Le Bec-Fin: The city's finest dining

Despite the newcomers to the scene of the high-class Philadelphia dining world -- the Steven Starrs and the Neil Steins -- one restaurant remains the absolute top of the city's culinary elite.

Le Bec-Fin, delighting the palettes of wealthy Philadelphians for 30 years, is still the best in the city -- and among the best in the world.

Ornately decorated in an elegant Louis XVI style, the small yet extraordinarily comfortable dining room invites visitors to relax and indulge their hedonistic appetite to the fullest. Guests sit in plush chairs surrounded by an atmosphere of the upmost finery, while the staff caters to their every want or need with an amazing degree of attention.

Le Bec offers lunch and dinner, which both have two seatings. While dinner will run $120 a person -- extraordinarily expensive but understandable for one of the finest restaurants in the world -- lunch is surprisingly inexpensive, with customers getting away for about $40 per person.

(I would not normally consider $40 inexpensive, but given the fact that this is Le Bec-Fin, I think the price is pleasantly low).

We went for lunch, and I can say without a doubt that just because it costs about $80 less than dinner, the food and service even for the midday meal is worth hundreds.

For starters, my friend and I both had the lobster bisque. We wanted, of course, to sample different dishes, but the description on the menu of the bisque looked so amazing that we couldn't resist.

We made a good choice.

The soup itself is perhaps the creamiest, most delicate bisque I have ever had the pleasure of sampling. In the center of the bowl was a wonderful pastry stuffed with pleasant chunks of lobster. Surrounding this island were little pieces of potato, complementing the rest of the soup wonderfully.

For entrees, my friend and I sampled very different dishes, but both were exquisite. I ordered the veal medallions with winter vegetables, which covered in a light sauce. The meat was cooked medium-rare -- chef's preference -- and was hands-down the best veal I have ever had.

Though I generally order my meat medium, I can't imagine having this dish any other way.

My friend ordered the crabcake -- a signature dish of the restaurant -- which was also excellent. It was a bit larger than your average crabcake, and the crab itself was out-of-this-world.

But just as we were starting our entrees, we saw something that truly impressed me.

As the guests were enjoying their entrees, Georges Perrier himself -- dressed in his chef's uniform -- walked slowly through the small dining room observing every detail.

After 30 years as one of the world's most famous chefs, Perrier is still passionate about the service his best-known restaurant offers.

And we weren't even there for the expansive and more-expensive dinner.

Truly, it is the service at Le Bec-Fin that strikes you even more than the world-class food. You don't have to ask for anything at the place -- the multitude of waiters knows intuitively what all guests want the moment that they want it.

And while attentive, the service is never unwanted or obtrusive. Your glass is filled and your plate is cleared without your really noticing that its happening.

Guests are given exactly the right amount of time between courses to allow for digestion and relaxation, but not so much time that they're left looking at their watches.

Service at Le Bec-Fin is as much of an art as the food itself.

For dessert, the restaurant offers as many selections as you want from a very diverse tray. I was too full to sample anything other than the Key Lime Tart and an exquisite coffeecake, but my friend sampled five, including one of the best creme brul‚es I've ever had.

The prices at this Center City insitution, located just a few blocks down Walnut Street from ritzy Rittenhouse Square, are not favorable to the student budget. Unless your last name is DuPont or Rockefeller, dining here regularly is probably not an option.

But that's not the point of Le Bec-Fin.

For those special occasions when you're celebrating something huge, when you're commemorating a once-in-a-lifetime event, Le Bec-Fin is still, and probably always will be, the place to go in Philadelphia.

For the few hours that you're there, you're in for an amazing culinary experience that provides a perfect escape from reality.

I just hope I can bring myself to eat hamburgers again.

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