Per Se

I was on business in NY and flying out the next morning, while the rest of the team had flown home that afternoon, so I had an evening alone which is always nice from time to time.

I figured there was no way this would be possible, but thought I'd check in with Per Se to see if they had a table open for a party of 1 and unbelievably, they did! I've been lucky enough to have dined at The French Laundry twice before, but never had a chance to try Per Se. I thought this would be fun to compare Thomas Keller's other flagship restaurant on the other side of the country.

Per Se is on the 4th floor in the Time Warner Center and with Christmas around the corner, the decorations were beautiful.

After entering the beautiful and signature blue doors, I was escorted to the lounge as my table was being made up.

While waiting I had a house-made gin and tonic which was refreshing and flavorful. I'm still more of a fan of the Spanish Gintonics, but this was about as good as it gets for the more classic style.

My table was soon ready and I was glad I had a nice private table. I dine alone a lot when I travel, but this was my first 3-star solo dining experience. It turned out to be fun and would recommend everyone trying this type of experience at some point.

Very similar to the TFL arrangement, but without the clothes pin of course.

The menu for the day

One of my all time favorite bites of the salmon coronet. It was as good as TFL's version.

A crisp glass of Sancerre to kick off the start of the meal, was nice and mineral driven.

I was sent an extra dish of the broccoli veloute which tasted of pure broccoli and richness.

Next up, probably one of my top 5 favorite dishes of Oysters and Pearls.

I could eat several bowls of these.

Another extra of the truffle custard and potato chip, was excellent!

Next up in preparation for the foie course, the sampler of salts and two types of butters.

Time to switch to a Puligny-Montrachet for a richer Burgundy for the next couple of courses.

Foie terrine was perfectly executed, but I must say, I'm more a fan of seared foie.

Fillet of Lubina had a great texture and the Romanesco sauce on top provided a nice punch.

The scallop was perfectly prepared and not too salty. The sunchoke puree underneath was excellent.

The white Alba truffles were fresh, pungent and huge!

The risotto pre-truffles.

Shaving in process

Beautiful and the most amazing risotto. Honestly, I'd take this risotto without the truffles any day.

The Miyazaki Wagyu was perfect as it should be. Minimal seasoning to the meat to let the unctuousness come through.

Then my favorite part of any meal, dessert! The coffee and donuts are a Thomas Keller classic and good as always. The rest of the dessert party was excellent, but I must say I was not able to finish everything, but a valiant effort was given.

My Per Se meal was fantastic and near perfect execution. My criticism is that it's too similar to the techniques, dishes and flavors of my TFL meal a couple years earlier. I hope they start to modernize and update their menu otherwise they'll get left in the past which would be a shame.

It was a perfect night to walk back to my hotel in mid-town, go to bed and head to the airport in the morning. I love NYC and will be back soon.