Per Se

[jimk]

Keller must have huge costs in New York, and significant up-front investments to recoup. Yet, until now, Per Se carried the same prices as The French Laundry. Since it's practically the toughest rez in town, simple economics suggest that Keller wasn't charging enough. This had to happen sooner or later. The surprise is that all three menus are now $175, whereas before they were differentiated.

Not sure that's entirely true - I thought I read somewhere that in Per Se's case, the developers assumed a lot of the capital costs because Keller was going to be such a draw, whereas I think Gray Kunz had to raise his own money. Does Keller even have to pay rent? I'm just wondering if they've changed what they're serving with the 5-course - have they increased the luxe ingredient quotient on the five course, or is it basically the same kind of menu as before only at the higher cost. Still, I'm sympathetic to them - I imagine they're lucky to pull a hundred covers a night, assuming they're able to turn some of the early dinner tables. I think they've priced themselves out of my range at this point, though. I paid less for 7 courses at Taillevent last month.

[robert40]

The new menu is posted on the Dining In France website. Link below.

The foie gras still has a $25.00 supplement, which brings the tasting menu to $200.00.

Excuse me while I go break the bad new's to my first born.

http://www.dininginfrance.com/Per_Se_menu.htm

[Frangelico]

Well, it took me about two days (and a lot of looking over my shoulder will at a "work" computer) to finish reading this thread.

I'm not going to give a detailed review or expound on anything said here.

I will say that Per Se is a great (not perfect) place with a great name and Great food/service over all no matter what time of day. Definitely a contender and worth the effort/$.

I will also say that I like FL better and that's just an opinion on atmosphere.

Just my two cent worth ;)

Hmmm... That's it :) Oh, and I loved every second while reading this one.

Edited January 18, 2005 by Frangelico (log)

[chefseanbrock]

does anyone know if they will be open for easter??

[fiftydollars]

9/04

[robert40]

Don't stop now. You're on a roll.

[Walrus]

This may be a foolish question, but is there any way to know which two weeks of a specific month (say, April 2005) Keller is at Per Se and which two he's at FL?

Also, can I assume that the kitchen tour is not something that has to be set up in advance? Or does it?

Taking my sweetie to P.S. for his birthday

[artisanbaker]

don't forget time for las vegas.

you will not be disappointed by your meal based upon what i witnessed. the team is very tight. even if chef benno is running the show you will be taken care of. if he wasn't doing an excellent job he would not be in that position.

it can't hurt to set up the tour in advance. the place is immaculate.

[Walrus]

don't forget time for las vegas.

you will not be disappointed by your meal based upon what i witnessed.  the team is very tight. even if chef benno is running the show you will be taken care of. if he wasn't doing an excellent job he would not be in that position.

it can't hurt to set up the tour in advance. the place is immaculate.

←

Sorry! Didn't mean to imply in any way that Benno was somehow inferior -- I just have a total complex about Keller and want to know whether to get my hopes up or not! Thanks for the note about the tour -- I'll give them a ring

[gourmand2]

Finally had the pleasure of dining at Per Se last night. Everything was wonderful and there were very few missteps. I don't want to post all of the details of the night since there has already been so much written about the restaurant. However, I will comment on how great the sommelier was. I believe his name was Bill, and he was present at just the right time and made great selections to pair with our tasting menus. It was very nice to be able to sit back and enjoy ourselves instead of analyzing which wines and their nuances would pair best with our 9 courses!

...and by the way, the foie gras supplement is now up to $30.

[Pweaver1984]

Sorry Stupid English chef, Wat does the name mean? Per se?

Paul

[SobaAddict70]

Latin for "by itself". Other definitions give it as "intrinsically" or "with respect to its inherent nature".

Soba

[iheartoffal]

I managed to get a reservation for dinner on March 21st, albeit at 9:45 pm. Hey, at least it gives me all day to work up an appetite, right?

Getting reservations wasn't the sysyphian endeavor I imagined it would be. I called on a sunday afternoon and asked if there was anything available for any amount of people at any time of any day, ever. I even told her I would eat in the dish pit by myself if that was all they could do for me. She laughed and gave me several different times, including a slot for the next night, which I inititially took, but had to cancel when I couldn't get enough people to commit to it. So I called back and picked the date I currently have.

I'll try to post some pictures, unless of course everyone here is already burnt-out on that kind of thing...

[iheartoffal]

Ok, so our reservation for above is for 4 people. Two people decided to drop out of it because of either money or other obligations. I have one more "maybe", but I'm looking for a couple of people possibly fill in the empty slot(s). Ultimately, I know a lot of people I could ask, but I figured I'd ask my fellow egulleteers first. So, if you're interested in having a fantastic meal with some laid back people, feel free to message me. Again, we definitely need one person, possibly two.

[jogoode]

I'll try to post some pictures, unless of course everyone here is already burnt-out on that kind of thing...

←

Never. Have a great dinner!

[iheartoffal]

I'm still looking for one more person to fill out my table at Per Se on March 21st at 9:45pm. Anyone interested, please pm me! I don't want to cancel! :-)

[ned]

Sorry Stupid English chef, Wat does the name mean? Per se?

Paul

←

Apparently the name came from Keller's repeated answer to the question "What will the NYC restaurant be like?"

He'd say "Well it won't be the French Laundry per se."

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Ahhhh, what a fantastic experience it was! Exquisite. I feel pretty much like I did after we went to the French Laundry a couple of years ago -- hard to describe without gushing. All four of us did the Chef's tasting menu, and wish we could have had everything on the other menus, too. Beautiful surroundings, comfortable and welcoming, great wine pairings, and the service was outstanding, too. I'm going to carry this one with me for a long time.

The knife work was so perfect on every dish, and the plates were beautifully, simply done. The food left me wanting just another bite. It was amazing. I'd also love to know how they managed to get paper-thin pieces of bacon to cook so uniformly, and how they manage to keep them perched on the lobster all the way from the pass to the table.

Yep, we got a kitchen tour and even saw two real live Movie Stars in the dining room! And for anyone faced with the same dilemma as we were, Mickey Mantle's is just a couple of blocks away down 59th street, for pre-dinner game-watching. Instead, we opted to leave home a little later, take a walk by Central Park, and have a martini at the Stone Rose before our reservation. Our friends' CrackBerry was used to check scores when we were in the lounge, and that was that.

What a great night. I wish I could do this every month.

Just remembered: one thing that was a little weird to us, was the enormous pieces of brioche with the foie terrine. I'm not complaining -- it was buttery, fine-crumbed, perfectly toasted, and replenished so that we had warm bread all the time, but it was huge! Texas-toast huge. Not a bit was left over, by the way.

Edited March 8, 2005 by FabulousFoodBabe (log)

[James Kessler]

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?

[cstuart]

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?

←

http://www.perseny.com/

[James Kessler]

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.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

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? 

←

We had the Chef's tasting menu and had them do the pairings for us, which wound up costing about $150 per person. When we were discussing the wine list, the waiter offered the tasting and volunteered the price, which makes me think that there are some other options.

The foie was worth every bit of the upcharge. I'm still happy thinking about that experience. Looking forward to hearing yours.

[robert40]

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.

←

James,

From previous post I've read the wine pairing is usually starting at $100 to $150 per person. But I'm sure the sky is the limit.

I will go out on a limb here and say with the recent menu price increase the minimum cost will likely be $150.00

I certainly hope Per Se will meet your expectations, and you will be blown away by the whole experience. But yet then I will also be dining with you, so I may be a bit partial.

Looking forward to meeting you!

[zeitoun]

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.

←

I believe the pairing with the 9 course tasting menu is usually set at $150, when I was there the staff at Per Se didn't make it seem like we had an option for less (that is if we wanted all our courses to be paired with a different wine).

One other option you may want to consider is to order half bottles instead of going with the pairing. Per Se has a great half bottle list in the $60 to $100 range. We were also four on the day I went and we ended up spending about $400 on wine for a selection of 5 half bottles.

[Bux]

Not that anyone eating at Per Se is going to base any decision purely on cost, but it's worth noting that two half bottles is usually a more expensive purchase than the same wine in a full bottle and that wine by the glass is usually more exensive per glass than when purchased by the bottle. On the other hand, pairing glasses to each course allows you to taste a greater variety of wines and perhaps have a more ideal match with each course and can thus be worth the added cost. The larger the party, the less it makes sense to order by the glass. It's strange to see a table of six, order the wine pairing and get perhaps less than a full bottle with each course at a higher price than just getting a bottle. It's also worth noting that the entire wine list is not going to be available by the glass. In fact, very little of it is and while there will be at least one choice for each course, the sommelier's taste may not be your taste, and personal taste in wine pairings is as natural as in everything else having to do with food.

I'd find it a bit odd to pair wines with every other course. Either you don't have wine with half of the courses, or half the time you're drinking an unmatched wine. It seems an odd compromise. I'd match all eight courses or just split two bottles -- or maybe four or five half bottles. Or maybe some combination thereof. I do recall a nice list of half bottles.

I sometimes enjoy the pairing, but as often as not, it seems to focus too much on the wine and takes my attention off the food. Drinking the same wine for a couple of courses seems to help me focus on the food. I'm also not above drinking a red with my fish. I used to be surprised to see French and other Europeans order a full bottle of wine and drink it through a meal of fish and meat. Sometimes we anglophones seem to make too much of pairing. As the product of anglophone wine books and culture, I'm more likely to want both red and white during a long meal. Fortunately for my tastes (and unfortunately for my wallet) Mrs. B and I have no trouble consuming more than a bottle with a long tasting menu. We don't thirst for two bottles as much as we used to and that's where the half bottle selection really helps us. A half bottle of white wine tides us over between aperitifs and a bottle of red.