Post by holger on Jun 3, 2008 9:14:21 GMT -5
Again, thanks to all for the Birthday Greetings. As promised, here is the description of the dinner. For those of you who don't know Philadelphia Le Bec-Fin is a truly upscale French restaurant started many years ago by Georges Perrier. For the last several years it is in a great building on Walnut between 15th and 16th Streets. If you are ever in the city, you should seriously think of dining here.
The food has alsway been superb and very classically French. last year after redecorating still in a traditional style, Perrier decided to move from the set dinner menu at around $150 per person without wine or service to an a la carte menu largely because some patrons no longer wished for multiple courses and cream based sauces.
We do try to go a few times a year and this birthday dinner was the first with the new menu. The service and decor were wonderful and the three of us enjoyed the food which was excellent. The sauces are no longer cream based but were still savory and perfect. The bill with drinks but not service came to $367 for three of us.
Here is the menu. Husband started with his very dry martini and granddaughter and I had glasses of champagne. With drinks we had a small mussel amuse.
I started with two lobes of foie gras on slightly toasted round with a Rouennnaise sauce. Husband had Tuna Tartar and GD a cold artichoke soup. There was nothing left on any plate.
My main course was a whole Dover Sole, fileted at the table and served over wild rice with grilled baby asparagus and with a fabulous sauce that had a wine and small amount of cream. Husband had a New yourk Strip Steak with a wine sauce and a souffle of potatoes as well as asparagus. GD had Duck Breast with white asparagus and a wine based sauce that she could not get enough of. Everything was beautifully presented and perfectly cooked.
We had wine with the main course. A French Sauv. Blanc for me, a Rhone Valley Red for husband and GD had a French Chardonney.
For desserts we all picked from the dessert cart and were each able to sample several of the house prepared cakes, souffles and tarts. Then we had a free plate with an assortment of small sweets including macarons.
Ended with coffee and tea.
For a Monday night, the dining room was quite full. You generally need to reserve several weks in advance. I would compare the quality of the food with Ambroisie but for much less money. They still have a multi course tasting menu at $140. Along with Vetri, this is one of the two best restaurants in the city.
hahahha