00:08:29
the fact that the restaurant's bread
00:08:30
comes in small sizes which gives one the
00:08:32
chance to really try all the options the
00:08:34
odd thing was when I finished my bread
00:08:36
my bread plate and butter were replaced
00:08:39
even though I didn't plan to have more
00:08:40
bread I couldn't let that amazing butter
00:08:42
go to waste but before I got to choose
00:08:44
more my next course was
00:08:47
presented it was a seared languin with a
00:08:49
sweet corn museline and a spiced coconut
00:08:52
lime Emulsion the presentation was
00:08:54
beautiful in its Simplicity and the
00:08:55
listine was perfectly cooked in fact
00:08:58
every fish throughout my entire meal was
00:09:00
flawlessly executed which speaks to the
00:09:02
sh talent and professionalism in the
00:09:04
kitchen in fact one of Le Bernard Dan's
00:09:06
guiding principles is that the fish is
00:09:08
the star of the plates and it really
00:09:09
shows the combination of the museline
00:09:12
and Emulsion were fantastic and paired
00:09:14
with such an amazing crustation equated
00:09:16
to be one of my favorite courses of the
00:09:20
evening after finishing the breadman
00:09:22
made his return so I went with my
00:09:24
favorite option out of the four the
00:09:25
Brios and let me reiterate the BOS was
00:09:29
very
00:09:34
good next up was the paner fluke with
00:09:37
twice baked mini potatoes and an urchin
00:09:39
Boy base
00:09:43
Emulsion the fluke was very tasty the
00:09:46
top was nice and crispy while the rest
00:09:47
of the fish was pleasantly flaky I Lov
00:09:50
the sauce it was complex and had so much
00:09:52
flavor to it but for me the most
00:09:54
memorable aspect of this dish wasn't the
00:09:56
fluke or sea urchin it was the potato I
00:09:59
Can't Describe just how perfect it was
00:10:01
in fact it was probably one of the best
00:10:03
bites of a potato that I've ever had I
00:10:05
know it would probably take away a bit
00:10:07
of the Elegance of the plating but I
00:10:09
wish there were a bit more of those
00:10:10
potatoes because they were amazing
00:10:13
following the fluke was my final Savory
00:10:14
course of the
00:10:16
[Music]
00:10:19
evening it was a steamed helit with a
00:10:22
truffled sun choke puree baby root
00:10:24
vegetables and a sauce Boran the hell of
00:10:26
it was incredible it was so soft tender
00:10:30
and Flaky but the combination with the
00:10:32
Hardy and Meaty sauce took it to another
00:10:35
level that sauce was mind-blowingly good
00:10:38
in fact every sauce that I had at Le
00:10:40
bardan was
00:10:43
astounding I wish the restaurant would
00:10:45
Supply one with pipe pets along with the
00:10:47
silverware so I could suck up every
00:10:49
single molecule of the establishment's
00:10:51
First Rate sauces an interesting point
00:10:54
to note is that if I were to have gotten
00:10:55
the wine pairing this course would have
00:10:57
been paired with a red wine as result of
00:10:59
the sauce in summation the dish was
00:11:05
spectacular transitioning to dessert it
00:11:07
was time for the pallet
00:11:10
cleanser the beautiful cherry dish
00:11:13
consisted of preserved sour cherries
00:11:15
with a gin buttermilk
00:11:18
sorbet as far as pellet cleansers go
00:11:21
that one was really good and far more
00:11:23
complex than others that I've had in the
00:11:25
past whereas pet cleansers from other
00:11:27
restaurants are usually pretty
00:11:28
straightforward in flavor Le burnard
00:11:30
Dan's example had multiple dimensions
00:11:32
and different textural elements it
00:11:33
definitely was a top-notch pre-desert
00:11:37
finally I was presented with the last
00:11:39
course of the tasting menu the Citrus
00:11:41
mateline which consisted of a vanilla
00:11:43
genoise sponge a lemon museline and
00:11:46
summer berries I love the colorful look
00:11:48
of the plate and the luxurious touches
00:11:50
of gold leaf on the Metaline although it
00:11:52
wasn't a real Metaline rather it was a
00:11:54
sponge cake covered with a shell that
00:11:56
took the appearance of a
00:11:57
Metaline
00:12:01
as a whole the dessert was wonderful the
00:12:03
faux mateline maintained a crunchy and
00:12:05
flavorful shell while the creamy sponge
00:12:07
interior was light and
00:12:10
delicious on the side the collection of
00:12:12
berries lent a good freshness and
00:12:13
acidity while a citrus food sorbet gave
00:12:16
the plate another textural component as
00:12:17
well as a variation in temperature the
00:12:19
tasting menu certainly ended on a high
00:12:21
note however my meal wasn't over yet as
00:12:24
I was due for quite the
00:12:27
surprise I was generously given a very
00:12:30
special course one that isn't on the
00:12:31
tasting menu or any menu for that matter
00:12:34
in fact it's a sort of secret dish known
00:12:36
simply as the egg it was created by a
00:12:38
former pastry chef of the restaurant and
00:12:40
consists of a hollowed out egg which
00:12:42
works as a dessert serving vessel inside
00:12:44
it's filled with a milk chocolate pted
00:12:46
creme a caramel foam maple syrup and a
00:12:49
sprinkling of salt the flavors were
00:12:51
familiar but for chocolate lovers it's a
00:12:53
must I absolutely loved
00:12:57
it
00:13:00
to finish things up I was presented with
00:13:01
a nice selection of pedoph for my meal
00:13:04
at laadan was amazing as I've said
00:13:06
before the food was stunning with some
00:13:08
plates containing some of the best food
00:13:09
that I've ever had servicewise it was
00:13:12
First Rate everything operated like a
00:13:14
well-oiled machine every detail of how
00:13:16
the establishment functions seems so
00:13:18
thought out for instance a customer
00:13:20
seated next to me left to use the
00:13:21
washroom in the middle of consuming a
00:13:23
course a server saw this and immediately
00:13:25
rushed to his plate and placed a cover
00:13:27
over it so his food would remain warm
00:13:29
until he returned it's little things
00:13:31
like that that showcase just how
00:13:33
exceptional the service was while the
00:13:34
restaurant can seem a bit intimidating
00:13:36
the reality is is that everyone is there
00:13:38
to ensure their patrons have a great
00:13:40
experience and I certainly had a great
00:13:42
time although while it would have been
00:13:44
nice to share the experience with
00:13:45
someone special I would never let that
00:13:47
stop me from going after what I want
00:13:49
because trust me sitting in leeran with
00:13:52
worldclass food on the table is a hell
00:13:53
of a lot better than being alone in my
00:13:55
apartment waiting for that special
00:13:57
person one should never be be afraid of
00:13:59
dining alone traveling alone or just
00:14:01
being on one's own because Life's too
00:14:03
short and there's true magic to discover
00:14:05
when embracing opportunity and speaking
00:14:07
of being afraid I was terrified of
00:14:09
facing that bill which total to
00:14:11
$356 two but with my tip I spent just
00:14:15
over
00:14:16
$426 to date that was the most that I've
00:14:19
ever spent on a single meal but was also
00:14:21
one of the greatest most memorable
00:14:22
culinary experiences of my entire
00:14:25
[Music]
00:14:27
life
00:14:29
dreams do come true that meal was
00:14:33
absolute perfection that was one of the
00:14:35
best meals I've ever had in my entire
00:14:37
life that was so incredible I enjoyed
00:14:41
every single dish I mean every fish on
00:14:43
the plate was cooked flawlessly it was
00:14:45
just so perfect I'm thinking maybe the
00:14:49
languis Ste was my favorite but that's
00:14:52
so hard to say cuz like I said every
00:14:54
course was just so good and the sauces
00:14:57
that were paired with each dish just
00:14:59
incredible I mean I could literally
00:15:01
subsist for the rest of my life on those
00:15:03
sauces and die a happy man with regards
00:15:06
to the service of Li berad it was
00:15:08
absolutely first race now I'm not going
00:15:09
to lie going into the restaurant was a
00:15:11
little apprehensive just cuz it's such a
00:15:13
fancy place with high prices but I
00:15:16
instantly felt at home and it's thanks
00:15:17
to the incredible staff there's no doubt
00:15:20
about it that was an expensive meal that
00:15:22
was the most costly dinner I've ever had
00:15:24
in my life but it was 100% wor worth it
00:15:29
now one could absolutely have a great
00:15:31
meal just from a humble Street vender
00:15:33
but what I experienced tonight was the
00:15:35
culinary arts executed at the highest
00:15:37
level tonight's dinner is one that I'll
00:15:40
remember forever a good life partially
00:15:43
consists of good memorable moments and I
00:15:45
certainly had one tonight I can't wait
00:15:48
to return to lay bernad that was
00:15:52
[Music]
00:15:57
amazing
