Lunch at Per Se in New York

By Beefy Eater | November 8, 2010

Today we had a meal of a life time at Per Se. One of six restaurants given 3 stars by the Michelin Guide in the US, we were expecting a pretty damn good meal, and that is what we got.

First of all, the small touches like personalized menus was pretty cool. And we were allowed to keep the menus afterwards… which is great for reference.

The service was stellar. From start to finish we were given awesome service which was friendly and far from pretentious. We chatted about the New York Marathon which was happening right next to Columbus Circle and also about the food. Before leaving we were offered the chance to go in and visit the kitchen which we jumped at… To see the spotlessly clean kitchen and the satellite feed of French Landry kitchen in California was pretty neat.

So we selected the Chef’s Tasting menu with the Foie Gras supplement along with a bottle of champagne, Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé. Because this was lunch, we decided to take it easy and avoid the wine flight. The champagne was definitely enough.

The items below are exactly how they appeared on the menu…

Before we started into the tasting menu we had an amuse bouche of cheese and a salmon tartar cone (which I took a picture of on my iPhone only).

Oysters and Pearls
“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar

This dish is the only dish that is consistently on the menu and can be found at Per Se and also French Laundry. This is the first time I have had real caviar and it was scrumptious. I think without the Tapioca it would have been a little too fishy for me, but together it was awesome.

“Gateau” of Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras
Green Pistachios, Blis Maple Syrup Glaze, Flowering Quince, HGarden Mache and Aged Balsamic Vinegar

I can’t say no to foie gras, so of course I was looking forward to this dish. They call it a cake because the foie is sandwiched between maple syrup glaze and a pistachio paste. It was delectable. And aside from the foie, the toast they gave, the think yummy toast was delicious also. And the I had eaten one half of the toast and they were at my side replacing the other half with a new hot full piece of toast. That was great, but totally messed up my calculations to have enough foie gras for the toast I was originally given.

Sourdough Roll

A variety of rolls were offered throughout the meal including a multigrain, this sourdough, and soft pretzel. We had a selection of two different kinds of butter and 6 different kinds of salt. The first bread we got was sort of like a butter bun that just melted in your mouth.

Atlantic Halibut “A La Cressonniere”
Fork Crushed New Crop Potatoes, Garlic Confit, Watercress Salad and Caper Cream

The fish was done to perfection. Flaky, and perfectly cooked. The flavours were rich and the caper cream which was reminiscent of tartar sauce totally completed the dish.

Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster
King Richard Leeks, Horseradish Mousseline, Red Ribbon Sorrel and Red Beet Essence

This was probably the only disappointing dish. The flavours were amazing, but the lobster was a little tough. I’m not a lobster expert, although I have had enough of it over the last month, but I have had much more tender lobster.

Four Story Hill Farm’s Poussin
French Breakfast Radishes, Caramelized Hearts of Romaine, Fennel Bulb and Bottarga Emulsion

Yes, I ate the skin. It was crispy and delicious. This dish was quite a rich one with lots of flavours going on.

Snake River Farm’s “Calotte De Boeuf Grillee”
Sesame Seed “Pain Perdu,” Pickled Onions, Petite Lettuces, Cornichons and Thousand Island Dressing

The beef was melt-in-your-mouth. A great medium rare piece of meat with a sesame seed bread pudding on the side.

Cabot Creamery’s “Clothbound Cheddar”
Marinated Artichokes, Holland Peppers, Lavash and Petite Basil

This was an interesting dish. It was cheese that came encased in this hard shell with various peppers and artichokes around it. I chipped it open and found a warm piece of cheese. Alone I found the flavour unenthused, but when I managed to get a little bit of everything on my fork, the dish came alive.

Golden Pineapple Sorbet
Madras Curry Sable and Kaffir Lime Soda

To cleanse our palette, this dish had some tart pineapple sorbet.

Tropical Tea
Passionfruit-Chocolate Cremeux, Earl Grey Ice Cream

This dessert was rich and full of chocolate. At this point I was getting full, but I still managed to get most of it down.

Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla Ice Cream

We were actually at Per Se for our anniversary, so this dessert was for celebration. A rich chocolate mousse cake with pieces of chocolate that seemed to be dusted with gold. The ice cream was amazing vanilla.

Toffee Apple
Apple “creme Patissiere,” Caramel Jelly, Poached Blanc d’Hiver Apples, Root Beer Soda and Caramel Ice Cream

I think the beauty of this dish speaks for the flavour that you would expect.

After the three desserts, we thought we were done. But more kept on coming out. Starting with a chocolate course where we could choose from a selection of chocolates. Then three more dishes came out… followed by more treats!

Cappuccino Ice Cream with Real Cappuccino Foam

This was ice cold cappuccino ice cream with real cappuccino foam on top.

Popcorn Ice Cream

These little balls were filled with popcorn flavoured ice cream.

Fresh Sugar Donuts

Warm and soft sugar donuts, that I wanted to finish, but just couldn’t!

Truffles, Macaroons, and Hand Wrapped Home Made Caramels

The this dish came out! Three layers of truffles, macaroons, and home made caramels. All delicious… we tried our best to have one or two of each but we were so full! Lucky for us, they said we could take home some the caramels.