JDPenach

Yes, I saw. A bit surprising, as the staff at per se told us on Sunday afternoon that the Times review was running today (Wednesday). This, of course, begs the question of how they would know this (although someone mentioned something about a photo request from the Times) and how they would know that Bruni had been on 5 separate occasions (and to the French Laundry once). Makes you wonder how much anonymity an important critic can have at a place so small and so difficult to get into.

Had lunch yesterday (Sunday) at per se. Spectacular. Haven't been to Ducasse since Delouvrier took over the kitchen, but have been to Daniel, JG, Le Bernardin, ADNY, Bouley, etc. IMHO, per se is in another league, clearly superior to any other "luxury" dining experience in NYC right now. FYI, we were told that Bruni's review will appear this Wednesday and that he dined there on 5 separate occasions (and also at the French Laundry) in preparation for the review. I did find it interesting that, with a party of 4 at lunch, when we probed the way we could best explore what the kitchen had to offer, we weren't offered the "2x2" (forgive me if I'm not using the right numbers to describe it.) (We ended up having 3 chef's tastings and 1 vegetable tasting, with no "extras".) When explaining the various options, at one point our waiter seemed about to offer it then stopped himsef. (I didn't push him, as we were happy to stay with the "standard" menu.) With a 1 pm reservation and incoming diners at 5 pm or so, perhaps this was due to timing constraints? Or does getting this option require asking for it?

The answering machine message at the reservation line now says that all reservations through March 31 have been cancelled.