Per Se

Address: Ten Columbus Circle, New York

http://perseny.com

Phone: 212-823-9335

The Per Se "blue door" entrance, modeled after French Laundry's.
Is this restaurant a replica of the French Laundry or is it worthy of its own accolades?

Celebrating birthdays with fine dining is customary to a lot of people. As Sarah's birthday approaches this year, it was very clear to me that there would only be one restaurant in America that can satisfy the food blogger. It has to be the best in America.

Chef Thomas Keller's journey from NYC to California to launch the American culinary institution that is French Laundry has been etched as one of the most significant juncture in the annals of food history. What he has achieved out in the wine country has elevated America into a world class destination for food connoisseurs. That's why it's amazing that he would risk so much and come back to NYC to embark on Per Se. One of the main reasons for the success of Per Se is its Chef de Cuisine, Jonathan Benno. At the time of our dinner at Per Se, the food blogosphere were abuzzed with the rumors (and subsequent confirmation) of Jonathan Benno's pending departure from Per Se. It's just one more reason for us to make a visit to this highly touted restaurant.

My first impression of the restaurant was that it's much more formal than I thought, in terms of service and decor. Not French classical formality as Taillevent in Paris, but more formal than Le Bernardin and most of the restaurants in New York City, with a modern touch. On arrival, we were ushered into a booth in the lounge and were offered aperitifs, a very nice glass of champagne. The decor is urban modern and minimalistic with clean lines, appropriately set with the beautiful south Central Park West as the backdrop. But I'm glad that the formality did not come with any stuffiness and arrogance. Our waiter Jim was friendly and professional, he made us feel comfortable and was very attentive to our every need including offering to provide his own nice personal pen and a scratch pad for us to write down our thoughts for the night.

Joyeux Anniversaire, mon amour

We went with the Chef Tasting menu, which covers 11 courses of dishes, including desserts. The other was the Tasting of Vegetables menu. We have not been to French Laundry, so every dish on the menu was new to us. We thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes on the chef menu, but one in particular was a huge disappointment, the French Onion Soup. We thought the soup was extremely salty and overly concentrated. A mere blemish to otherwise, an excellent progression of a very well executed dinner.

Our favorite dish on the menu turned out to be Grilled Pave of Spanish Mackerel; the perfectly grilled fish left us with a wonderful "heat-burnt" after taste that kept us wanting more. It was easily the best dish we've had that night, a good balance of the fatty spanish mackerel fish oil, and the very savory medley of spring vegetables. Surprisingly, the grilled fish also reminded us of the amazing dishes we had at Asador Etxebarri. Their signature (an import from French Laundry) Oysters and Pearls is luxurious and decadent, the salad of mushrooms was earthy and appetizing and the foie gras, classic and done elegantly. We also thought the Epaule de Lapin, meat ball on fork with rabbit jus highlighted their multi-dimensional talent in cooking not just seafood but meat as well. There had been many highly rated restaurants that had impressed us on seafood but disappointed us in the meat dishes. Per Se had certainly deserved kudos for being able to continue to impress us with this slightly more gamey meat. The Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster was so succulent and poached superbly. Couldn't have asked for a better cooked lobster than the one we ate here.

I was so obsessed with this soft roll that I had to request for a few more after the first bite
Crispy on the outside, soft and piping hot on the inside
with 2 types of butter: california sweet butter and salted

Amuse bouche - Sweet Onion Cornash with Salmon and Creme Fraise

OYSTERS AND PEARLS - "Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon
Aromatic with nice smooth creamy texture. Luxurious!

SALAD OF MARINATED FOREST MUSHROOMS - Hadley Orchards' Medjool Dates, French Breakfast Radishes, Snow Peas and Pea Tendrils
Refreshing. Texture of different mushrooms was playful to the mouth.

SAUTEED HUDSON VALLEY MOULARD DUCK FOIE GRAS - Whole Grain Mustard "Pain Perdu," Hakurei Turnips, Yellow Nectarines and Mustard Cress with Duck Jus.
Perfectly crisp on the outside and moist on the inside

GRILLED "PAVE" OF SPANISH MACKEREL - Braised Sunchokes, Global Artichokes and Rainbow Swiss Chard with Manzanilla Sherry "Ravigote"
PERFECT! The vegetables complemented the perfectly grilled Spanish Mackerel. One of the most appetizing and delicious fish dish ever. YUMMY!

BUTTER POACHED NOVA SCOTIA LOBSTER - Confit of Marble Potatoes and Celery Root "Remoulade" with "Jus de Truffle de la Saint-Jean"
We were still salivating after finish eating this. Very juicy. The celery root was intensely flavored and had a nice crunchy texture

24 CARROT FARM's "EPAULE DE LAPIN" - Romano Beans, Pickled Holland Peppers and Green Tomatoes with Rabbit Jus

Now you see it. Now you don't. There's a certain Asian spiced flavor to it that made it familiar. The strong, sticky, flavorful rabbit jus sauce was an equal to the strong gamey rabbit meat. Chef Keller used an antique French utensil-handle. It's a more refine way to eat a meat drumstick using your fingers. 24 Carrot/Carat - Cute

ELYSIAN FIELDS FARM'S "CARRE D'AGNEAU ROTI ENTIER" - Slow Baked Beets, Compressed Aian Pear and Watercress Leaves with "Sauce au Poivre"

A feminine dish. Colorful and pretty in the presentation. Coarse salt used brings out the flavor. Another well executed meat dish. Not an easy feat to be good in both seafood and meat dishes all together.

"FRENCH ONION SOUP" -- "Comte Fort des Rousses" "Soupe a l'Oignon et Crouton de Brioche Grille
One word - dissapointment. Luckily, this was pretty much the only one for the night.

BLUEBERRY SORBET - Blueberry "Flapjack" with Madagascar Vanilla Fudge and Blueberry Crisp
All blueberry through and thru :-)

Amuse Bouche Float - champagne ice with layers of moose, praline crumble, jelly

Coffee and doughut/beignet

"TORTA DI CILIEGIE E NOCCIOLE" - Piedmont Hazelnut "Praline," Compressed Brooks Cherries, Hazelnut "Financier" and Cherry Reduction with Yogurt-Tarragon Sherbet

"MUD PIE" - Dark Chocolate Mud Cake, Liquid Caramel, Chocolate "Cremeux" and Caramel Parfait with Sassafras Ice Cream

Petit Four - truffles
We also received a "gift bag" with truffles and granola bars. The truffles were as good as Kee's Chocolate's and the granola bars were as good as any we've had. They were determined to remind you even after you leave the restaurant on how much they put an effort into their food, down to the last detail of every product leaving the kitchen

The best part about eating at Per Se that night, aside from its world class food, was definitely our visit to the restaurant's world class kitchen, which was aptly nicknamed The Gold Vault. Our dinner ended late at 1am, so most of the staffs have left the restaurant, with only a handful of people doing some cleaning ups and prepping for the next day. We had visited some famous kitchens in the world, but we had never seen a kitchen as well equipped and enormous like Per Se's! We were told the size of the kitchen equally matched the size of the dining room. I bet it's every chef's dream to be working in a kitchen like the one there.

The Gold Vault

Live television feed from French Laundry Extension of the kitchen for Chef Keller's empire

Will the real yaokuis, please stand up?

Chefs discussing tomorrow's menu at 1am in the morning

Special kitchen section for soup/sauce preparation
Mark of a true French kitchen

Restaurant's Motto "SENSE OF URGENCY" @ 12:20am

In house Chocalatier

Bakery department for Bouchon Bakery

From the moment we stepped through the blue door til the moment we exit, and even now while I'm writing this review, it is hard not to be impressed by the refinement and detailed execution of everything that is associated with Per Se. I don't know if this can ever be possibly attributed to a single entity, a legendary chef like Thomas Keller or an enigmatic and up-and-coming bright chef like Jonathan Benno. This is a collective effort from the entire staff. It's a philosophy, of collaboration and of cultivating a culture of learning and passion. The end result may sometimes not be well received but in the end, as food lovers, we truly appreciate and recognize the risks taken in the makings of a great restaurant. Per Se is a must try, a once in a lifetime opportunity, despite its exorbitant cost.

Sarah, Happy Birthday and I hope that you had a happy meal that night, as much as I had.
Here's wishing for more great food adventure to come in the many years we have together ahead of us.

Gottino

Address: 52 Greenwich Avenue, New York

http://www.ilovegottino.com

Phone: 212-633-2590

Gottino, despite being listed as one of the best new US restaurant by Travel and Leisure magazine, was actually a disappointment for us. The salumi and rabbit pot pie were not bad, but the rest of the dishes tasted like they were prepared yesterday and heated up before they were served to us (We found out later that the executive chef was out the night we were there).

We really liked the rustic look and atmosphere of the restaurant, and we had high expectation since we have heard so much about the chef/owner Jody Williams. In the end, we still like Salumeria Rosi so much more!

Salumi

I believe this was Gottino's lasagna?

Rabbit pot pie

La Fonda Del Sol

Address: Met Life Building, 44th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, New York

http://www.patinagroup.com

Phone: 212-867-6767

Frank Bruni gave La Fonda Del Sol better rating than Txikito (2 stars vs 1 star) when the two restaurants were reviewed at the same time this past April. But after checking out La Fonda Del Sol last Monday, we have to say, Frank Bruni, we respectfully disagree!

The Pa Amb Tomàquet at La Fonda itself was enough to tell us that the restaurant's interpretation of Spanish/Catalan food just doesn't work. Pa Amb Tomàquet is a traditional Catalan comfort food prepared by simply rubbing tomatoes against the bread followed by sprinkles of olive oil and salt. La fonda's version of Pa Amb Tomàquet was a just piece of toast covered with chopped tomatoes, looked and tasted more like a bruchetta to us. The Salt Cod Croquetas and the rest of the dishes we ordered were also more about packaging than substance, and they were thoroughly disappointing. To us, the worse thing about La Fonda, aside from being too commercialized, was its waitress' lack of knowledge on Spanish food/tapas outside of what was listed on the menu. There's no way La Fonda Del Sol is better than Txikito!

La Fonda del Sol bar room

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Pa Amb Tomàquet - toasted bread, tomato, fruity olive oil, sea salt

Iberian Serrano Ham, cured 18 months

Salt Cod Croquetas with romesco sauce

Garlic Shrimp “Cazuelita” - olive oil, chile pods, garlic chips

Spicy Potatoes “Bravas”

Potted Duckling and Pork - oloroso sherry wine, toasted bread

Churrasco Mojo Rojo - sliced sirloin steak, patatas aioli

Fresh Mango Salad with Lemon‐Basil Sorbet

Lemon Basil sorbet

Blue Hill at Stone Barns Part 2

Address: 630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, NY

http://www.bluehillfarm.com

Phone: 914-366-9600

I can't believe it's been five months since we ate at Blue Hill in Stone Barns/BHSB. Our constant reminiscing of the memorable lunch at BHSB and our unforgettable day trip to Pocantico Hills lead to our second trip there a few weeks ago. And Thanks to our friend Oi yen for making it happen!

It's hard not to notice while driving that the landscape and scenery in Pocantico Hills had changed since January -- the ice on swan lake melted, the trees are in full bloom, and the road no longer icy and slippery. All these plus the chilly early summer breeze gave the area a totally different feel from the cold January month when we were there. This time around, Gan couldn't make it but we still had a group of six yaokuis making the special trip to Stone Barns for dinner.

I have to admit, the drive to the restaurant was not the easiest without Gan, especially when it got darker. We took a few wrong turns before finding our way there. Don't even think about jogging around the area in the evening, you might end up getting lost in the jungle of expensive mansions, just like one of our yaokui friend did ;P

Since I have tried the lunch menu at BHSB before, it was easier for me to compare between the two meals. To be honest, eventhough the dinner tasting menu was supposed to showoff the restaurant/chef's skills, we were more impressed by the lunch.

Snap peas was one of the fresh ingredients of the day but it was in too many dishes, resulted in lack of varieties. We had fresh snap peas and radish, pea burger, pea and Stone Barns yogurt and smoked rainbow trout with minted peas. And in case you haven't heard, there's no "real menu" at BHSB. Everything prepared by the kitchen is based on fresh produce of the day, and they will serve you based on what they have. But it turned out to be too much peas! Our friend Nan specially requested fish/seafood in place of red meat and she was served with a better mix of dishes, she even had a pasta dish that we were all hoping to get! (the truffle yam gnocchi we had for lunch the last time was AMAZING).

Dishes I really liked this time were the embryonic egg with speck, pea burger and smoked rainbow trout. According to our waitress, embryonic eggs are actually eggs with premature egg yolk harvested from retired chicken and had cured for 3 days. I can't taste the difference between embryonic egg and regular organic egg, but I enjoyed the half boiled egg wrapped with speck, especially the runny egg yolk that oozes out when sliced in half. Thumbs up for the egg dish for me! The mini burger, which was actually one of the amuse bouche, was also good - small but very satisfying. The smoked rainbow trout was another dish that I really enjoyed. The fish was very fresh and went well with the minted peas. It was very nicely done.

I almost missed out on desserts because I was too busy taking pictures. But thanks to Toro (my other friend), I got a taste of the delicious flourless chocolate cake and frozen marshmallow! The seven/eight course dinner lasted for about 3 hours and we didn't get home till 1am. Thankfully, it was a Saturday and coffee definitely helped keeping me awake after the heavy meal. I am already looking forward to our next pilgrimage to BHSB!

Chamomile Spritzer amuse bouche


Radish and sugar snap peas

Pea (pickled) burger

Hmoe cured bologna, bresaola and salami


This morning farm egg with speck and marmalade and corn bread with pine nuts.

pea and Stone Barns yogurt

Smoked rainbow trout with minted peas

Lamb neck and spring veggies

Chicken oysters with mustard green from the farm house

Berkshire pork with chick peas and chards

Frozen marshmallow with baked ricotta white chocolate lugo farm rhubarb sorbet and mint sorbet

Flour less chocolate cake with milk coco sorbet with toffee base

our fellow yaokui couple. The picture was taken near the farm, just too cute not to share

Scarpetta

Address: 355 West 14th Street, New York (Near 9th Ave)

http://scarpettanyc.com

Phone: 212-691-0555

Gan and I didn't get a chance to try L'impero before it closed (and reopened as Convivio), so we were really excited about our dinner at Scott Conant's new restaurant, Scarpetta at the glamorous meat packing district. We wanted to see for ourselves, whether Michael White or Scott Conant cooks better Italian dishes. It's obvious that we are big fans of Convivio, but we've heard that Scott Conant's Scarpetta is equally impressive as well.

It's hard not to be charmed by the restaurant's sexy interior. The loft like dining area with retractable skylight, leather strapped rectangular mirrors and gorgeous flower arrangements all contributed to the ambiance and created a space that is elegant yet not overly stuffy. But the star of this place is still Scott Conant's dishes, and we thought the food certainly lived up to our expectation.

The creamy polenta with truffle mushroom was absolutely to die for; the smooth buttery texture and flavor will get you hooked as soon as you tasted it. The crispy fritto misto (with fried calamari, zucchini and baby artichoke) is delicate and not too oily. The pasta dishes were all amazing, and I would go back to Scarpetta just for its Black Maccheroni with seafood and Spaghetti with tomato and basil --- especially the spaghetti with tomato and basil. It's the chef's signature dish, and it could easily be the best spaghetti with tomato and basil we have ever eaten! The moist-roasted capretto (milk fed baby goat) was also one of the highlights. The meat was so succulent and tender that all the guilt we felt about eating baby goat was instantly vanished! The desserts were also incredible - two thumbs up for the coconut panna cotta with guava soup!

Now that we have eaten at both restaurants, do we like Convivio or Scarpetta better? The answer is, we like both. Trust me, we are not trying to be diplomatic or anything here, but we felt that both chefs are equally superior in making amazing Italian dishes, and we thought it all comes down to the price. Convivio (and not Alto or Marea) definitely offers more attractive deals with its prix fixe menu that you just can't say no to, while Scarpetta is slightly more pricey. But we can definitely see why Scarpette was listed as one of the best new US restaurants by Travel and Leisure magazine -- the food is quite awesome and the dining room is just gorgeous.

Creamy Polenta with fricassee of truffled mushrooms

Crispy Fritto Misto


Braised short ribs of beef with vegetable and farro risotto

Mushroom Mezzalune in Brodo with porcini mushrooms, capon broth and horseradish

Black Maccheroni with mixed seafood, sea urchin and bread crumbs

Tagliatelle with early spring vegetables, guanciale and truffle zabaglione


Spaghetti with tomato and basil

Moist-roasted Capretto with rapini and fingerling potatoes


Pancetta-wrapped veal loin glazed sweetbreads, turnips & butternut squash puree

Coconut Panna Cotta with guava soup, caramelized pineapple