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Per Se Vegetarian Tasting and Chef's Tasting Review + Photos
All photos in context are here: http://www.donuts4dinner.com/2012/05/24/the-vegetarian-tasting-and-chefs-tasting-at-per-se/
The last time my boyfriend and I left Per Se, we were unexpectedly underwhelmed. We’d called ahead and requested the extended tasting menu, a many-extra-course/many-extra-dollar fine food feast that left us feeling as if we were actually treated worse by spending more. The responses to my review were generally along the lines of “it’s a privilege to get to eat there, and you’re paying for the opportunity to be one of the elite, so quit complaining”, which left me with an even more sour taste.
But Per Se is the best restaurant in the city. It’s the most lavish and the most luxurious, and it lends any special event the sort of weight that only a bowl of caviar and oysters served six plates high can. So when my boyfriend passed the California bar exam recently, we considered other options momentarily but probably knew all along that we’d ultimately go with Per Se once again.
And this time, there was nothing to complain about.
The setting was simply elegant as always, with big comfortable armchairs you don’t mind settling into for three or four hours. We were seated at the same table as last time and given a set of menus congratulating my boyfriend. I chose the usual chef’s tasting menu, this time with non-alcoholic beverage pairings, and he chose the vegetarian tasting with wine pairings.
• The usual Gruyere gougères started the meal in the huge handle-less spoon I love so much, but if it’s even possible, they were warmer, filled fuller, more flavorful than ever before.
• My cone was the traditional salmon with creme fraiche and was just as much like a sour cream and onion chip pulled from the ocean as I remembered. His was markedly lemony with a nice grainy texture from the pureed beans.
• scallion “panna cotta”, daikon glaze, dashi “pearls,” pickled jalapeño pepper, bagel crisps, white sesame purée
A clever accompaniment to my caviar, his salty, umami-ful panna cotta was flanked by “roe” formed from dashi broth. Scallion was the stand-out flavor, but the dish wouldn’t have been the same without the spice of the jalapeño sliver.
• “oysters and pearls”, “sabayon” of pearl tapioca, Island Creek oysters, sterling white sturgeon caviar
On my third time enjoying this signature dish, I found still more to love about it. The oysters were still as melt-in-your-mouth as always, but the tapioca in the creamy base seemed larger and more abundant and acted as a link between the smaller but firmer caviar and the larger but more tender oysters.
• “torchon” of Elevages Perigord moulard duck foie gras, Kendall Farms’s creme fraiche, Cherry Lane strawberries, Hakurei turnips, rolled oat tuille, mustard cress
One of the densest foie gras preparations I’ve seen, this torchon was thicker than peanut butter and barely wanted to spread on our soft rolls. It was sweet and mild, complimented by the strawberry slices and contrasted by the sour pickled onions. The bread, sprinkled with cartoonishly large cubes of salt and replaced three times by our server to ensure its freshness and warmth, peeled apart in crescent-shaped hunks to form the perfect vessel for foie gras filling.
• salt tasting
From the black lava salt to the 3,000-year-old pink salt to the flaky fleur de sel, I’ve thought the salts that have accompanied our foie gras supplement have been interesting in texture each time, but this is the first time that I’ve actually tasted flavor differences as well. Either my palate is improving or my imagination is.
• Parker House roll with unsalted and salted butters
Our server told us that a woman with six Jersey cows makes the salted butter for Per Se. You kind of want to roll your eyes and give her a hug at the same time.
• sunchoke “chawanmushi”, brooks cherries, Sacramento delta green asparagus, morel mushrooms, candied almonds
My dish may have been mushroomier, but they were more the star of his dish, highlighting the egginess and the density of the custard with their savory flavor and airy texture. He loved the crunch of the honey nuts especially.
• sautéed filet of black sea bass, honshimeji mushrooms, cauliflower “florettes”, cherry belle radishes, pickled ramps, young parsley
Perfectly cooked, of course, with a hardy crust that I welcomed amidst a bowl of otherwise tender elements. The thick, near-gelled sauce tasted of dill, and the array of tiny marinated mushrooms seemed like they must have been labored over back in the kitchen all morning.
• non-alcoholic pairing: chamomile tea with cardamom and a strong honey/lemon flavor
• milk poached white asparagus, “grenobloise”, hen egg yolk, green garlic “subric,” haricots verts, arugula, brown butter “gastrique
Tender, peppery, with an incredibly flavorful little cake, the so-called “subric”. Amazingly, we both liked this better than the lobster.
• butter poached Nova Scotia lobster “mitts”, glazed sweet carrots, pea shoots, ginger “mousseline”
With the sweet carrot and fresh peas, this was the perfect representation of summer. Though I loved the texture of this lobster in particular–ignore what they say about avoiding shellfish in months that don’t contain an R–I like my lobster a little richer and less healthy.
• non-alcoholic pairing: grapefruit tonic with basil leaf (two of my favourite things in life together in one glass)
• “endive en feuille de pommes de terre”, “ragoût” of fava beans, “Parmigiano-Reggiano”, parsley coulis
This was the only dish of the day that we weren’t gaga over. It wasn’t as flavorful as endive should be, and the breading was at odds with the stringy vegetable. Though the breading was delicious, it seemed like a way to cover up a sub-par filling, though of course everything at Per Se is meticulous, so I’m sure the endive wasn’t supposed to be an afterthought. The fava beans with Parmesan were the highlight of the dish; I could’ve done without the endive entirely.
• herb roasted Thomas Farm’s pigeon, “pastrami” of foie gras, thompson grapes, garlic scapes, mizuna, “sauce perigordine”
I can’t say for sure that it was invented by him, but chef David Chang of Momofuku Ko made famous the shaved frozen foie gras torchon, and we’ve had it on all four of our visits. There, it’s paired with sweet elements like pine nut brittle, lychee fruit, and Riesling jelly. Here, it took on an entirely different personality over the peppery pastrami-style spices of the squab. The burnt-bread-crumb flavor of the sauce had me scraping my plate for every drop.
• broccoli and semolina “agnolotti”, young onions, broccolini, navel orange confit, black winter truffle “mornay”
Pasta! Truffle! Onions! Citrus! It was all of my favourites in one dish. Creamy, truffley, cheesy, and orangey.
• Elysian Fields Farm’s lamb “en crépinette”, merguez sausage, chickpea purée, English cucumber, holland eggplants, lamb jus
The peppery coating on the tender, not-the-least-bit-funky lamb went so well with the fresh cucumber spheres, which tasted to me like the green rind of a watermelon.
• non-alcoholic pairing: English breakfast tea, cola, black pepper (“Cola and tea?!”, I thought. But they were perfect together.)
• Per Se “ricotta”, English pea “barbajuan,” picholine olives, pickled eggplant, toasted pine nuts, garden mint vinaigrette
Everything on this plate tasted green, from the mint sauce to the pea pastry. I’m only just developing a taste for the salty bitterness of olives and thought the flavor worked well here with the overall sweetness of the dish.
• Maplebrook Farm’s “burrata”, Paffenroth Farms’ heirloom tomatoes, petite onions, pearl barley, petite basil
I was worried that the summer menu would include tomatoes (still my most-feared ingredient) in every dish, so I only cried a little when this was put in front of me, and I even tried a little bit just to make sure that yep, I still hate them. Otherwise, I loved the fresh, salady flavors of this dish, which managed to make cheese–which is a shell of semi-soft mozzarella with creamy super-soft mozzarella inside–seem like a light, summery affair. It didn’t compare to the tempura-battered Hittisau we had last time, but the cheese course at Per Se is always memorable.
• caramelized banana sorbet, banana bread, compressed golden pineapple, black sesame buttercream
These flavors were at odds. The super-moist banana bread and sorbet were so sweet themselves, and the pineapple only added another dimension of sweetness. The dollops of white gel–no clue what they were–tasted like lavender soap might. It was a sweet, flowery, romantic dish. And then I got a taste of the black sesame buttercream. It was bitter and sour and never got any less intense, but it wasn’t uncomplimentary to the banana, and I loved the complexity of the dish.
• “raspberry and shortbread”, “granité de créme de cassis”, raspberry soda, Greek yogurt “panna cotta”
Fizzy and ultra sour with a cooling yogurt center and a buttery, crunchy base. The different crunches of the frozen top layer and cookie bottom layer made this a pleasure to dig a spoon into.
• chocolate milk
My final non-alcoholic pairing. It was fizzy like an egg cream, and our server refilled it when I finished it halfway through the mignardises, god bless him.
• “glace à la vanille”, macerated blueberries, vanilla pancakes
I’ll never know if my boyfriend really wanted this dessert or not, because I exclaimed so much when I saw it as a choice on his menu that he might have just ordered it to be nice, but I don’t think he regretted it either way. Because this used the best. maple. syrup. ever. (BLiS Gourmet, I’m coming for you and your $20 bourbon-barrel bottle of glory.) The dish was sweet and sour, warming and cooling, haute and homey.
• “honeyed cherries”, mint “génoise,” compressed brooks cherries, cherry crème “diplomate”, burnt honey ice cream
At the end of your lunch at Jean-Georges, your server will bring out a giant glass pharmacy bottle full of housemade marshmallows and pluck one out for you with a pair of tongs. She’ll make a ceremony of it, and it will seem like a big deal at the time. But hidden in this dish at Per Se was a much, much better marshmallow, and no one made a big deal of it at all. Except for my boyfriend and me, I mean. I believe the word we used was crazy. “This marshmallow is crazy.” I loved the crunchy honeycomb, the fruit-leather-like compressed cherries, the rich honey of the ice cream. The sponge cake was too light for me and needed about a pound of icing on top, but I appreciated the airy texture amidst the other dense elements.
• graduation cake with liquored ice cream
In celebration of my boyfriend’s bar exam achievement, he was presented this simple, elegant little mousse cake. I’ll take any chance to eat more of Per Se’s chocolates.
• fudge, French macarons, truffles
The famous tiered mignardise box with dark chocolate, vanilla, and coffee fudge on top, passion fruit and mint chocolate French macarons in the center, and root beer, salted caramel, and lemon truffles on the bottom.
• assorted chocolates
Arnold Palmer, maple, and grapefruit chocolates from a wooden box full of approximately thirty, which a server opens for you before reciting the flavor of each chocolate from memory. And all of them sound amazing–balsamic vinegar, curry, fennel–and you want the box to be left at your table, but your stomach is nearing implosion at this point, so you only take three or four.
• coffee and doughnuts
One of the desserts I hope for (and receive) each visit, the creamy coffee semifreddo with sugared beignets. Behind the “coffee”, you’ll see the tiny frozen balls of buttered popcorn ice cream, which are so savory as to be closer to popcorn than ice cream.
• take-home treats
The parting gift: a bag of cherry nougats, caramels, hard candies, and a mint chocolate wrapped in gold.
my rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Think of the taste of any food you like and multiply that times ten if you want to understand what it’s like to eat at Per Se. Think of the taste of any food you just feel ambivalent about, and suddenly you’ll be Googling to find out when fava bean season is so you can have more. We’re always terrified when we see the bill–our drink pairings were $300+ even with me getting the non-alcoholic ones (which I highly, highly recommend)–and we always leave saying things like, “For that much at such-and-such, we could’ve eaten twice,” but the truth is that every now and then, I like my food a little precious. I like houndstooth plates stacked three-high and half-eaten bread taken from me because the kitchen wants each bite of my foie gras eaten on a fresh piece and take-home boxes of fudge tied with branded ribbon in branded gift bags. And no one does any of that better than Per Se does.
Dirt Candy - a review
It's the buns I really want! I've been meaning to go here for a long time; thanks for reminding me that it's worth it.
My Corton Experience
I, too, loved my Corton experience (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/808744) and think your parting advice is spot on. I always find myself eating components separately to try to understand each one, while my boyfriend eats everything together and is always raving about the combinations. That was especially true with the tiny tastes at Corton.
As for question #3, we always tip on the estimated prices of the extra dishes.
The only restaurants that I think compare to Corton are wd~50, Brooklyn Fare, and Momofuku Ko. Ko is easily my favourite of the three, but wd~50 is maybe a little closer to the Corton style (and cheaper and easier to get in to).
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
Yep, and that's why I liked it.
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
What would you say the Italian-American food hierarchy looks like?
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
I've had good Italian food at some of the top restaurants, and I don't doubt that these dishes impressed you. I just don't want to have to eat at a four-star restaurant just to get some decent Italian!
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
Hey, I'm always interested in other people's opinions. Maybe my ideas about what Italian is supposed to taste like are just skewed, though; even when I dined at Babbo, my review was along the lines of "this is good for what it is, but it still doesn't stack up to the other top restaurants in the city". I'll keep looking for this elusive Italian-food-that-I-love, though, if you say it's here.
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
I usually like restaurant food 200% more than home cooking, so I don't think I'm being unfair. And I grew up in Ohio to a German family, so it's all ethnic to me.
Thanks for the recommendations, though. I really do want to have good inexpensive Italian, so I'll check those out.
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
Wow, who knew! I like that even more than the Chinatown/knockoff bag idea. Thanks for the information.
Based on what you said, should I change my statement to "Italian food is so bad in NYC that this Italian restaurant started serving Asian and French food just to disassociate itself from other Italian joints?"
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
Yes, the wines were all selected by the restaurant. I didn't even realize they were all American (and almost all Californian, at that) until someone asked me later if all of the wines were Italian.
I'm definitely open to good Italian recommendations!
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
I'm comparing it to the recipes-passed-down-from-grandma Italian food people have made me, but I guess I'm also comparing it to other types of cuisine found here. If you're not going to high-end places like Babbo or Locanda Verde, most Italian food here is bland and uninspired in my experience. Whereas I can go to the cheapest hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint, for instance, and find a menu full of foods that excite my palate.
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
Brooklyn Fare. Amazing food for the most part, but you sure do have to jump through a lot of hoops just to give them your money.
Torrisi's Newest Chef's Tasting Menu: Review + Photos
Photos in context are here: http://www.donuts4dinner.com/2012/05/01/the-chefs-tasting-menu-at-torrisi-italian-specialties-italian-nolita/
Italian food in New York City is terrible. Most of all in Little Italy. It’s all aimed at tourists, who are so enraptured with the closed, car-free streets and the outdoor seating that they forget to notice the bland, uninspired food. And then there’s Torrisi Italian Specialties, which was bold and impassioned, playful and polished–an embodiment of New York City itself.
Torrisi’s seven course, $65 prix-fixe menu is a steal and has received nothing but raves, but of course we couldn’t settle for a mere seven courses and went for the twenty-one course, $150 chef’s tasting menu with seven excellent wine pairings for $75.
• our Americano
This “mocktail”, a riff on the classic Americano, was made not with Campari and vermouth but juice and housemade bitters. My favourite part of it was the giant square ice cube. I’m not hard to please.
• pretzels
• smoked sable cigarette
• the quail’s olive
• rabbit and carrot
• buckwheat caviar knish
• chicken and cashews
• escargot casino
Torrisi is a bustling deli by day, serving a brined turkey sandwich office workers while away their lunch breaks waiting in line for, and the bar snacks were the perfect interlude to switch the tiny kitchen from that of a casual sandwich shop to one that puts a high Italian spin on the cuisines the people who make up NYC. These one-biters came at us so fast–in pairs or triplets–that I forgot to photograph the clam with celery and spicy oyster on the half shell. The Doughy caraway pretzels were like mustard-flavored gnocchi, the sable cigarette a kind-of-nasty/kind-of-clever reminder of the salmon cone at Per Se. The olive wasn’t an olive at all but a soft quail egg with a pleasant, not overpowering olive flavor; I was a little put off by the inedible accoutrements (though I would totally eat bay leaves if people would stop telling me I can’t) but loved the spoons they were presented on. The rabbit with carrot puree was sweet and herby with a crunchy base, and the caviar, served on a bed of buckwheat, was homey and warm. Not only was the caviar’s serving dish stunning, but we loved being able to decide how deep into the groats we wanted to plunge our knishes; the grain was easily crunched, like a nut. The chicken oyster, a nugget of dark meat on the chicken’s outer thigh, was so flavorful and juicy but really stood up to the cashews in a way I wouldn’t expect from such a tender piece of meat. The snails were sour, chewy, and only slightly less firm than the bacon chunks that accompanied them; it wasn’t my favourite dish of the night in flavor nor texture, but I appreciated the take on clams casino and was excited to try my first snail after all these years of fine dining without having ever been faced with one.
all paired with: Lieb Cellars, Pinot Blanc, NV, NY
• Brighton beets
These beets, a nod to the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn that’s still so Russian you need a tourguide to help you navigate restaurant menus, were a mix of crisp and tender, fresh and long-cooked. Sour apples and fried onions added to the already bright flavors.
• mackerel in crazy water
I missed this photo, as well, likely dazed by the idea of eating a traditionally very fishy fish alongside the most dreaded of all foods for me: tomato. But this was more like a gazpacho than a fresh salad, and the mackerel–served raw–was so unfishy it could’ve been sturgeon or halibut. The tomatoes, which were preserved, had the flavor of watermelon, and the sea beans added a crisp bite.
wine: Bloomer Creek, Tanzen Dame, 2010, NY
• foie gras newberg
• Delmonico tartare
Served at the same time and meant to be shared, the foie gras and tartare are updates of dishes made famous by one of the oldest and most noted steakhouses in NYC, Delmonico’s. The original Lobster Newberg was made with a creamy, buttery, alcoholic sauce; here, the sweet foie is topped with a brandy gelee and served with a salty, meaty, spiced oyster mushroom salad.
The Delmonico’s tuna tartare becomes a steak tartare with crisp, sour cornichon slices and a Béarnaise sauce that I can only dumbly describe as buttery. The presentation wowed me to the point that I was still taking photos of the delicately-carved pickles even as half of them had already been devoured. Spread on the thickest, saltiest, caper-powdered potato chips, it was more finesse than novelty.
But you can bet the novelty of the Demonico’s plates wasn’t wasted on me.
wine: Kalin Cellars, Chardonnay, 2005, CA
• Dancing Ewe sheep ricotta and ramps
This gnocchi was covered in a sauce so creamy and dense with peppercorn flavor, I would’ve paid for the pleasure of licking the pan. The ramps had the texture of green onion but are known for their more intense aroma and what my boyfriend called their “racier” taste. The ramps evidently replace the scallions that were being served on the oft-photographed version of this made with Coach Farms goat cheese; it had a strip of coffee/caramel/tobacco water “leather” on the side with the word “COACH” stamped on it like the label of one of the knockoff designer handbags sold in Chinatown. The more straight presentation of this dish makes me wonder if Torrisi is headed away from whimsical presentations or if they just weren’t in the mood to use marijuana syrup to draw a sheep in a ballerina costume on my plate.
• lobster Cantonese
Just plain delicious, no matter what cuisines it’s trying to emulate, this vermicelli with lobster evoked the flavors of Chinatown with soy and scallion. The crunchy breadcrumbs made the lobster seem deep-fried, like sweet and sour pork gone high class.
wine: Arnot Roberts, Rose, 2011, CA
• ravioli caruso
This apparently replaced the much-lauded beef ragu for us and was probably a more interesting if not grandma-reminiscent dish. The chicken liver filling, contained in the most perfectly-cooked raviolo, verged on too iron-flavored at times but was nicely balanced by the sweetness of the tomato sauce. The brown butter with accents of sage added deep flavors ripe for red wine pairings. Food & Wine says that this dish was “named for the famed tenor who backed the epic NYC restaurant Mamma Leone’s ([chefs] Torrisi and Carbone cite Mamma Leone as an inspiration alongside Thomas Keller and Joël Robuchon in a video they made about themselves)”.
wine: Coturri, Carignone, Testa Vineyard, 2009, CA
• Jewish lamb
A young man brought this gleaming dish of tomahawk lamb chop to our table and unannoyedly held it while I photographed it. And then held it over the table of the people beside us when I said he was too close for my lens to focus. But in all fairness, they had been ogling our table all night as they sat there with the regular, ol’ prix-fixe dishes, so they owed me.
The loin and deckle together were not-fatty and fatty, gamey and not-gamey, delicious in their own ways when accompanied by fried mint and peeled grapes. The deckle had a thick glaze and a chewier texture, while the loin was leaner and less adorned. The chop itself was more impressive than the finished dish, but that’s always the way with these things.
wine: Wind Gap, Syrah, 2008, CA
• bitters green
A sour, bitter palate cleanser to prepare us for the sweet, sweet desserts.
• cheese danish
We were served two pieces from a large danish cut into fours and kept under a glass dome. It didn’t matter how our slices tasted, because all we could think was that we wanted the other two. It was buttery, with a burst of poppyseed flavor. The onions were sweet, the cheese so thick and creamy. But who was going to eat the other two pieces?! The kitchen? The servers? MORE IMPORTANT DINERS WHO GOT SIX SLICES INSTEAD OF FOUR? No! No, actually, our server returned with the other two slices when he saw us finish the first two. Phew.
• ginger-lemon ice
Surprisingly creamy for an icy treat, with a strong bite from the ginger. This was unlike any shaved ice, snow cone, or slushie I’ve had.
• maraschino float
This tasted like really expensive medicine, and I mean that in the best way. It was so strongly flavored, maraschino cherry ice cream alongside a root beer financier made of creamy mousse covered in a chocolate shell, with mashed pretzels providing the contrasting saltiness. All attempts to suck the cherry soda through the straw were fruitless and embarrassing, but at least it was edible.
wine: Heitz Cellars, Port, NV, CA
• pastries
People eating the prix-fixe around us were getting a small plate with the old-timey (and incredibly not-crave-worthy) bakery staple, the rainbow cookie, so we couldn’t have been more impressed when we instead were served this giant cake stand of pastries with the chef’s tasting. For each of us, there was an apple donut, a pistachio and lime truffle, a crumb cake, a pine nut macaron, celery cake, a really not-sweet cannoli, a mint chocolate truffle, and seaweed taffy. All of it was impressive. Even the seaweed taffy. They also sent us each home with a little box containing a rainbow cookie, ironically, and you know what? Even it was powerfully flavored and much, much better than any day-old rainbow cookie in any Italian bakery.
my rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Torrisi is playful, gutsy, and aiming to please. The week before we dined here, my boyfriend and I had the chef’s tasting at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant that was supposed to be the best meal of our lives, and eating at Torrisi was a better experience. Where that restaurant was pretentious, Torrisi was humble. Where that restaurant was aloof, Torrisi was friendly, giving us details and stories associated with each dish. Where that restaurant was silent and imposing, Torrisi was filled with cool, jazzy music and couples not looking to out-foodie anyone. The only problem was that, as my boyfriend said, no one bite at Torrisi compared to any one bite at that restaurant. Nothing disappointed, but nothing had us using phrases like “the most” or “the best”, and we have used those words at similarly-priced restaurants. The effort is evident, though. You feel like Torrisi is making the absolute best food it can at this moment, and I have high hopes for its future.
Daniel or EMP?? Which is a better experience?
On our first visit to Daniel, when we were obviously unknowns, the service was impeccable. Neither stuffy nor snotty. We were recommended a wine that eventually became our favourite bottle ever, were served an extra dessert when I mentioned that we were there for a special occasion, and were given fresh madeleines when we let ours get cold.
For me, the quality of food is similar at both places, and where you go should depend on what sort of atmosphere you like. Daniel is super high luxury; EMP is more laid-back and playful.
WD-50 to remove a la carte options, replace entire menu, May 10th
Exciting! We were thinking about going back for a tasting recently but felt like we should explore new territory and chose a different restaurant. Naturally, I love this idea.
uhockey revisits Per Se Extended Tasting Menu. In a word - incredible.
Never agree with my thoughts on restaurants?! I really thought I had the most run-of-the-mill reviews! But I do consider mustard one of the greatest pleasures in life, so maybe you're right about the palate difference.
It's hard for me to remember now, but I think my claim of the 6 extra courses was based on our first visit, where we were given a bunch of extras out of nowhere. (That first visit really ruined me for all subsequent ones, obviously.) I only expected to take home the mignardises because I've read reviews where other diners have (and you apparently got a take-home treat that we didn't, so I don't think it's totally off-base).
So, like you said, I went in expecting to be treated like their most valued client, because I felt like I was the first time I went. I don't mean to say anything negative about the restaurant, because I truly love it, but I do want to set others' expectations straight.
uhockey revisits Per Se Extended Tasting Menu. In a word - incredible.
I wish it was that easy! I read too many other reviews and know just how many courses I "should" be receiving and how many diners have toured the kitchen and know what other people went home with, and then I judge my meal accordingly. I'm a restaurant's worst nightmare.
uhockey revisits Per Se Extended Tasting Menu. In a word - incredible.
I'm a little jealous but a lot pleased for you. I expect nothing less from the place and still can't wait to go back again.
uhockey revisits Per Se Extended Tasting Menu. In a word - incredible.
Exactly! uhockey seemed twice as excited as even I was and still gushed twice as hard as expected, but I must work differently. I need to tone down the fangirling until I actually eat the meal, at least until I can learn not to look at what other people were served before I go.
uhockey revisits Per Se Extended Tasting Menu. In a word - incredible.
We were treated very well! Just not as well as we had been on our first visit. After an amaaaaaaazing first meal there, I set myself up to expect "the world and the world polished" and probably set myself up for disappointment, as nmprisons said.
I still think the regular tasting is incredible, and the impression that left on me has never waned and continues to inform so many meals at other restaurants, but the extended menu didn't seem that much above and beyond to me. Except when uhockey writes about it!
uhockey revisits Per Se Extended Tasting Menu. In a word - incredible.
This review made me go back and read my own Extended Tasting Menu review: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/812314 (Which I believe you commented on just to tell another commenter about photographers who take better pictures than I do–but I'm sure you'd never backstab an Ohioan like that.) I wish I could tell what was different between our two meals. I'd like to think that your excitement colored your meal, but it might just be that you were simply treated better than we were. You felt like VIPs, and we felt like schmucks who were paying $500 apiece for a meal.
Still, it was fun to read this review, and we do have future Per Se plans, so clearly not feeling special isn't enough to keep us away.
Jungsik Review + Photos
Ah, see, Kyo Ya is on my list, but I still haven't been there. I look forward to comparing the two (and knocking Brushstroke's rating down a notch if I need to).
Jungsik Review + Photos
Interesting! But disappointing, of course. I'm glad we all had the foresight not to just stick to the chef's tasting. I agree about the galbi completely!
Jungsik Review + Photos
I know the fact that it's Korean food is a bit of a barrier, but the price is reasonable for NYC, and the quality is on par with even more expensive restaurants, don't you think? If anyone can embrace it, NYers can.
We did the pairings and had one Riesling, but now that you've mentioned it and I've looked at their list, I'm wishing I would've requested more! Riesling is my favourite.
Jungsik Review + Photos
Hey, thanks! I'm looking at your blog now and really enjoying your $100 a Week posts. And everything else!
Jungsik Review + Photos
Yes, yes, the lobster! Bring someone along you don't like very much and tell him or her to order the pork so we can see if it was a one-time flaw or not.
We didn't ask at all about the chef, but it seems from the other comments that you're good to go either way. I can't believe you didn't like Brushstroke, though! It wasn't my favourite meal ever, but it was a strong 4.5 out of 5 for me. If you wrote about Brushstroke on here, I want to see it!
Jungsik Review + Photos
Oh, thank you! It's a Nikon D5100, but the restaurant is reeeeeeally dark, so I had to brighten them up in Photoshop.
Jungsik Review + Photos
All of my photos in context can be seen here: http://www.donuts4dinner.com/2012/03/13/jungsik-is-worth-the-trip-korean-tribeca/
I’ve never seen a negative review of Jungsik. And it’s lucky that people are talking about it, because it’s not the kind of place this American-comfort-food-lovin’ gal would seek out on her own. Luxury Korean food? In Tribeca? It seemed so exciting when I made the reservation, but in the days leading up to the dinner, it started to seem scary and foreign. In the moments before we entered the restaurant, I was almost dreading it.
And then I loved it. And then I couldn’t stop exclaiming over it.
• amuse bouches
• squid ink chip with kimchi aioli: the salty familiarity of a light-as-a-feather potato chip with the sourness of squid ink
• tofu with soy gelee
• shrimp with cucumber cloud
• fried chicken with spicy mayo: pure comfort food; perfectly crisp shell with the juiciest chicken inside
• bulgogi sliders
The perfect little bite, with a substantial bun that didn’t buckle under pressure. With the slice of tomato (have I mentioned that I hate tomato? I loved this tomato), it tasted exactly like a sloppy joe. And I mean that as the greatest compliment.
• smoked potato soup
These very hefty bowls arrived at our table carrying a folded bit of prosciutto and a couple of brioche croutons, and a server followed with the soup itself. We thought this dish a little “precious” in its presentation, as we’re not sure that pea-sized croutons and a one-inch square of meat needed to be brought separately from the liquid, but we had no complaints about the taste. The soup was smoky and onion-flavored, gel-like in consistency, and accented by the crispy sourness of the croutons.
The menu at Jungsik offers three courses or five courses with wine pairings using one-word titles, much like the menu at Eleven Madison Park. Unlike EMP, though, Jungsik offers a little more description to help in the ordering process; someone who might not order a dish based on the word “apple”, for instance, might be convinced by the words “light foie gras mousse” underneath. The back of the menu displays the chef’s suggestions for the perfect tasting menu, and while my boyfriend and I are usually happy to put our palates in the hands of the chef, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to try as many dishes as possible and each ordered different things.
• apple gelee, foie gras mousse
The thinnest spread of smooth foie gras topped with a layer of apple gelee and studded with apple shavings and cilantro leaves. The sweetness of the apple made the foie subtle and less bitter than usual, and spread over the warm housemade rye bread, it was like butter and honey on toast. I took a cue from the incredible foie gras and salt tasting at Per Se and dipped each spoonful of foie into the chunky salt provided with the table bread and went into a blissful sodium coma.
• four seasons: parsley, zucchini, quail egg
The one bite I tried of this seasonal salad left me feeling like it was almost too fresh, the flavors too subtle; I know it’s a sin, but I prefer my salads deep-fried and covered in ranch powder, like the one at Tenpenny. My boyfriend, who actually got to deconstruct the thing, said there were enough powerful flavors–sundried tomato, beet, herbs–to suit him, though. We both liked the hearty zucchini base, the thick herbaceous sauce, and the apple foam.
• champs-elysees: foie gras, kimchi
The ingredients in these mod-looking bowls arrived separated with instructions for us to mix them together. This worried my boyfriend, who finds that this preparation leaves dishes tasting one-note, but he was impressed by the strong flavor of ginger, the meatiness the foie added, the sweetness of the port wine reduction, and the risotto quality of the overall mix.
• sea urchin, Korean seaweed rice, crispy quinoa
My favourite way to eat uni is to hide it in other foods so I can taste it without looking at it–I can’t get over how gloopy and tongue-like it is with those ridges on top–so the mixing entirely worked in my favor. The regular quinoa with the crispy puffed quinoa added unexpected crunchiness to every bite, and the uni’s organ-y iron flavor managed to be noticeable without overpowering the onion and rice.
• arctic char, kimchi sabayon
So beautifully presented, this char was accented with smokiness, sourness from the kimchi, and even a little cheesiness in the sauce. My boyfriend said it was rich enough to stand up to the sauce but delicate enough to feel refined. The grapes and chips provided a juxtaposition of sweet and salty and soft and crunchy.
• Tribeca lobster, butter-poached, Korean mustard
This was easily–easily–the best lobster I’ve ever had. Even my boyfriend agreed, and he’s not prone to melodramatic, absolute statements like I am. It was just simply the most buttery sauce covering the most tender lobster mitts and tail with the most perfect accoutrements. The $10 supplement to the tasting was so worth it I felt the urge to get up from my table and dance around the center of the room, making sweeping gestures with my arms, declaring my love for the lobster, and not sitting back down until everyone in the room had thrown their plates on the floor and demanded a helping of it for themselves.
Raspberry and lobster? With pimento chutney? There’s no reason it worked. But it was spicy and sweet, bright and rich, buttery and citrusy. The sauce was so lobster-flavored itself that it tasted as if the lobster shells had been cooked in it. The lobster was the perfect amount of chewy and the perfect amount of tender. I don’t have a bad word to say about this dish–nor even a so-so word–and if what the manager says is true and we can walk in any time and have this at the bar, you can bet I’ll be doing so. Forgive my capitals, but this was SO GOOD.
• five senses pork belly: spicy, crunchy, sour, soft, and sweet
My boyfriend and I fought over who was going to order this dish, but I luckily gave it and let him have it. This was the only misstep of the night, and it was partly a misstep just because we expected so much from it. Pork belly is like pizza, right? You can’t do it wrong. But like pizza, some pork bellies are righter than others, and this one just wasn’t flavorful enough. In terms of texture, it was outstanding, with the very crunchiest skin and fat cooked down to near-disintegration. But in terms of taste–well, there almost wasn’t any. We didn’t get the spiciness nor the sweetness; the pickles were more flavorful than the pork. It’s a shame, because the chef who created that lobster dish should do wonders with pork belly, so I’m going to hope that it was just a fluke that night.
• classic galbi: beef short-rib, rice cake ball
The galbi, on the other hand, was succulent, rich, homey, and fork-tender. It tasted like it had slow-cooked for 36 hours and then simmered for 24 more. The rice cakes were crispy on the outside but still able to soak up the beef broth. The whole dish reminded me so much of a Sunday dinner made by a mom who really cares, and we both agreed that it was far superior to the pork.
• apple rice wine baba, Calvados cream
Dessert began with a palate cleanser of an Asian pear sorbet topped with a goji berry granita. It was tart and fresh, crunchy on top and smooth on the bottom. The texture of the sorbet was like the actual texture of an Asian pear.
My boyfriend ordered the baba, which was so good on its own it didn’t even need the “side dishes”, but I loved them all. The dish was a study in opposites, with plays on cold and warm, smooth and crunchy, soft and hard. The apple ice was intensely flavorful and complimented the pear flavor so well.
• pumpkin panna cotta, cinnamon crumble, amaretto panna cotta
I can’t resist the flavors of fall and was filled with all of the warmth and sentimentality of pumpkin pie with my first bite of this creamy, spicy dessert. The top layer of panna cotta was sweet, the bottom layer almost savory, both leading to a flavorful crumble with a texture that tied together with the crisp squash strip adorning creamy topping.
• chocolate pot de creme
Though it wasn’t on the menu, this post-dessert was my favourite of the sweets. The creamy chocolate was complimented by the crunchy, nutty cocoa nib topping and crystal clear sesame tuile, and the whole thing had a slight celery flavor that we loved. Our server told us it was angelica root, which is used as a digestive aid; she said that made it a healthy dessert. Wink, wink.
• mignardises
• yuzu macarons: not the least big yuzu-y, these actually tasted like peanut shells (what?)
• mango balsamic truffles: mango yes, but balsamic no; still fruity and delicious
• mugwort financier: buttery!
My Rating: 5 stars
To think that I was worried Jungsik wouldn’t be “comforting” or that it wasn’t “my kind of food”! The amuse bouches alone were enough to convince me that my fears about it being too far removed from the French and New American upscale food I enjoy so much were unfounded, and then every subsequent course only served to prove more and more that there’s a place for Korean cooking in the high-end New York food scene (and that place is in my mouth). The flavor combinations were inventive, the presentation was pitch-perfect, and even the service–which some have said is too stiff–was friendly yet professional, helpful, and never intrusive. Aside from not giving me enough pork in my pork, Jungsik was spot-on and on-par with the best restaurants in NYC, and I expect to continue to see nothing but positive reviews coming out of it.
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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010
Jung Sik
2 Harrison St, New York, NY 10013
Tenpenny
16 E 46th St, New York, NY 10017
BaoBQ
Thanks for the review! I pass this every day on the bus on my way home and have been wondering if it's worth stopping for and losing my seat. The skin wraps sound awesome.
