...and I eat

I eat; I eat often. I eat good things, I eat bad things, and I eat things just for the sake of eating. Sometimes, however, comes along a chance to eat something out of the ordinary, something that will haunt your taste buds for days if not weeks to come. One of these experiences was at Bymark, where I recently went for Winterlicious. I must tell you, I am not used to fancy, classy places, so along with the excitement at the promise of good food, I was also nervous as to how people there would look at me, whether they would look down their noses at ordinary “little” me for not being up to par for their fabulous restaurant or just plain ignore me. My fears were quickly alleviated.

When we stepped out the taxi, (my rolls driver had the night off) a valet opened the door for us and allowed us entry. My first impression was that of friendliness. The hostess, a big smile on her face, promptly delivered us to our table. I think we lucked out on that aspect as we were seated in a corner booth, very plush very comfortable, so comfortable in fact that I instantly had the urge to cuddle up to the handsome man sitting beside me. But I repressed the urge and tried to look as if I belonged there, which of course I did (belong there that is). From where I was, I had view on most of the restaurant, the atmosphere and the lighting were hush yet very inviting. I think even the sound of the world crashing around us would have sounded muffled.(In a good way of course, after all who wants to know the world is coming to an end.)

Now let’s finally get to the best part (literally); the food. I started the orgy of the senses with Seared Yellow Fin tuna with spiced mango, pickled leek hearts, scallions and Yuzu dressing. Why did I choose this fabulous appetizer? Well, the obvious question after reading the description is why not, but more then that is Yuzu dressing. I was clueless as to what it was and well I love trying unknown and new things, makes me feel like a bit of an adventuress. (Without the danger part). The taste of the sauce was something that was vaguely familiar to me but at the time I couldn’t put my finger on it. Actually at the time I didn’t try putting my finger on anything but the food in my plate. (No worries, I used my knife and fork like a civilized person…) As it turns out, I found out (after I googled it) that Yuzu is a tangerine-size variety of citron, a species of citrus fruit with a thick, bumpy rind. Trust me it doesn’t sound half as good as it tasted. The slightly bitter taste was perfect accent for the melt in your mouth tuna. It was all I could do not to moan in perfect ecstasy.

That was followed by Grilled striped sea bass with crisp skin, oven cured tomatoes,fingerling potatoes, herb tapenade and crisp capers. Wonderful, flavorful, light…well it was all that and more. The cured tomatoes, little tomatoes with spices cooked in the oven for a long time (that’s ok I didn’t know either what they were until I saw them on my plate) were so tasty, I even opened my eyes wide in surprise at the delicate taste. (one could have believed I had never even seen a tomato before). The sea bass, well maybe, it’s just because I love fish, maybe it was because it felt as though everything was so well harmonized together that I thought I had a concerto happening on my palate, but whatever it was I felt happy, content to just sit there and let the flavors melt together and grandly entertain all the little buds in my mouth.
A for the desert, I don’t need to say anything but the name. I am a woman, a woman addicted to chocolate favoring cheesecakes above all other cakes, so when I saw warm orange scented cheesecake with candied peel, syrup and warm chocolate ganache on the menu, it wasn’t a choice. It was a must. Although I was already full from the meal, the desert disappeared as if I still was starved. It seemed as if every bite had a different taste…one with chocolate ganache, one with syrup, one with candied peel, one just ganache, one just cheesecake… and finally to finish it all off in a very classy way... I licked my plate clean off all ganache! (Well not really but I surely thought about it).

The people working there were friendly and strangely enough seemed as human as you and me. One waiter even took the time to check out the backside of a particularly attractive girl!
The only drawback of dining at Bymark is the next day, when you are so full of both food and delicious memories that all other food appears bland and unappetizing. But I say it’s worth it!