mcsping

Went there a couple of days ago for the suckling pig tasting menu. Inaccuracy here is guaranteed, as I am surely leaving out certain components of the dishes, but I think I have all the basics correct. --hors d'ouveres of veal sweetbread cornets, beet "marshmallow," raw tuna and fennel, vanilla clam, foie and...strawberry? --amuse of ham sabayon --tete de cochon with pickled vegetables (includes radishes, carrots, and little gelatinous pickle brine cubes!) and crunchy flatbread --pork belly with sweet potato, brussels sprouts, and plum --confit with potato puree and leeks --rack of pork with summer beans and very little bacon --"strawberries and champagne" (frozen strawberries with some type of champagne foam) --raspberry ice cream with actual raspberries and balsamic vinegar --macaroons The amuse was as creamily luxurious as the sea urchin cappuccino, which was our amuse on my prior visit. Both times, I have wished I could have the amuse in a main course size. I guess that means they were successful in getting me excited. Of the "main" pork dishes, I probably enjoyed the confit the most. The meat was moist and flavorful and the crispiness of the top added satisfying texture. This was probably the dish where the pork was the most "unadorned," and the quality of the meat and its preparation really shone. I also enjoyed the pork belly and sweet potato combination. Pork belly is usually delicious, and sweet potato is a great complement. The plum was unexpected but worked very well. The bruseels sprouts were fine, and I suppose the idea was to introduce bitterness, which was achieved, but I didn't think they made the dish notably stronger than it would have been without them. For the strawberries-and-champagne dessert, the champagne foam was fizzy and strong, almost on the edge of "harsh," but not quite there, and I enjoyed it very much. That dish was served on a plate that looked like a pillow. At first I thought it might be like the aromatic pillow at Alinea, and then I thought it was somehow a cooling mechanism, but in the end I think it was just porcelain. While I don't think it was filled with dry ice or anything, maybe it was intended to help keep the temperature low somehow via insulation? I enjoy fruit-and-acid desserts, so I love any dessert with balsamic involved. I also really enjoy the two types of butter, as small a thing as that may seem. They taste more distinct than I would have expected, and it was fun to have one bite with the salted California, one with unsalted New Hampshire, now one more unsalted but let's add the fleur de sel this time!, now one salted again but using the olive loaf, etc. Service was again outstanding, with one error. We were asked a couple of times if we would like more bread, and the second time, we said "yes," but it was never brought. I am sure one word to any of our servers would have fixed this quickly, but we basically just decided we didn't want more bread after all. EMP continues to have the best service of any restaurant I have ever visited. It's ultra-professional, but generally warm as well. This was an excellent meal, though I think I liked it slightly less than my prior meal at EMP, which was the summer tasting menu. The prior meal was possibly enhanced by the fact that it was an engagement celebration, so we may have had a couple of extra courses, plus the fact that we were giddy and drank more. I enjoyed having the variety of meats on the summer menu, though the more I reflect on the pig tasting meal, the more I like it. If nothing else, I was dying to try a pig tasting, because I love pork. A lot of the specifics of this post might now be outdated, because as of today, they are starting a game tasting menu featuring boar, squab, and hare. But I imagine that menu is just as good as everything else we have tried. EMP makes me wish I were rich.

"It's Top Chef, not Top Scallop."

Agreed. As you point out, Toby is "right" in the sense that not every single word is pronounced in the native way. It was still a dumb statement, because many words ARE pronounced in a non-Anglicized way, and "paella" is one of them. It was very "look at this clever edgy observation I'm making." Pronouncing "paella" phonetically in English is just strange and slightly confusing.

Yeah, that was insane. I also like how Eli, the self-proclaimed best cook there, somehow never manages to even make the top four. I guess his food is just too genius to be appreciated. Also noteworthy was Ash, who should just change his name to Tenth Place, complaining about how he should do salads and crisps. The indignity that such a legend should be beaten by such simplicity! He seemed to think he was being sarcastic, but since he can't manage to finish a dish on time, he probably should take his own advice.

I don't like him either. He seems harsh for harshness' sake. Tom and Jay Rayner aren't afraid to be harsh when warranted, but their concise, direct criticisms strike me as less grandstanding than Toby's. I can't figure out why the contestants keep saying they're intimidated by him. He's not an elite chef you'd be desperate to impress, and he's not the most influential food critic on earth. It just seems like he'd be relatively easy to ignore if he hated something you made. I guess the fact that he's a judge is intimidating on its own.

Thanks. I got a hold of some old Per Se menus to help me think about it. I probably won't be a frequent guest, so I really want to make sure I maximize my experience. I guess maybe Benno's departure might have some impact on my decision as well, but I can't imagine PS falling off the map.

Does anyone think there's there a particularly good season to visit Per Se? Or is it all just personal taste? I assume it's an excellent meal year-round, but I'm wondering if any repeat diners think that the restaurant is notably stronger or weaker during a specific time of year. Thanks.

Um, I don't know. I was just sort of joking around. I like cognac in general, so the unlimited cognac they offered was actually pretty nice. Not that I drank an astronomical amount.

I went to EMP for my hey-I-got-engaged dinner recently, and the service was clearly the best I have ever received. Spectacular in every way, they made my fiancee and me feel like VIPs without being stuffy or uptight. Nice of Chef Humm to come say hello as well. I've only been to JG once, and that was for lunch, but I thought our summer tasting menu was on the same level. We had many more courses at EMP, and maybe it's not the ideal way to compare, but I certainly considered EMP to be in the same class as JG foodwise. I thought it was creative as well as technically excellent. If people think JG is an obvious four-star, it seems EMP should be too. I also think all the hype over four-versus-three is kind of ridiculous, but whatever. Smart move on their part to leave us the bottle of cognac at the END of the meal. I could have hurt them pretty bad if they had given it to us sooner. Oh, and as for this dress code stuff, I wore a suit, because (1) I am baller like that, and (2) I thought it would add to the experience for everyone involved to dress well. I am excited to be returning soon! Hoping they will still be doing the pig tasting a few weeks from now.

Ahahaha, that label is fantastic. This place looks pretty good. I'm excited to have a potential Brooklyn replacement for my hot dog craving when I don't feel like going to Crif Dogs.

Here's my review from last Thursday night. Cliffs Notes: It was great and you should go. ---- The design theme is that of an old tailor's shop, with a little leather cutout in the middle of the table and lots of charcoals and browns, but there's still a strong modern feel. The servers wear gray flannel looking things and brown striped shirts. The design works really well; it's comfortable and stylish. The dining room is reasonably quiet, which I like because I want to feel relaxed, but there's enough music (I remember hearing Talib Kweli, Beatles, and Cranberries) and activity to keep it from feeling dead. The service is outstanding. Our waitress was very knowledgeable and helpful with recommendations, they tried to find out the name of a song I liked, they folded our napkins for us while we were away from the table, they were quick to refill water and replace silver without just hovering around. The bill came with a clothespin on it which you could use to clip your card in, which was a cute touch. Very professional without being stuffy. Food presentation is also excellent. Bread Walnut raisin: Good, standard. Girlfriend more impressed than I was, said texture is rarely this good for walnut raisin bread. Green olive: Buttery olives and the right texture made this one stand out. Complimentary amuse-bouche Fig with bay leaf and pine nut foam: Like eating air if air were bursting with flavor. Very nice sweet fig with a little nuttiness from the foam. First course Foie gras terrine, cocoa dust, peanut soil, pear paper: Tastes a lot like a Reese's peanut butter cup with the nice texture of foie gras. Interesting, impressively original, and good, but not earth-shattering. You mostly taste the chocolate and peanut butter, so I felt like the foie gras wasn't as noticeable as I wanted. Duck tartare, marjoram pesto, cashew, chocolate tuile: Where else am I gonna get duck tartare? Gamey and tasty, but again, not brilliant. Marjoram pesto very good and created interesting flavors. Crumbly texture. I keep thinking about it a few days later though, so maybe it's secretly hypnotic. Second course Passionfruit-poached arctic char, mushrooms, spaetzle, coconut shavings: Astonishing. Girlfriend thinks this may be the best thing she's ever eaten. Fish cooked perfectly, sauce wonderful, tiny mushrooms add just a little something extra that really works, coconut adds a little crunch. Pork belly, butterscotch miso sauce, green apple sticks: Ungodly great. Pork was the perfect texture and saltiness, and the butterscotch adds the right amount of sweetness to it. I had to force myself to slow down and really make sure I was tasting the food rather than just shoveling it in. Girlfriend said it was vaguely reminiscent of bacon and maple syrup, which excited our waitress. It reminded me of sugar-cured bacon if bacon weren't as crunchy but was on another plane of tastiness. And bacon is my favorite food, so it's hard for me to see how it could be improved upon, but man. Third course Black olive cake, blueberry reduction, yogurt sorbet and foam: Tasty, especially the blueberries. The yogurt sorbet was a great texture but not very flavorful (Girlfriend disagrees with "not flavorful" assessment). The blueberries were amazing. Cake was good with a nice texture and balanced flavor. It didn't taste much like olives to me, but maybe it's not supposed to be strong. Roasted banana, mustard ice cream, brown butter rum, crispy thin lengthwise slice of banana: Mustard ice cream?! Love it--the mustard was fairly subtle with just enough bite. I'm not usually a huge banana fan but this was probably my third favorite dish. The banana and mustard was an unusual and delicious combination. Girlfriend points out that bananas are "earthy" even though no one ever says that, which may be why they work well with mustard. And again we have something to add crunchiness. Complimentary dessert Red bell pepper petits four: A little sugar coated gelatinous cube. "Zantar is a gelatinous cube that eats warriors in a village." --Noah Vanderhoff, Wayne's World Much softer texture than a gumdrop. Tasty and interesting. I think this is a common ending to a meal at wd~50 as well. Drinks with meal Chanterais (walnut cognac, dandelion Cointreau, lemon juice): I like cognac, and I loved this. The walnut was subtle but noticeable if you're looking for it. It has some bite to it with the lemon; Girlfriend thought it was too much. Knowing cognac reasonably well probably made me appreciate this a little more. The Waylon (100 proof bourbon, smoked cola syrup): Liked it even though I don't usually like bourbon. The smoked syrup really took the edge off the alcohol without being overwhelming. Blood and sand (scotch, sweet vermouth, bitter orange sorbet, redbach beer): Girlfriend's favorite. I don't remember this one terribly well but it was good. Don't like "blood" as part of a food or drink name. Agua verde (tequila, tomatillo, cilantro, habanero): Very spicy! I liked it a lot because I like hot stuff. Drinks at downstairs bar afterward Bazooka (vodka, bubble gum cordial, house sour): It's supposed to taste like Bazooka gum, and it really did! You have to taste this just for the novelty. Not a lot of sourness, but still would have liked less--I wanted for this to be pure sweetness. Antoine's sazerac (cognac, peychaud bitters, absinthe): Very alcoholic, but still good. Tastes more like sour mix than I thought it would, and not bitter. Also, absinthe is illegal so I assume this is some substitute, but that's fine.

I love Waldhorn! For me, $110 at Delmonico in Las Vegas. Likely to be broken sometime in the next few months at Jean Georges or Per Se or Daniel or Del Posto or _____ now that I live in New York.

Common decency, morality, ethics. Any of those. And probably a waitstaff who'd give you a serious WTF. ← I wasn't actually planning to do it; I was just curious if they had some sort of system. Anyway, having the license pretty well standardizes everything. Thanks to both of you.

What's the drink situation at the moment? The thread makes it sound as if you get one drink per person at dinner, but that more are available in the bar. However, I thought they still didn't have a liquor license, so are all the drinks free (and if so, what's to stop me from just rolling up in there with no reservation and then never eating)? Did they get the license?