Eric Ripert is haunting me. Everywhere I turn, he is there. If you are not yet a full blown foodie fanatic, or if you are not from New York, you might not yet know who he is. Let me introduce you. No need really to tell you about all of the famous chefs this French born gentleman has cooked with. He is the famous chef now. Le Bernardin Restaurant is the top restaurant in New York City. Eric Ripert is the king of seafood, and Le Bernardin is his temple. The French did not bring their system of famed Michelin stars to the U.S. until 2005. Le Bernardin took the highest honor of three stars. Zagat has rated this restaurant as the best in New York for the past seven years. GQ called Le Bernardin the best restaurant in America and one of seven food temples of the world. So why, you ask, is Eric Ripert haunting me?  It was around this time of year, about two years ago, that I began investigating New York restaurants.  I was planning to whisk my sweetheart away to NYC to propose. Although, I wouldn’t be proposing in the restaurant, I wanted to have the best reservation in town to celebrate.  I first tried calling Mario Batali’s Babbo. To get a reservation to Babbo, you have to call several months to the day, first thing in the morning. If you don’t call them then, you don’t get in. I had already missed my deadline for Babbo. After doing some investigating, I realized that Le Bernardin was the top place, and would fit our love for seafood. I called and was bestowed with the golden ticket. I had a reservation to Le Bernardin. You maybe haven’t heard of Eric Ripert too much previously. The reason is, he has not spent a lot of time doing television. Unlike other celebrity chefs, he spends most of his time cooking in his restaurant. My proposal in NYC went far better then imagined.  My new fiancé and I were just having a ball being together and enjoying NYC.  My wife knows me, and my desire sometimes, to be over the top. I had already surprised her with a trip to NYC, and the proposal that she had always dreamed about.  When I informed her of our dinner reservations, she decided that we didn’t need to go to an over the top dinner.  She wanted to do something simple and believed that we didn’t need to spend the exorbitant amount of money that Le Bernardin would cost.  While my wallet would thank her, my inner foodie was devastated. We both also have an extreme love for pizza. We cancelled the reservation to Le Bernardin and went to the church for pizza worship. John’s Pizza is literally in an old church, just off Broadway. So there we were in the church, on the day of our engagement, eating pizza and as happy as ever. Now, however, Eric Ripert is everywhere, as if he were cursing me for the decision. I turn on Top Chef, and there he is making a guest appearance.  I go to the book store and suddenly, there he is with his Le Bernardin cook book. He didn’t used to be there. I was having a nice dinner with fellow foodies, who were speaking of great restaurants, and they mentioned wanting to go to Le Bernardin. Even Tony Bourdain has mentioned how Ripert is one of his best buds. Now, today I pick up the newspaper. A headline in the flavor section says, “Eric Riper has star power.”  This Saturday, his new television show will premiere on PBS, entitled Avec Eric. Yes, folks. I admit it. I am a foodie and I have sinned. I turned down a reservation at one of the greatest restaurants in the world.   Maybe all is not lost after all. I go to the website for Avec Eric, and he seems to share much the same philosophy of my own. The web states the following:

 "Great cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. High-quality ingredients and simple methods are all you need. Mix in some good friends and great locations and you’ve got a truly transcendent experience. I want to show you how a simple meal becomes a shared adventure; the rewards are new insight into the nature of food and a deeper respect for food’s meaning in our lives.

I have many such adventures planned for us. Over the next few months, we’re going to visit new places, meet new people and cook foods—some new, some familiar–together. I know we’ll inspire and learn from each other as we go.

I’ll share recipes and techniques and tell you my stories. And I hope to hear from you too. Come along with me. We’ll have fun, I promise."

 This sounds much the same as my own foodie philosophy.   Simple methods, high-quality ingredients, and great friends are all you need. That day in New York, I indeed had all of that. I have a memory that will last eternally.  That’s all that is important.   Often, you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a great meal.  In the words of the Beatles, “Love is all you need.”   So Eric, I hope you forgive me.   While my inner foodie has been haunted by you, I believe the philosophy of food that we share, will allow my inner foodie to be at peace. Stop haunting me Eric!