docsconz

Joe, People thought I remembered it all myself!

I left off having only gotten through the canapes. I forgot to mention the Heidler Gruner Veltliner '02 from Austria that we had the the "Cheese and Crackers" and "Veal Oscar". This was another delightfully crisp wine that proved a superb match. The first course of the next flight was a salad course that consisted of a white asparagus salad with truffle coulis and "confit" of rhubarb and also a beet salad with "blood" greens and beet essence. Both were excellent, although I actually preferred the beet salad by a slim margin. Next came two different versions of moulard duck fois gras, although both were torchons. The first with "peach melba" of Frog Hollow Farms Peach jelly, pickled white peaches, marinated red onion and "Melba Toast". The second was "Chaud Froid" with endive. The fois gras was enhanced with a sprinkling of various sea salts that were placed on the table for this purpose. They included fleur de sel, malden sea salt, frencg sel gris, two hawaiian salts including a red salt and another I can't think of at the moment. Both fois were superb marriages and worked beautifully with a 2002 Scheurebe Spatlese from Theo Mindes. The principle fish course was next and although quite fine, this course was probably the least favorite of the evening, at least for me. Now don't get me wrong, it too was delicious. Least favorite is a relative thing. There were zero clunkers here. Anyway the two presentations were roasted Monkfish medallion, poached monkfish cheek, sunburst squash and California bay-leaf infused San Marzano tomato sauce. This dish was good, but the subtlety of the cheek was lost on me. The other tasting was of fluke with a coating of finess herbs mousse and fin herbes "vin". I enjoyed this a bit more than the monkfish. Perhaps the previous course lags in my mind because the next was my favorite. It consisted of two versions of lobster "sous vide". The first was a classic combination of prime butter poached lobster tail with saffron vanilla sauce and wilted spinach. As I said this was a classic combination of flavors prepared in a way that was new to me. I was in heaven here. The other preparation was the same lobster (not literally) with "Peas and Carrots" that is fresh pea shoots and diced carrots in a carrot-ginger butter. This was more of a novel combination to me, for which reason I actually preferred it to the other. I would have to admit if I had each ten times I would prefer the saffron-vanilla nine of those times, but for this once novelty won over classic. The above seafood courses were served with a nicely minerally Brewer-Clifton "Mt. Carmel Chardonnay from Santa Rita, CA., vintage 2002. Next up on the agenda were the meat courses. All day braised Berkshire pork belly was served with "melted" fennel bulb, poached Rainier cherries and cherry gastrique. The other sampling was unique and one of my favorite dishes of the evening. It was a quail leg stuffed with sweetbreads and a black truffle farce. This was a particularly artfully presented dish with subtle flavors. The next course was served to everyone at the table. It was a "Calotte de Boeuf Grille" from Snake River Farms wagyu beef. The calotte is a rimless cap of a specific cut of beef. although we were told which cut, unfortunately I can't remember it. I think the wines were starting to take their toll. This was first presented to us as a single cooked piece of meat and then brought back to us sliced and individually plated. Needless to say, the meat was cooked perfectly medium rare. It was servd with crispy bone marrow, chantarelle mushrooms (I could have used a few more of those and a fabulous yukon gold potato millefeuille. The wine pairing for both meat meat course was Cigliuti Barbaresco 1999 servde from a Riedel magnum decanter. The cherry components of the wine married perfectly with the pork dish and handled the other meats supernbly as well. The cheese course consisted of "Chabichou" with green apple jelly, red beets and English walnut short bread and also Pecorino raviolis with Armando Manni olive oil. I preferred the "raviolis", although I believe I was in the minority as most of the others preferred the more subtle "chabichou". Desserts started with sea-salted chocolate sorbet with lime sabayon and also a pineapple sorbet with braised pineapple and avocado coulis. Two comments: the salt on the chocolate sorbet worked as did the avocado coulis. There has been discussion in other topics about avocado in desssert that has been mostly negative. This had great flavor, texture and visual appeal. The signature "Coffee and Donuts" wsa next for everyone at the table. The coffee was a semi-freddo with whipped cream on top. This was whimsical, delightful and delicious. Lastly, we were served "Tentation au chocolat" with condensed milk sorbet, hazelnut streusel, sweetened salty hazelnuts and "pain au lait" sauce as one offering and a "dclination au chocolat" with valrhona chocolate brownie as the other. These desserts were good, though not truly outstanding compared to the rest of the meal. The chocolate desserts were served with a 1999 Banyuls from Paulliles The selection of mignardises at the end were also superb, although not too many of us still had the apppetite to eat more than one. Now that dinner was complete, the evening needed to be completed. This was accomplished with a tour of the kitchen led by the restaurant manager. Once again, I can share a few photos. Pastry Chefs at work. At this point in the evening they were the busiest people in the kitchen. A close up of one of the desserts they were preparing. We did not have this. Trays of mignardises awaiting plating. Balsamics and olive oils used in the kitchen With Chef Benno in the kitchen. The kitchen is huge and immaculate. Their is a great sense of order and purpose. Every once in a while we would come across a sign posted at a finishing station reading "Sense of Urgency". The impression I got was of consummate professionals doing there thing in an orderly, steady way without panic or a sense of haste. I was also surprised that the kitchen was broken up the way it was. It actually consisted of a number of separate rooms and spaces. I expected more of one very large space. It also had a completely separate kitchen for servicing the large private dining room. We capped off the evening by exploring some of the other spaces in the complex including Mas, Bar Masa and Asiate. Our presence was not particularly welcome at Masa as innocuous as it was. They did not greeet us very warmly. Asiate was a beautiful space, although it was much more compact than Per Se. In summary, this was a special meal shared with people who have become special friends. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

After this dinner I consider the 5:30 reservation "prime seating".

How much is the VIP premium? Is it more courses than the usual menu? Did they tell you it was available, or did you know to ask? Did they offer the "2x2", or was it something you requested? Sorry for all the questions! We didn't actually ask for a VIP tasting, but we did ask for four different Chef's Tasting Menus in order to sample as much as possible. They didn't give us four different menus, thus the 2x2 (2 different menus), but we did get a few extra courses thrown in. In all we wound up with 16 courses instead of the 9 from the chef's tasting menu. Of those 16 courses only three were served the same thing for each person. It was a true tour de force. The upgraded price was minimal for what we received. I do not know whethe or not this offering is something they would do on a routine basis or if we got lucky because we were the first reservation for when they were originally going to reopen or because they know and like eGullet and yes, we did mention we were from eGullet. I will post on the rest of our dinner shortly.

Per Se is certainly not overpriced for what one receives. Whether one wishes to debate if the money could be better spent elsewhere is a question for another place. Quite simply one getsvalue here for the dollar spent, even though those dollars are considerable. The space alone is a premium. The tables are large and spaced for privacy. The china, linen and silverware are extremely elegant. The food is of the highest quality and prepared expertly, beautifully and with incredible variety. The service is polished, professional, and efficient, yet pleasantly congenial. The wine list is outstanding and reasonably priced with both wide by-the-glass and half-bottle lists. The decor is elegant, yet restrained and comfortable. The location in the city, premium and the kitchen absolutely state of the art with the proper personnel to utilize it. No, I do not think this is over-priced. I agree with Fat-Guy, this is a gift to NYC. Per Se is not a revolutionary restaurant. It is not El Bulli come to NYC. It is, however, a very creative way of presenting luxury, incredibly well made foods. I think it is a bridge from the elegant Old World Style restaurants currently failing in NYC and newer creatively cooked and presented cuisine. It is a combination of comfort, intellectual spark and passion. We sat at our lovely table by the window overlooking Columbus Circle. The view was good, though not incredible. Our table centerpiece, however, was quite beautiful: My party and I had a VIP tasting menu at a bit of a premium to the regular menus. We did what the restaurant called a "2x2". That is each person per couple had two different tasting menus, so that each person in the couple could share two different dishes per course. We also had wines paired to the courses. I started with a Per Se cocktail, that I found to be delicious and not at all overly subtle. The rest of the table had billecart Salmon Brut champagne from magnum. Our first amuse was the famous Salmon caponets: These were delightful. I ate mine in one bite so as to mix the flavors and textures. This was followed by two soups. One was nettle Soup with spring garlic and the second squash soup with pickled squash. Both were delicious, though I preferred the nettle soup. We continued with our cocktails through the soup. Next up was the caviar, which consisted of the signature "Oysters and Pearls: and Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Iranian Ostra Caviar: Both dishes were magnificent, particularly the rightly praised Oysters and Pearls. White truffle custard with black truffle ragout was one half of the next course, with a pickled egg and perigord truffle "pop tart" as the other half. What more can I say than both dishes were full of truffle flavor? Mojama (shaved dried Basque tuna) with Melon and Peekytoe Crab Salad followed. These were served with Txomin Etxaniz '03, a crisp white Basque wine. The last of our canapes consisted of Head Cheese , "Cheese and Crackers" and "Veal Oscar" veal heart with crab and asparagus. This finishes the canapes. Everything was amazing. They now started to bring out bread and butter with the butters respectively from California and Vermont. It is a good thing they didn't bring it out sooner as they were so good, they would have taken up way too much space in our meager but eager stomachs. By now I put my camera away as the light was changing and we needed to focus on eating the food. To be continued....

My wife and I had dinner last night at Per Se with JoeB and Donna. I don't have time for a lot of details right now, but suffice to say that the restaurant prvoed to be a great value. No it was not inexpensive, but it was worth it, IMO, that is to say that it was a great product and great experience. The setting, food, wine and service were all impeccable and yes, we found plenty of "passion". We arrived promptly at 5:30 for our reservation and didn't leave until 11PM. I'm glad that we didn't have a later reservation. While Thomas Keller is back in Napa and it would have been wonderful to meet the man, I have to say the kitchen functioned superbly under Chef Benno's direction. It is impossible for me to say whether Chef Keller's absence made any difference, but any improvement or enhancement would have been remarkeable indeed. I hope to provide further details and perhaps a few photos later this weekend.

Got an e-mail from Pike Place Market advertizing fresh, new CRS fillets at $34/lb and whole fish for $26/lb. This is a little too steep for me, especially with shipping on top of that. I have ordered a whole CRS for each of the past 2 years, but unless the price drops significantly, I think I'll stand on the sidelines this year.

Maybe it is a seasonal thing and now it is time for a "light" summer menu.

Great job! I have enjoyed some of the hands-on cooking classes that CIA puts on. They are a lot of fun, educational and best of all - you get to eat the final products!

Revallo, I am looking forward to a more detailed posting. It sounds like it would have been a great time.

I have never had a bad Quebec cheese, although I have only had them from places sucvh as Toque or the former Chaput. Actually, not only have I not had a bad cheese from Quebec (I am sure they exist), but every one I've had has been quite delicious, including the bleus.

L&B Spumoni Gardens was considered for its spumoni dessert on Friday, but it was in the opposite direction from Brighton Beach. Although stylistically different from the other pizzerie surveyed by the eGullet team, it is on the short list for surveying as well. It is a place my family would go to often when I was very young.

I would concur that this mozzarella is not nearly so low-moisture as most mozzarelle used for pizza in this country, but then with an oven as hot as that one, it doesn't have to be as the moisture evaporates very quickly. This is why most true Neapolitan pizze get away with using fresh mozzarella di bufala without getting soggy, or so that was explained to me in Naples at the Slow Food Congress last November.

Interesting article. It was one of the bette overviews I've read.

Check out this thread for the further adventures of the NYC Pizza Survey.

After Totonno's as seen on page 18 of The NYC Pizza Survey, a hardy group remained to brave the frigid reaches of the Coney Island Boardwalk and then Brighton Beach Avenue. Here lie the chronicles of those hearty adventurers and culinary explorers. The Coney Island Boardwalk. It was a cold foggy day filled with a gray melancholy, although our furnaces had just been stoked with superb pizze and our moods were fortified by each other's company. Of course, some of those furnaces were so stoked they needed ice cream to cool off. The more intrepid of us decided to sample the local wares of raw bivalves (aka litllenecks) and bellied up to the bar at Gyro Corner at 1205 Boardwalk. It was here that the talented "Joey Clams" shucked his stuff. The very local artwork. Sam, the Clam man. Yours truly doing some slurpin'. Man they were good. as wonderful as the pizze were, this was IMO the most memorable part of a very memorable day. The clams here, we were told, come from Long Island and Rhode Island. We then ventured on to Brighton Beach and Little Russia, another fascinating and delicious part of NYC. Although I took few photos there, there was a lot to see and a lot to eat. Unfortunately, most of us were still pretty full and could do no more than nibble. One nibble spot was a storefront stand selling freshly fried stuffed Russian breads (Eric or Pan, please weigh in here). Samples tried included chicken-stuffed and pea-stuffed breads. They were extremely tasty We walked and walked for awhile and ventured into some fascinating Russian food markets. I have to admit, Russian food is a cuisine of which I am particularly ignorant. Nevertheless, there was a cornucopia of attractive items available at inexpensive prices. We shared a light dinner at a small, but excellent restaurant with the unlikely name of "Cappucino" on Brighton Beach Ave. Dishes sampled included eggplant caviar, borscht, chicken soup with knish (stuffed with chicken and quite delicious), assorted cold meats, meat stuffed Russian ravioli (pelmeni), awesome potato pancakes and blinis.

No Photoshop (or other) tricks here!

All right, already! The delay in posting photos is my fault since I'm the one who took them this time. This comes from having spent a wonderful food-oriented weekend in NYC, and I do mean wonderful. Anyway, I had a few things to catch up on, but now here they are, such as they are. The shop window - nice and to the point. The pizzaioli in action in front of the oven. They were very friendly and helpful. House made mozzarella - sliced and ready to go. The coal fire. The oven is touted to reach a temp of about 900 degrees. The legendary and quite delicious PCP (Plain Cheese Pie) Nice char. Although the focus on the slice could be better, this photo illustrates the crisp crust on the PCP. The tip stays erect for a longtime before it becomes soggy and flaccid. Wonderfully garlicky Pizza Bianca (PB) PB char. Crust bubbles signifying the quick bake. pepperoni Sausage Unfortunately, somehow I missed getting a picture of the mushroom pies. I must have been too busy eating This photo gives a sense of the neighborhood and family feel of the pizzeria. I will post other photos of the day's continued festivities on a separate thread.

I just got back from a great weekend of eating in the Big Apple that started off with a bang at Totonno's. Unfortunately, I can't weigh in on the comparisons with the other pizzerie. All I can say is that the pizze at Totonn'os were damn good. I wouldn't throw it off my plate for spilling a drop of tomato sauce. The ingredients were all high-quality and it showed. The mozzarella at Totonn's is house made. We even got to sample some raw. It was very good mozzarella. I will have some photos of this event and others later on after I go to my son's baseball game. I also had a blast seeing some old eGullet friends as well as meeting some new ones. It was a great crew of people. I also managed to meet my sister and brother there. They also enjoyed meeting the eGullet crew.

Looks pretty good! Were those wine glasses already drained or were they simply primed?

As I have stated a reasonable policy for no-shows is fine. That is not what this thread is about. I think if a customer does not have the courtesy to call and cancel a reservation, that customer should be penalized. I have no problem with that. However, non-refundable charge just for making a reservation is another story altogether.

It is a confusing web site, but if you click around you can find references to the original Coney Island location.

When the original date for reservations opened back in January I was able to get a reservation for myself faster than American Express was, even though I was considered by them to be a "priority" due to an earlier screw-up. Nevertheless it wouldn't hurt to try both ang go with whoever gets through first.

It troubles me because I see it as potentially a bad trend. I am not likely to ever eat in the Chicago Hyatt, but I find the principle to be degrading nevertheless. I think this would be a poor business decision on the part of restaurants as people would be much less likely to plan ahead for dining out and ultimately less likely to go out IMO, although the very top tier of restaurants might be able to get away with it. The analogy to theater is an interesting one, although I will point out that very few theatrical productions are economically successful for an extended period nor are repeat visits as likely as with a good restaurant..

Maybe it is self-selection - the people here on eGullet tend to be more serious and respectful of food and everything that goes into making it.