New York City Review: Per Se

Per Se

10 Columbus Circle

4th Floor

New York, NY 10019

(+1) 212-823-9335

I returned to Per Se for my second dining experience- this time, with a friend who works there. I ate there back in 2009 but this time, I must say that I was more impressed and had the full Per Se experience. We arrived for our 7:30pm reservation and sat there indulging until 1:30pm. A six hour meal! Ridiculous.

Our meal started off with a special cocktail made for my friend. They told us we should come up with a name for it but we couldn't think of anything worthy of it. First time I ever saw synchronized service for cocktails...

 

 Per Se's signature salmon tartare cornettes

It was a hot day so this Ajo Blanco was a perfect start to our six hour meal. The coriander blossoms added a nice touch. The garlic was not overpowering and the sweetness of the grapes was actually refreshing in this savory soup.

No meal at Per Se would be complete without Oysters and Pearls of course. A "sabayon" of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and Sterling white sturgeon caviar. The perfect portion because it leaves you wanting just a little more.

Smoke- tartare of Australian Kampachi with the smoothest hass avocado puree you will ever come across. Served with granny smith apples and dashi pearls.

Soft Shell Crab Cocktail- one bite of San Marzano tomato marmalade, celery branch and preserved horseradish.

Pickled 100 Day Dry Aged American Wagyu- one of the most interesting dishes of the night for me. Very simple, served with cornichons and whole grain mustard. This pickled beef was smokey and tender.

Coddled Jidori Hen Egg- with caponata and roquette

Terrine of Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras- with compressed strawberries and pickled ramps. Each one of us actually got a different foie gras dish.

Seven different salts and two different butters

Bili Bi- mussles in the half shell

Pave of Spanish Turbot- with English peas, pickled ramps, mizuna and applewood smoked bacon emulsion

Homard en Cocotte- Basmati rice, Vandouvan curry and kaffir lime. Didn't think I'd be eating basmati rice or any sort of curry at Per Se!

Hand Cut Tagliatelle- black winter truffles and parmigiano reggiano. Simple and delicious.

Four Story Hill Farm's Poussin en Croute de sel- with slow baked beets, celery ribbons, sauternes gelee and smoked foie gras

I had only slept three hours the night before and was actually starting to fall asleep with all the wine! So they thoughtfully made me a nice cold espresso drink :)

Elysian Fields Farm's Lamb Saddle en Crepinette- with arrowlead spinach "panade", Oregon morel mushrooms, braised fava beans and sauce Bordelaise

Maplebrook Farm's Burrata- with sungold tomatoes

Chocolate covered ice cream lolly

Strawberries and Cream- what a pretty dessert! Perfect balance of sweet and tart

Brownie and Malted Milk- double chocolate brownie, malted mousse, candied peanuts, maple bourbon ice cream and whipped crown maple syrup

Believe it or not we ate ALL these chocolates

Signature dessert of cappuccino semi freddo and doughnut (SO good)

Wine Accompaniment

Bollinger, "La Grande Annee" Ay 2002

Pichler-Krutzler, Riesling, "Loilennerg" Loibnerm Wachau 2010

Chateau Guirard, Sauternes 2001

Domaine Michel Niellon, Chassagne-Montrachet 2009

David Duband, Vosgne-Romanee 2009

Chateau d'Armailhac, Pauillac 2005

Domaine Morengo, "#655", Muscat du Cap Corse 2008 

New York City Review: Roberta's

Roberta's Pizza
261 Moore St
(Brooklyn)
718-417-1118

The last time I went to Roberta's was two years ago and back then you couldn't make reservations.  Seems quite a bit has changed at this spot.  I just think Roberta's is a really Brooklyn and really cute restaurant.  I love the casual yet trendy atmosphere and the food is solid.

The meat with cured meats from within the US- my favorite was the soppresata

Nebraska IPA

The pizzas were the best part of the meal in my opinion.  The crust was just how I like it- thin with a crusty crust but still quite glutinous.  The mortacombat was with mortadella, castel vetrano olives, parsley and mozzarella.  The shangheist was with black olives, guanciale, red onion, parmigiano and mint.  They were both good but I preferred the mortacombat.

Agnolotti with black truffle, taleggio and nasturtium- nothing special

Sweetbreads with lime aioli- loved the sweetbreads but there was not enough acid so we ordered lemon wedges

My friends didn't like this tripe dish but it was different and I enjoyed the texture (still slightly chewy).  Quite a light dish.

The brought us a carrot salad because the scallops took a long time

Best out of the entrees.  Diver scallops with pickled plum, sea beans and lardo

5th Annual International Chefs Congress

With my sweet schedule for the semester, I was able to make it to two days of the 5th annual international chefs congress in NYC hosted by Starchefs (September 20-22, 2010).  The ticket was expensive but it was worth it.  It was intimidating being a culinary student amongst mostly professionals in the industry but I got to taste different foods and wines, and learn about what's going on in the food scene.

 Main stage: Chef Dan Hunter from Australia.  He is the executive chef at a restaurant located about an hour outside Melbourne at the Royal Mail Hotel. His cuisine is based on nature and he seems to strive to make his dishes look almost like landscapes.  He uses a lot of wild ingredients that he can find near the restaurant (certain types of seaweeds etc.) as well as organic and heirloom produce and cooks them using modern techniques (sous vide etc.)

 As much as I criticize how chefs in America are idolized, I was excited to see a lot of leading chefs and other well known industry people at this event.  I equate it to being at a culinary version of the Emmy Awards.  Besides Thomas Keller, I saw Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, Johnny Iuzzini of Jean George, Jacques Torres, author Michael Ruhlman, Wiley Dufresne of wd50, bartender Dale Degroff, executive pastry chef Alex Grunert of Blue Hill, Dan Barber of Blue Hill...    

 There were booths run by food, wine, beer and kitchen equipment companies for people in the industry to check out.  I felt bad going around tasting because I wasn't a real potential client but I did pay for the event so I made sure to try everything! This fruit called carica from Chile caught my attention.  It was packed in syrup but quite tasty.  They describe it as tasting like pineapple, pear, peach and some other fruit.  Apparently it's only found in Chile but I came across a fruit similar to it in Colombia.  It had a different name but it looked the same.  But the only thing was, this fruit that I bought in Colombia did not taste good raw at all.  My Colombian friends told me that it's usually not consumed raw, so there's a possibility that it's the same fruit.

Michael Ruhlman

 Main stage: Chocolatier Dominique Persoone and food scientist Bernard Lahousse from Belgium.  This presentation was fascinating.  Lahousse explained the research that he has been doing based on the compatibility of combination of flavors.  He gathered data of different flavor profiles and came up with a scientific analysis to explain why certain flavors go well together.  His website offers lists of foods that go well with specific ingredients.  And chef Persoone basically makes a lot of his chocolates based on Lahousse's findings.   

 Everyone in the audience got a box of four different chocolates and a beak, which we wore to help us smell better! Chef Persoone explained the story behind each chocolate and would describe a setting, and release a smell associated to it.  For example, one of his chocolates had water inside it! I can't remember how he managed to make it but it was fascinating.  He described rain and there was a smell of water/rain released into the room.  He then told us to close our eyes and take a bite.  I guess his point was that external factors and your olfactory senses are important when tasting food.

 This shell shaped chocolate actually had macerated oyster inside! The brininess was a good combination with the milk chocolate.

 

A cute little tequila chocolate.  We licked the salt, ate the chocolate and squirted the tequila into our mouths.  It was such a fun presentation!

 

Chocolate shooters: imagine taking a hit of cocoa powder using a little plastic catapult... Chef Persoone came up with this fun and wacky concept for the Rolling Stones.  They were in Belgium when two of their band members had birthdays, and they celebrated at his birthday.  When asked to include a fun chocolate idea, he thought of chocolate hits, totally suitable for the Rock n Roll band! The smell of chocolate stays in your nose for a very long time and if you're not careful you'll have brown powder all over your nostrils!

Somm Slam

I attended Somm Slam on day three, not knowing that you had to be a food industry professional to vote.  But I reasoned that they could use one judge to represent the public because after all, it's the general public that makes or breaks a restaurant.  After day one and two, sommeliers Andrew Meyers and William Sherer made it through to the final round.  Chef Iacopo Falai of Falai made three courses and the sommeliers had to choose a wine from the Spanish selection in front of the room.  After tasting the food, the sommeliers were given some time to taste the wines and finally make their choice.  We tasted their pairings and chose the one we preferred for each course.  I really liked William Sherers approach to food and wine pairing, but ended up voting for Andrew Myers twice.  In the end, Andrew Meyers won the competition and the grand prize was a trip to Italy!    

Myers on the left, Sherer on the right

 Summer of Riesling

Sommelier Paul Grieco of Terroir led a riesling tasting.  This man is truly passionate about riesling and his love for this grape varietal definitely rubbed off on me.  Before attending culinary school and being exposed to so many wines, I definitely was guilty of having the impression that all rieslings were sweet.  I prefer high acid wines so I would always dismiss the rieslings, believing that it would be sweet.  The sweet-dry rieslings he chose definitely exemplified how there are plenty of well balanced rieslings.  Even the sweeter rieslings had amazing acidity, finesse and complexity.  I now almost always order a glass of dry riesling when I want a high acid, crisp wine with my food.

Cocktail King: Dale Degroff

I had watched an old video of bartender Dale Degroff in my restaurant row class because my Professor insisted that he was the best bartender in New York.  So I was excited to see him in person and do a demonstration.  Unfortunately I couldn't try what he made so I don't have much of an opinion. 

Main stage: Toque

 Chef Normand Laprise and two cooks from his restaurant, Toque, came from Montreal to do a demo.  The concept for his restaurant is to minimize waste.  So he uses a lot of offals and maximizes utility for all produce.  One of the things that interested me was their tomato syrup, which is basically reduced tomato water.