Per Se

There are few restaurants in the world that consistently deliver perfection. These are the restaurants against which all others are measured. Thomas Keller’s French Laundry is one of those restaurants and Per Se, his New York replica of the French Laundry, is as well. Per Se was not given 3 Michelin stars by accident. Just as with anything that has notoriety, one wonders- will it live up to the hype?

It absolutely does. The 9 course menu at Per Se changes daily, consisting of either the “chef’s tasting menu” or the “tasting of vegetables.” We chose the regular chef’s tasting menu and incorporated some additional courses from the vegetable. Our waiter, Michael, catered to our every whim, making recommendations and adjustments as we saw fit. The attention to detail in the service at Per Se is unparalleled. A caviar dish is served with a mother-of-pearl spoon because of the poor effect that metal has with caviar. A gin and tonic is made with homemade tonic, taking the drink to another level.

I really enjoyed exchanging banter with the female sommelier who spoke to me like an equal. Sometimes sommeliers forget that the purpose is to listen and help the patron, rather than showboat their wine knowledge. She was fun to rant with and helped us select the perfect bottles as we progressed through each course.

The décor at Per Se is meant to mimic the French Laundry, with its famous blue door and simple, quiet tones of brown and white. The space is not highly stylized, allowing the food to shine without distraction. Its high position in the Time Warner building, however, allow for spectacular views of Central Park. Seats by the windows are worthwhile.

The meal kicked off with the signature Thomas Keller salmon tartare ice cream cones along with some mini gruyere filled puffs. Now begins an absolute circus of dishes. We began with the celery root veloute then had two dishes each of a confit of young fennel bulb with mission fig marmalade as well as a soft boiled hen egg with hen of the woods mushrooms. Following this was a cauliflower “panna cotta” with an oyster glaze and white sturgeon caviar. A Gruner Veltliner that Michael suggested was an appropriate partner for the veggies.

We move on now to two foie gras dishes: the peanut butter “financier” which is composed of layers of foie gras and concord grape gelee with a balsamic glaze. A fancy PB and J. The other foie dish was a sautéed foie gras with frisee. We gobbled up both on brioche. A silver tray with tiny pots of exotic salts was placed on our table, containing anything from red Brittany salt to “Jurassic” salt, to a black volcanic salt from Hawaii. These were fun to match with each subsequent course.

We then sampled pastas including a papardelle and a risotto with corn and Parmigianno-Regianno, both served with a mountain of freshly shaved truffles on top. Seafood came next with langoustines “a la plancha” served with a confit of Yukon gold potatoes. A sea bass followed with chanterelles, artichokes, carrots and a violet artichoke emulsion. Both seafood preparations were delicate, allowing the freshness of the fish to be in the spotlight. Seafood was paired with a 1996 Mersault which was showing really nicely after being decanted for us.

Next came a braised pork belly with cream peas, sweet potato puree, and pea tendrils, hedonistically salty and rich. Cervelle de veau (veal brains) with beet, Burgundy truffles, and caramelized endive arrived next. This was my first veal brains experience. They certainly had a distinct, chewy texture but were cooked perfectly, erasing any squeamishness. My friend has a love for Amarone so we ordered a Giuseppe Quintarelli to enjoy with our final meat courses. A saddle of lamb was tender with rainbow swiss chard and pepper scented yogurt. Finally a sirloin of Wagyu beef melted in the mouth with bone marrow and matsutake mushroom.

It is difficult to compete with such an array of explosive flavors during the main meal but desserts held their end well. Two cheese courses followed: an aged goat and then a blue. Our dessert wine was an Amabile del Cere Bandito, a 1990 late harvest. It was honey sweet and had a beautiful amber color from its old age. The real sweets began with individual creme brulees, a testament to traditional French desserts. A “tentation au chocolate” followed with a milk sorbert and hazelnut streusel. Dessert continued (can you believe it?) with the famous coffee semifreddo with sugar coated doughuts, a course of espresso with candies and then finally the king of all chocolate trays. A server emerged with a tray containing nearly 60 individual chocolates in unique flavors like fennel, pumpkin, and quince. They were lined up and separated into milk, dark, and white. We each selected our final few sweet bites. I was amazed at the server’s ability to recite each choice by heart. We exited with amazingly full bellies and a gift of Per Se macaroons in hand.

The cuisine at Per Se is a graceful fusion of borrowings from Asian, French, and Italian cuisines. Very high expectations were surpassed with course after course of successful dishes. With nearly twenty courses, one would expect some to fall flat, but I was consistently impressed for the entire six hour meal and full for three days afterwards

Per Se- 10 Columbus Circle at 60^th Street, 4^th Floor
Cuisine- New American, French
Word to the wise- Those blue doors don’t operate. Use the glass doors on the sides when you enter the restaurant. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Filed under French, Restaurant Reviews |