Per Se

10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
(212) 823-9335



How a New York trip that was originally planned around discounted meals during New York Restaurant Week ended up being reservations for a party of six at Per Se, no one knows. But who can pass up an opportunity to eat at the best restaurant in the U.S.?

We arrived in New York on Saturday and had 6:00PM reservations for Sunday. After arriving at JFK, I had a message from "Jonathan" from Per Se asking me to call back. Calling back immediately for fear of a lost reservation, I was able to reach Jonathan who proceeded to confirm our reservation and asked if we'd be interested in dining within a private room. This room would be available to us the entire night and we'd have the option to dine at a more "reasonable hour" if we so chose to. Apparantly, 6:00PM isn't a "reasonable" hour to have dinner in NY. At first I thought to myself, "What's the catch?", but not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I thought to myself, "I don't care what the catch is" and replied, "Yes, we'd like a private room! But 6:00PM is still fine for us." I don't think if we've ever been more excited about a meal.


The famous blue doors of French Laundy and Per Se

Winter 2010 Tasting Menu

1. oysters and pearls - One of TK's signature dishes. Light and creamy. Oysters had a suble sweetness. Caviar added a nice briny/saltiness.


2. amuse bouche - We're suckers for anything served in an egg shell. Willing suckers as we've yet to be let down by any dish served in this format. Although not quite as good as the egg dish at Providence, this one did not disappoint.


3. terrine of hudson valley moulard duck foie gras - It seems like all the yummy poultry comes from the Hudson Valley. So it's no surprise that this liver from the duck from Hudson Valley was quite delicious.


4. salade de topinambours - The men got the foie while the ladies had the salad. From the sound of things, it seemed like this was a tasty dish.


5. herb roasted columbia river sturgeon - A very hearty piece of fish. Very ornate presentation. But flavor wise, nothing really stood out.

6. pan seared day boat sea scallop - A well prepared piece of mollusk. Nice crispy exterior and natural sweetness really came through. The crispy pieces of garlic added a very pleasant extra dimension.

7. liberty farms's pekin duck breast - High quality piece of protein. Liberty Farms seems like the other place to get your bird on if you're not getting them from Hudson Valley.


8. snake river farms' calotte debeuf grillee - Very tender piece of meat. This was from the "cap" of the filet, so it's the best of the best. Served with Hen of the Woods mushroom. There isn't a cooler name for a mushroom.


9. fondue de vacherin fribourgeois - Cheese was very aromatic. Brioche was awfully buttery and drenched in oil. The winner of this was actually the pear.
Yes, pear + cheese = yummy.


cappaccino



10. mandarin orange sorbet - Very good pre-dessert. Nice palate cleanser.


11. pear and caramel - Prettier than it tastes. Not bad but nothing that wow'd the palate.


12. monte blanc - Ditto.


13. souffle - Ditto...again.


14. mignardises - homemade chocolates - Chocolates with a bunch of different flavors inside. I didn't take notes and have a bad memory.


15. mignardises -truffles, pistachio chews, caramel - Too much food...


Check for our party of 6

Inside the Per Se kitchen

The restaurant is HUGE. The front of the house is about 1/4 of the entire restaurant. We had the opportunity to tour the back of the house which had two huge kitchen areas, a small banquet facility, private offices, a chocolate room (yes, a room just for chocolates), and a bakery.

When taken as a whole, this was the best dining experience we've ever had. The food was of an extremely high quality. The service was even better. Our Maitre 'd, Jonathan, was an absolute pleasure. All our needs were attended to and at no time did it feel pretentious. An absolutely pleasurable dining experience. Thomas Keller's attention to detail, from the food down to the napkins, is impeccable. He truly deserves all his accolades and this was definitely a dinner we'd never forget.