docsconz

Wherever and whenever, now that I have become more familiar with your ouvre, I look forward to trying your work for myself. I'm sorry I never took the opportunity in Montreal. We could always use more great restaurants right here in Eastern upstate NY and although I believe we have some pretty good bread makers with the London's in Saratoga and Rockhill in Glens Falls, the descriptions of your breads have me intrigued. Good luck!

Perhaps there are some with whom it would make a difference and others with whom it would not. I think it speaks more to the level of a chef's management abilities.

I guess it depends on what you are willing to pay for. If all you are after is a great meal and you get it and the meal is good value for the money spent, what does it matter if the celebrity chef is there or not? If, on the other hand, one hope that in addition to a great meal one wishes to be in the same building as "greatness" then it matters from a customer point of view. My feeling is that the food is the main point and if the chef is there too, so much the better. If the chef's absence harms the ultimate product that is a bad thing and the restaurant will ultimately suffer. If the ultimate product remains top-notch even without the chef, then a new star is likely to be born. That is the way I felt about Jonathon Benno in the kitchen at Per Se.

I would think it is his responsibility to be.

xyz123, interesting report and welcome to eGullet. Since your experience is so much different than mine, I can only imagine it was an off night. I have yet to dine at ADNY, but Bouley has been one of the most disappointing meals I've ever had (at the original). At the new Bouley I had a fine meal, but then thefre have been a lot of negative reports about that restaurant. Nevertheless, given the quality of the kitchen, staff and crew at Per Se, I am surprised that there would be any off nights.

Bummer!

good point, Owen. If it were Whitney or Travers weekend it would probably already be sold out.

Nice report, Sam. I wish you (I) would have tried the pizza with clams, capers and parsley. That would have made an interesting comparison to the one from Lombardi's. The menu and your descriptions sound awesome. I thought the place was just a block away from where I grew up. While it is in the neighborhood, it wasn't quite that close. While one can describe Franny's as Italy meets Chez Panisse, the inclusion of Chez Panisse is probably unnecessary, since the concept is already well entrenched in Italian Culinary tradition and is really reflective of the Italian-originated Slow Food Movement, of which Alice Waters is a prominent member, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Naples at the latest Slow Food Congress.

No small praise indeed. next time I'm in NYC. Franny's is just a block from where I grew up.

I prefer to keep an open mind and have some dishes that surprise me. I've been turned on to many a dish that way. To each one's own. It is good to have variety and choice. That is what makes life a wonderful thing.

What I like most about tasting menus is that I am exposed to things I might not otherwise order. I enjoy putting myself in the chef's hands. It affords me a glimpse as to what the chef feels is his or her best side. I think this is particularly true at restaurants that I cannot frequent for whatever reason. Per Se fits into that category.

One other point, We did not expect them to "go nuts" on us without having to pay an appropriate tariff.

Jaybert, Indignant? I don't think so. We didn't demand anything. Based upon recommendations from friends and previous postings about The French Laundry and Per Se here on eGullet, we asked if that were possible in a very friendly, understanding way. We were not disappointed nor did we raise a fuss when they very kindly suggested the 2x2. In fact, we would have been happy enough with the regular menu. Nevertheless, the additional courses we were able to taste enhanced our evening tremendously and I can assure you we were very appreciative. Per Se is not your typical restaurant nor do they purport to be. They set an extremely high standard, which I feel they met. Joe, Perhaps they did accord us additional respect because we mentioned eGullet. Ifso, that speaks volumes about how far this site has come. As much as I would like to exaggerate our importance, though, I doubt it. I think it is perhaps just as if not more likely that we were the first ones seated for their "hard" re-opening.

When we ate there on May 20th we did not specifically ask for a "2x2" or for extra courses. We did ask if each diner could have a different tasting menu from the others so that there would have been four different 9-course dinners at our table. They then offered us the "2x2" and the only premium we were charged was the $20pp supplement for fois gras. Not only was the meal wonderful, it was an incredible value. They may have realized that it was too good a value to continue and changed their policy.

It could be that the costs of executing all this additional service need to be recouped and they may have instituted additional charges for enhanced service, especially after reading about the great "value" they were.

The 2x2 was two different tasting menus four a table of four so that each couple gets to share two different tasting menus. Actually the $20 additional charge was for the fois gras upgrade, I believe. We did get additional courses, but I believe they were comped. An additional charge of $100pp for the 2x2 negates my comments about value. I wonder if they meant $100pp for wine pairings?

To some it may matter if the chef is there or not even if the food is no different (There certainly are times and restaurants in which it really does make a difference in quality), but then those people are not primarily interested in the food . In my mind, if the chef is good enough to organize and coax a superlative effort out of his staff in his absence, he has done an outstanding job. Ist it more fun and exciting when the star is present - absolutely. Does it always result in a better product - not necessarily. As far as analogies, I think a better one is theater. The director organizes the show and has it perform to his or her vision. A good director with a talented staff and actors can have the show running well with or without the director's presence.

I think that in this case you could find out by reading the reviews (including my own) posted above. Per Se is about so much more than the physical presence of Thomas Keller. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved for him to have been there so I might have been able to meet him, but I doubt the food would have been any better or the restaurant a better value. The key is the overall experience.

Now that Le Passe-Partout has closed along with its sister businesses, I imagine that you might want to take a break from that business. Nevertheless, I imagine that once infected it may be difficult to go for very long without returning to it. Do you have any plans to get back into the food production business (i.e restaurant, bakery or pattiserie) outside of consulting, teaching and writing? If so what do you have in mind and where would you want to do it?

Thanks for joining us here on eGullet. I enjoy your contributions to the Art of Eating and I enjoy dining when I can in Montreal (not nearly often enough), , but unfortunately I never got to your restaurant in Montreal and now I understand it is too late. As I learn more and more about eating and food, I am sure that this was my loss. What are your views on the current food scene in Montreal - restaurant directions (and I don't mean how to get to them , quality and economics as well as general market quality and availability of good product with an emphasis on local produce. There was a recent topic on Quebec Cheese in the Montreal Forum, in which a lot of criticism was leveled against the Quebec Cheese industry. What do you think the industry needs to improve?

No wonder the lamb was stringy since it was a chump Sorry, couldn't resist.

If it was the mussels, it most likely was not the mussels at dinner since the timing is wrong. It generally takes at least a few hours for food poisoning to take effect. You may not have been comped because you blamed the mussels so quickly. He might have felt that you were looking for a freebie. Sorry, but it may be that in this case the restaurant might have been the victim.

Depending on how many are coming a group gathering for Saturday may be difficult since the restaurants in the area tend to be very busy especially on a Saturday night. If it is a handful, it would probably make sense to do, but if many more, I believe it would be impractical and better saved for the picnic at the track. Some of us would have to get to the track early on Sunday to get a space and set up. I can certainly recommend a number of good restaurants in the area for Saturday night if people would like. In Saratoga, Chez Sophie and Springwater Bistro are my favorites. Dine is a place I haven't tried yet, but comes highly recommended. Chianti is a popular, though IMO overrated, Italian spot that doesn't take reservations and will likely be a zoo that night. Mino's, Hibachi and Thai Sushi Garden are good but not incredible for sushi and Thai. Paradiso serves good homestyle Italian. Maestro, The Wine Bar, 43 Phila, Saratoga Steaks, Hattie's Chicken Shack and Eartha's are all good. Chameleon on The Lake is a new place set to open on Saratoga Lake. The Mexican Connection has Mexican food near the track, but I haven't been in years. Some people I know like it. Ciro's is near the track and only open in the summer. It is very popular amongst the track set, although I have never been (I generally try to avoid dining out in Saratoga in the summer). An excellent value if there is a Philadelphia Orchestra concert at SPAC is the buffet at The Hall of Springs at SPAC. It is catered by The Glen Sanders Mansion. The Patron's Club is even better, but not open to the generaal public. For afternoon fare, good lunches can be had from Mr.s London's Bakery and Cafe (their pastries, cookies and cakes are awesome) and .Putnam Market, also a good source for items to bring to the Picnic. Another good source are the local farms and farmer's markets. The Saratoga Farmer's Market is open from 9AM-1PM on Saturdays and should be teeming with great produce then. I'll address other area restaurant recommendations for places such as Glens Falls, Greenwich and Cambridge in later posts. The Philadelphia Orchestra is playing at SPAC on the 14th. Yefim Bronfmann is the guest piano soloist. He is awesome.

I will post discussion of Saturday night alternatives in that thread. Neeedless to say, I would absolutely recommend Chez Sophie to anyone interested that night. I'm not sure that it would be at its best with a large group on a Saturday night in August though.

I will have a meat or seafood based salad.