Then when?, G.B. and I sighed, after finishing our fifth course during the "Ultimate Dinner" at La Mer.

But dishes kept arriving and we slowly sunk deeper and deeper into our chairs, waxing poetic about this sauce, that texture, the moonlit ocean and the impeccable service.

Dinner at La Mer was indeed the "Ultimate" in every imaginable sense of the word.

No one dish tasted alike. No one sauce overpowered another. And no one presentation stood out over the others.

French native chef Yves Garnier has triumphantly created a nine-course menu that offers incredible balance, from the silky smoked foie gras played against the crunch of macadamia nuts and sliced apples, to the roasted Chilean sea bass fillet punctuated with a juniper berry sauce.

Every year for the past five years, La Mer has been home to the Remy Martin Louis XIII "Ultimate Dinner," an exclusive nationwide event in which fewer than 100 restaurants are invited to participate.

While the price may be steep — $155 per person, for a minimum of two — consider it a holiday treat.

As we were led to our table, waiters politely cleared the path, missing no opportunity along the way to welcome us to this five-star restaurant.

Our waiters for the evening, Chris, Tom and Mark, moved with ballet-like grace, unobtrusively tiptoeing around us to remove and replace forks, knives, plates and stemware, all the while wearing smiles, offering friendly banter and, of course, a seemingly endless procession of dishes.

First came the amuse bouche consisting of a puffy pastry pillow filled with roasted vegetables. Then came the lightly-smoked, velvety foie gras, followed by a lobster creme brulee that was served just like a creme brulee dessert would be in a white ramekin. And it was every bit as rich and calorie-laden. An accompanying timbale of hon-shimeji mushrooms lent an earthy essence to the dish, adding even more depth to the flavors.

As recommended by Tom, a glass of light-bodied Roland Lavantureux Chablis 2002 was a tasteful pairing. The wine's honeysuckle-and-mineral profile married well with the creamy brulee.

A brief repose allowed us to take in the elegant surroundings and build up our stamina for the next five — yes, that's a handful more — courses.

Served with a small mound of risotto, the flamed langoustine was delicate and glistened with a jus prepared from the tiny lobster's own shell.

Garnier's classic French culinary training came out loud and clear with the next dish: sauteed ris de veau (sweetbread), laced with a Grenoble-style sauce made with stock, butter, capers and lemon.

Because demand for moi has outpaced supply, Garnier substituted Chilean sea bass fillet for the Island fish. Bits of translucent flaky meat separated effortlessly from the fillet, making this Chilean fish a wise substitution.

To cleanse the palate before the next course — supposedly the "main entree" as described by Chris, Tom and Mark — a cordial glass of sorbet was served and spiked with Remy Martin VSOP cognac. It was a teaser to the reason why this dinner is themed the "Ultimate."

Also tres French was the veal medallions, doused in a peppery grand veneur sauce with hints of currant jelly and creme fraäche, then surrounded by two cute little mousselines of celery root and chestnut.

We were willing to call it the night until the cheese cart rolled around and G.B. couldn't resist having a small wedge of the double-cream Pont L'Ev�que brie. And I had to have a bite of the Roquefort.

With only enough room for the evening's piece de resistance — a splash of Remy Martin's Louis XIII cognac — we asked that our dessert be packed to go.

Gingerly setting the Baccarat crystal bottle of Louis XIII on our table, Tom meticulously poured G.B. and me a three-quarter-ounce tasting of this perfumey elixir. I stared fixedly as the oily liquid trickled into the Riedel cordial glass, anticipating its warmth swirling in my mouth and sliding down my throat.