Fine dining at a Venerable Philadelphia Institution – Le Bec-Fin

In honor of the triple celebration of two birthdays (my husband’s and son’s) and Mother’s Day we treated ourselves to lunch at Georges Perrier’s Le-Bec-Fin. Le-Bec-Fin which translates into “Fine Palate” is one of the finest French restaurants in the country – it used to be a Mobil 5 star restaurant until April this year (08) when it changed to assume a more relaxed atmosphere and added on an a la carte menu. The main dining room is a magnificent space with large triple crystal chandeliers and comfortable chairs around rich cream clothed tables with fresh cymbidium orchids. My husband and I opted for the 5 course “menu degustation” or tasting menu while our children chose to get items off the a la carte menu. We began the meal with a chilled white asparagus soup that was accompanied by a green asparagus salad. The soup was smooth, velvety and delicious with the spears of green asparagus providing a snappy crisp freshness. This was followed by a light and tasty pan-seared tuna dish garnished with a spring pea puree and a honey and hibiscus sauce. The next course was especially memorable and exquisite – seared diver’s scallops served with a lobster emulsion and topped with micro-greens. Roasted organic duck breast with morels and fava beans provided a flavorful robust main course that went beautifully with the Montrachet Pinot Noir we had chosen. Our children enjoyed the playful cone of fries with different dipping sauces, the very lovely mushroom ravioli with ivory sauce and the seared scallops with lobster emulsion that was also the special for the day. The shrimp tempura with sweet and sour dipping sauce that they also ordered was not a hit with anyone – we all felt that the shrimp needed some acidity like lemon to bring out the taste. The best and final part of the entire experience at this restaurant must be the dessert cart. A double-decker cart loaded with the most delectable and beautiful desserts is wheeled to the table and you get to taste as many of the offerings as you like. I tasted the silky smooth flourless chocolate cake, the chocolate and raspberry cake, a bit of the lemon tart, and candied pineapples with crème anglaise. My husband opted for the pear cake, the hazelnut dacoise and some of the super-light vanilla soufflé. The choice was simple for our children, chocolate and more chocolate – they had the chocolate and raspberry cake and the signature chocolate cake which, is a chocolate covered, chocolate and espresso cake sandwiched with chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate ruffles. The dessert cart was certainly a wonderful end to a very delightful meal. This is the perfect restaurant for a special celebration.