Per Se

Erin and I went to New York last weekend to celebrate our birthdays, mine October 7 and her's October 15. As I turned 30 this year, my only real wish was to have dinner at Per Se, Thomas Keller's urban interpretation of the world famous French Laundry. Everything I had heard/read, said this was one of the most amazing restaurants in the world, an unforgettable dining experience. It is also on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, #6 to be exact. As it turned out, dinner reservations here are very hard to get. I tried for 3 months leading up to our trip, and the only thing I could manage was lunch, not quite what I had in mind. When we got on the plane Thursday morning, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would not be dining at Per Se on this trip.

When we got off the plane, I had a voice message on my phone. It was our hotel calling, letting me know they were able to get reservations for us at Per Se that evening! Well done W Union Square. It could not have worked out any better. What a perfect way to start off our trip to New York.

We got to the restaurant at 7:00p. Per Se is located in the (relatively) new Time Warner Building, in Columbus Circle. It's funny because there are two unbelievable restaurants in this (more or less) shopping mall. One is Per Se and the other is Masa, one of the most amazing sushi restaurants in New York where the chefs tasting menu (omakase) can run you upwards of $400 per person.

The distinctive blue front door of Per Se is intended resemble that of French Laundry. There is a beautiful garden and fireplace out front as well.

The interior is designed in all earthy materials, wood, granite, marble and copper tile floors. In the dining room, the view is amazing. Every table faces huge windows that look out over Columbus Circle into the southwest corner of Central Park. Although it was dark, the view was incredible.

Erin and I started the evening with the 2004 Schramsberg, Blanc de blancs, Napa Valley, a very nice sparkling wine. It was slightly off dry, just a small hint of citrus and vanilla, and a real nice smoothness. It made for a very nice way to start the meal. When presented with the menu, you really only get two main choices, the Chef's Tasting Menu, or the Tasting of Vegetables. It was a pretty easy choice as we both are meat eaters. From there, everything went very well!

The wine list was amazing as well and I could not have been happier with our selections. We decided on two bottles to go with our meal. We started with a Vouvray, a Chenin Blanc from from Vouvray in the Loire Valley in France. This wine was special. Over a year ago, I read an article in Food & Wine about Vouvray, especially the producer Domaine Huet. For a year now I have been looking for this wine, in retail stores, on-line, in restaurants and had no luck (keep in mind, I am in Indiana). When I saw the wine on the list at Per Se, I just had to order it. Chenin Blanc is one of my favorite grapes and it pairs really well with food. It has great acidity, minerality, and nice honeyed fruit. The grape makes a nice sparkling wine as well. The bottle at Per Se was the 2006 Gaston Huet, Sec, "Le Mont," Vouvray. Le Mont is the best vineyard in the domain. The wine was a little young but tasted amazing. It has great minerality and tangy line and ginger notes. It made a great starter wine for first 4 courses.

The food was absolutely amazing. Four courses really stood out, but that is not to say others weren't delicious. After a small starter, the first course was "Oysters and Pearls." This is a dish made famous at French Laundry and brought to Per Se. We were presented with Mother of Pearl spoons before the food was served. The dish paired White Sturgeon Caviar with 2 small Island Creek Oysters and a very light tapioca. Individually, all these ingredients were good but together they were great. This is a classic example of why I believe great chefs are great. More or less, any chef has access to top tier ingredients, fresh seafood, vegetables, quality meats. But what makes the great ones great, is their ability to put flavors together. Most talented chefs can get these choice ingredients and prepare them correctly but it is the out of box thinking, "how would these 3 favors taste together, and together, would they be better than each as an individual?" is really what is special. Not many people can create these specialities. We saw this at Alinea, and we relished in it here.

My favorite course of the night was "Gateau" of Hudson Valley Moulard Dock Foie Gras. I LOVE Foie Gras, and I eat it every chance I get. If you didn't know, Foie Gras is fattened liver, typically goose or duck. The birds are force feed several times a day, become obese, and develop fatty liver. Many argue this is inhumane and the birds suffer. Others believe the animals don't feel any pain. The argument reached political proportions when the city of Chicago banned Foie Gras from all restaurants but the city council later over turned the ban.

The Foie Gras at Per Se was the best I have ever had. The fattened liver was layered between an oatmeal "Genoise" and Blis Maple Glaze. It was served with huckleberries, crosnes, red ribbon sorrel and toasted Brioche. Every bite was amazing and I never wanted it to end. It was unreal.

The Foie Gras was paired a glass of the 2002 Királyudvar, Tokaji Cuvée, "Ilona," Hungary. It was an amazing pair, one I won't soon forget. The classic pairing is Foie Gras with Sauternes, but the sommelier recommended this wine and it was a huge hit. This made the best course of the night.

Scottish Langoustines "A la Planca" were served with a caramelized salsify, musquee de provence pumpkin, brussel sprout leaves and "Mousseline de Quarte Epice." This dish was another example of various favors coming together to make something special. The langoustines has a sweet, brininess to them, the pumpkin had a spicy sweetness, the salsify added acidity and the brussel sprout leaves, a bit of bitterness. Altogether, the dish was very tasty, fun to eat, and a big hit.

For the later half of the meal, we enjoyed the 2006 Bergström, "Single Barrel Selection," Willamette Valley. This is a really special Pinot Noir from Orgeon. Bergström takes one barrel of wine and bottles it exclusively for French Laundry and Per Se. This limited quantity rarity was really enjoyable. The wine tasted of plums, cherries, and red raspberries. It was a young wine but tannins were velvety and smooth. It had an amazingly long finish that lasted for well over a minute. What a special wine...

The last dish I want to highlight was the Saddle of 24 Carrot Farm's Rabbit. It was served with a "Farcie a la Mousse de Marron" applewood smoked bacon, wilted dandelion greens and rabbit jus. This was a delicious rustic dish. The rabbit was prepared very well and its distinctive flavor was augmented by the bacon and the greens. This paired amazingly well with the Pinot Noir and was a great example of how wine and food make each other better.

Dinner at Per Se was an unforgettable experience, one that we will relish for a long time. The food was delicious, the wine amazing, and it made for a great 30th birthday for me and 29th birthday for Erin.