James Kessler

Well I'm going to give you all a great in-depth "telling" of our experience at Per Se, but not now. Now I'm tired. I got home afterwards last night at 4:30 AM. I'm gonna go get some sleep now. In the meantime, please feel free to feast your eyes on my photographs. Just click below: Our per se photographs 3/21/05

Well, we did it folks. We dined at the holy mecca of restaurants in NYC. Two EGulletters and myself shared the table. While me and one of the other two guys know each other, the third member of our party was a stranger to us, prior to last night. It was awesome to meet someone who truly appreciates, enjoys and respects all that goes into an experience like this. The entire staff of Per Se was unbelievable. One waiter in particular, who asked not to be named, was simply brilliant at what he does. I'll be following up with more details in later posts, but I just wanted to let everyone know now how perfect everything was. I'll be posting all the many pictures I took, so everyone feel free to enjoy the images. I also hope you all enjoy reading my account of the evening as it comes.

Omigod, you're seriously going to drive all the way back to Albany after dinner? I'm driving home too, but my drive is 30-45 minutes. Yours is like 3-4 hours! You're not getting home 'till the break of dawn...are you sure you don't want to get a little rest at a hotel first? Well anyway... since at least two of us are driving, maybe we should keep the wine selection down to like three half-bottles or several glasses. I like the suggestion that iheartoffal made, regarding asking the sommelier "what course(s) he believes should absolutely have a wine accompaniment." That is also a sensible suggestion. I don't want everyone to think that my only thoughts are about how much wine to drink. Obviously alcohol is not at all at the forefront of the experience. It's just that since this is about the only part of the experience I have any amount of control over, I want to get it right. It pretty much goes without saying that the food will be unbelievable, and I won't have to make any decisions regarding the food other than how many courses I would like. So, I'm not really worried about the food at all. I just want to maximize the experience and enjoyment of myself and all those sharing the experience with me. So... Cheers!

I did some figuring: Since an average pour size of a glass of wine ranges from 4-5 oz., (or sometimes 3oz for a very small pour size,) eight glasses times a party of four is gonna be about 128 oz. (1 gallon) of wine. A 750ml bottle of wine is approximately 25 oz. So, that means the party of four is consuming a little more than five bottles of wine for dinner. That means the cost per bottle is roughly $120. Each person gets about 1.25 bottles to themselves. Now, since I'm driving to Per Se that night, and typically do NOT consume an entire bottle of wine by myself in one sitting, I don't think the wine pairing is a very appropriate option for me that night. I would however, consider splitting 3 or so bottles of wine with the whole table. That DOES mean drinking "unmatched" wines with the courses, but I think there are enough versatile wines out there that strategically choosing 3 bottles should do a pretty decent job of matching almost anything that they can put on a plate. No, it might not be the PERFECT match for the course, but I think it could be close enough for some really good enjoyment of the pairings. Now my question is, how should I go about requesting assistance from the Sommelier in helping me choose the most strategic three bottles? Or, just as good: are there any real wine afficianados who could just "off the top of their heads" suggest three versatile wines that would work together as a trio to match almost any dish? Keep in mind that I would like to keep the cost for all three bottles together to be less than $300. Is that even POSSIBLE at Per Se? Maybe two half-bottles and two more regular bottles would work better. Ugh it all makes my head spin and I haven't even started drinking yet!

Ok, so I'm going there next Monday at 9:45 with several other EGullet members. In fact our party of four will be entirely EGullet members. My question is about the wine pairings. How much does it cost to pair wines by the glass? Is it just priced as they pour each glass, or is there a set price for the complete pairing? Can you work with them to keep within a set budget? Maybe I want wines paired by the glass, but I only want like four glasses instead of nine. Does anyone know much about the whole "wine program?" Please let me know what you know. Thanks.

Patatas Bravas -- here's a recipe for 8 servings: 1) Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. 2) Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over high heat until smoking. 3) Add 8 large potatos, peeled and cut into 1.5 inch cubes. Brown thoroughly. 4) Transfer potatoes and oil to a baking dish and bake until potatoes are crisp, about 15 minutes. 5) Meanwhile, heat another 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and saute for three minutes 1 large onion and 3 cloves of garlic, all finely chopped. 6) Add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley, 3 fresh chili peppers, seeded and chopped, 2 cups of canned Roma tomatoes, pureed, 4 oz. of dry white wine. 7) Add to taste: salt and chorizo 8) Simmer this sauce for 10-12 minutes. 9) Drain potatoes and place in a serving bowl or individual dishes. 10) Pour sauce over potatoes and toss to coat. 11) Serve at once.

Best Mexican restaurant in Westchester County: (also the best I've ever eaten, ANYWHERE in the greater NYC metro.) Coyote Flaco in New Rochelle, NY. (Also has a smaller sister branch in Port Chester, NY.)

What is their website URL? I found one, but I'm not sure that it is their official website. The one I found was: http://www.dininginfrance.com/Per_Se.htm Can anyone point me to the REAL Per Se website?

I'm trying to decide between the Rancillo Rocky or a grinder by "Innova." Has anyone checked out the Innova grinders? They are relatively new, but look like they could be a serious competitor to the Rocky. I would love to get some opinions.

Take a look into the Long Ridge Tavern in Stamford, CT or La Cremalliere which is not in Stamford. I'm not exactly sure which town it is in because it is so close to the border. It might be in Greenwich or it might be in Armonk. It is located almost directly on the border between NY and CT in the northern Greenwich area.