The Bernards Inn

My older daughter always requests The Bernards Inn for her birthday dinners, so we were there recently to celebrate. They seated us by the piano player as requested, but I have to say that this year's piano player somehow wasn't as much fun as last year's guy….he did play Happy Birthday as expected, but I couldn't tell whether he was flirting with one of the waitresses or just bored. The birthday girl had a steak and French fries and gobbled her dinner happily and hungrily. I'm sure we'll be back to The Bernards Inn for her birthday again next year. Her sister (who always chooses the Limestone Café in Peapack for her birthday dinners, both for the rack of lamb and the birthday cake) was less adventuresome, sticking to French fries and plain pasta. Rex enjoyed the quail appetizer and suckling pig entrée. I had an amazing tuna sashimi appetizer and a not-so-great buffalo steak, with my palate much more likely to blame than the chef. I had never tried buffalo meat before and wanted to try something different. The waitress warned me that I might find it more "gamey" than beef steak, and I have to say that I'm not sure I have an appropriate understanding of gamey…I found that my buffalo steak tasted like the calves liver (and onions) that my mother would try to get me to eat every few years when I was growing up. The initial taste of the buffalo steak was delicious, but it left a liverish aftertaste in my mouth. No more buffalo for me….I'll stick with the lobster next time we go to The Bernards Inn. To accompany our meal, Rex and I both had "flights" of wine, which was either a special, or something The Bernards Inn has recently introduced. We both started with a flight of Chardonnays, then Rex had a flight of Cabernet and I had a flight of Pinot Noir. Fun for a change of pace from sharing a bottle. Both girls enjoyed the molten chocolate cake for dessert, and I enjoyed a trio of chocolates. We'll be back….