Perry Street

[oakapple]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before but Jean-Georges, Nougatine, Perry St., Spice Market and 66 do not post their menus outside their restaurants, on their websites or on Menupages. Any reason? I can't think of another restauranteur who does this.

←

I posted about this about a year ago. The web presence of the whole Jean-Georges empire is considerably inferior to other restaurants in the same class. When I originally mentioned this, some people suggested that perhaps websites don't make a difference, or aren't worth the expense. As I use the web for most of my research, websites certainly make a difference to me. But I don't know how many people there are use the web for researching restaurants like I do.

[bethala]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before but Jean-Georges, Nougatine, Perry St., Spice Market and 66 do not post their menus outside their restaurants, on their websites or on Menupages. Any reason? I can't think of another restauranteur who does this.

←

I posted about this about a year ago. The web presence of the whole Jean-Georges empire is considerably inferior to other restaurants in the same class. When I originally mentioned this, some people suggested that perhaps websites don't make a difference, or aren't worth the expense. As I use the web for most of my research, websites certainly make a difference to me. But I don't know how many people there are use the web for researching restaurants like I do.

←

I, too, enjoy having access to menus on the web. It allows me to plan a meal ahead of time, think about the wine selection, and have a better idea of how much to expect to spend. In many cases, it also heightens the sense of anticipation. Viewing a menu on the web is much like passing by a restaurant where the menu is posted outside or in the window (but much easier!).

[Sneakeater]

I used to not care. Now I feel the same as bethala. (It especially is helpful to be able to think in advance about the wine selection, as opposed to leafing through this tome for the first time when you're handed it and having to come up with something within a couple of minutes.)

Edited July 12, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

(Of course, Perry Street's wine list is so small that this isn't really a consideration here.)

[bethala]

I used to not care.  Now I feel the same as bethala.  (It especially is helpful to be able to think in advance about wine pairings, as opposed to leafing through this tome for the first time when you're handed it and having to come up with something within a couple of minutes.)

←

now you've reminded me of a funny (and annoying) experience i had at babbo a few years ago. i'd researched the on-line wine list and had a few things in mind before going. i asked our waiter about one of the wines i'd seen on line, the morisfarms, from tuscany. he replied, "we have an all-italian wine list here at babbo". i said, "ok, so can you tell me anything about the morisfarms?" again, he replied, "no, you see, our wine list is all italian." so then, i asked him once more about the morisfarms, this time pointing to it on the wine list.

"oh."

"so can you tell me anything about it?"

"yes, it's very good."

right on.

[donbert]

I too agree and further find it distressing when websites aren't updated in a timely manner. It would be one thing if they didn't post a menu or only had a sample menu that they note is not the current menu, but it is a poor reflection on the restaurant if a seasonal menu has not been updated in almost a year. I can't imagine a restaurant known to cook seasonally leaving a year old menu posted outside their door. Websites should be treated with the same care as it can be the first point of contact for a prospective diner.

[Sneakeater]

Not to name any names, but Country.

[emsny]

I've been to Perry Street perhaps five or six times since it opened; each time the menu has been quite different - apart from dishes that have become classics (if we can talk about "classics" in so new a restaurant) such as the rice-cracker tuna. At Jean Georges too, much of the menu seems to change all the time - every time we go, we hear some variation on "How did you like that dish? It just went on the menu today". It would be hard, though admittedly not impossible, to keep these up to date on line. It would also be courting disappointment for diners who were hoping to eat a dish they'd seen on a Tuesday that had been replaced on the Thursday of their dinner. That said, I too enjoy looking at menus on line in advance of a restaurant visit.

[Sneakeater]

In a funny way, I think Perry Street may be one of the most underrated restaurants in New York. It certainly is here.

(Of course, in a way, places like this shoot themselves in the foot by making it so hard to get a reservation when they first open and are in their "trying to create a buzz" phase. I think that, especially for an essentially mid-level [well, upper-mid-level, but you know what I mean -- not fancy], non-sceney place like this, a lot of the people who would be in their target clientele just stop bothering. And aren't advised when the "trying to create a buzz" phase is over, so they can eat there without undue trouble.)

Edited July 12, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[oakapple]

Of course, in a way, places like this shoot themselves in the foot by making it so hard to get a reservation when they first open and are in their "trying to create a buzz" phase.

←

I didn't rush to go there right after it opened, but on three occasions this year I've gotten reservations quite easily. It isn't hard to get into Perry St.

[Sneakeater]

I've been eating there pretty much monthly since they opened last year. For the first few months, reservations were doled out in the typical JGV manner: either very early or very late, but not during conventional dinner hours (since I almost always eat there late, this wasn't a problem). The restaurant was never crowded when I arrived there, however; clearly, tables had been held back from the general reservations pool.

A few months after opening, there was a change: if you called up and asked for a reservation, they were available pretty much at all times. No more of that automatic "I can seat you at 5:30 or at 10".

Edited July 13, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[emsny]

And note that Perry Street (along with a few other Vongerichten restaurants) is on the OpenTable list for those of us who prefer to deal with machines.

Edited July 13, 2006 by emsny (log)

[Nathan]

I finally stopped in here last night and snacked in the lounge with a friend.

Can't believe that I hadn't gotten around to it before.

The room, to my eyes, is inviting...perhaps not at first impression...but one definitely warms to it. This is in direct contrast to our next stop, Morimoto, where at first the decor impresses only to leave one cold on the aftertaste.

What I tried I loved...both cocktails and apps. The tuna, in its cereal crust and faintly Asian emulsion, was spectacular...like chicken I rarely order it, but here its a trademark dish and should remain so (it bares keeping with the tuna entree at USC). It was leagues better than a similar dish at Bar Room at the Modern.

The other apps we tried were also superb, if not quite as memorable...(I'd also had a few by that point).

[Todd36]

Had dinner there tonight. Amuse was a corn and butter soup, quite good. Heirloom tomato salad was excellent, soft shell crab was very good. Lobster poached in butter was very good, much more memorable than the Per Se version last year---not cheap at $45. Fillet of beef was very good. Cherry/pistacho dessert was very good. Poached Apricots were good---tasted like the ones I made at home using fruit from Red Jacket and sure enough, turns out they got them from Red Jacket, I asked. Overall, it's probably a low three star in my book.

[Sneakeater]

I had dinner here again last night and, just as a data point, I for one don't notice any significant slippage (even with a change in the chef de cuisine since last year).

The arctic char remains one of my favorite NYC entrees.

Edited August 24, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[docsconz]

I had dinner a couple of weeks ago at Perry Street and will add my name to the list of admirers. Standout dishes included the goat cheese, frisee and pickled peach salad; grilled king oyster mushroom and avocado carpaccio, madai sashimi with lemon, olive oil and crispy skin; Rice cracker crusted tuna, butter poached lobster, grilled beef tenderloin; and goat cheese-cake with concord grapes. Unfortunately, the lighting was too low for good dining room photography. The presentation were simple and elegant, pared down from those at Jean-Georges but of a similar aesthetic. There was a definite similarity in style of food with its older and more sophisticated sibling. The flavors are strong, true and balanced with good use of acid modulation. Neither restaurants is shy in its use of chili spice without overdoing it.

[BryanZ]

Does this place offer any sort of short tasting menu yet?

[Sneakeater]

I doubt they ever will. It's just somehow not that kind of place.

[glauer]

Despite very much wanting to agree with the admiration, the meal we had last Saturday was just OK, but decidedly short of exciting. It started with having to wait for an hour having a 10.30 reservation. The dishes we had (mozarella with peach salad, red snapper sashimi, rice cracker crusted tuna, chicken soup, rabbit, halibut and one more dish I forgot, plus dessert) were all nicely presented and well executed, but for me mostly lacked inspiration and had a certain blandness. This means something as I am generally leaning more towards elegance and subtlety rather than overly bold flavors. So while there was nothing wrong with the dinner I am also hard pressed to find a reason to go back. The next day at The Modern bar room we had many more dishes I can clearly remember.

[BryanZ]

I doubt they ever will. It's just somehow not that kind of place.

That upsets me because I really hate ordering a la carte but really liked the dynamic yet simplified food the one time I went there. I envision a $65 four or five-course meal. If it had something like that, it'd be on my short list.

Edited October 4, 2006 by BryanZ (log)

[Sneakeater]

Perry Street is just too casual. That would be more of a Big Deal than I think they want to present.

Edited October 4, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[oakapple]

It's quite obviously an overt decision to not have a tasting menu here. I mean, it would have been such an obvious thing to do. Maybe they want to avoid the "Jean-Georges lite" moniker.

[Nathan]

its literally intended to be a "neighborhood restaurant".

and now that I've moved a couple blocks away, it will be.

[oakapple]

its literally intended to be a "neighborhood restaurant".

←

A much-abused term. Perry St is not a neighborhood restaurant.

[Nathan]

it most certainly is intended to be a version of a neighborhood restaurant. that is the concept.

I also know for a fact that there indeed are residents of the towers that treat it as almost a sort of "room service" and that indeed there are people in the neighborhood that drop in on a regular basis.

one can always eat in the lounge sans reservation and ditto for the dining room at lunch (or dinner late). when I say "neighborhood restaurant" I also mean that in a sense very specific to that neighborhood. consider the median income of residents of the surrounding blocks (I am most certainly not at that median).