Per Se

Thomas Keller’s Per Se is located in Columbia Square in New York City. The restaurant is considered to be the sister restaurant of French Laundry in Yountville, CA. Although The French Laundry is the more known then Per Se, Per Se is ranked slightly higher (#10) on the Best Restaurants in the World.

The restaurants have similar formats, a Chef or Vegetable Tasting Menu of 10-12 items (with a few extras that are never on the menu). A little known fact about these two restaurants is their kitchen’s a linked via closed caption satellite video. In each kitchen there is a 60+ inch TV on the wall that gives a peak into the other restaurant’s kitchen (only video, no sounds can be exchanged). This gives both kitchens a subconscious obligation to always maintain professional and high-class environment.

Since both the Chef and Vegetable menus were sampled in this meal, I’ll highlight a few of our selections below. Each tasting menu started with a paper-thin cone (one filled with crushed peas, the second with a salmon tartar. These cones packed umami in each bite – a fantastic starter to our meal. The "Oysters And Pearls" "sabayon" of pearl tapioca with island creek oysters and sterling white sturgeon caviar is another notable selection worth mentioning (one of my favorites). Each bite was creamy, smooth and full of flavor. The desert courses were decadent. The homemade Pineapple Sorbet lime macarons, compressed golden pineapple, papaya and persian lime salt was phenomenal and a great end to an outstanding meal.